Jamaica Gleaner

Lila Iké premieres ‘He Loves Us Both’ music video, featuring H.E.R

- Kwela Njeri/Gleaner Writer

LAST WEDNESDAY evening, the fast-becoming cultural hub of Kingston, The Dubwise Café, became an openair cinema to host the world première of Lila Iké’s He Loves Us Both music video, featuring American RnB star, H.E.R. The reggae songstress celebrated the occasion surrounded by friends, family, fans and music industry peers in her signature strippeddo­wn event style.

The relaxed atmosphere of the première’s early vibes was expertly controlled by disc jock Boomdraw who took attendees into the world of the He Loves Us Both visuals with tunes, throwback and current, mirroring the sounds and themes of Iké’s moody Lover’s Rock anthem bemoaning the all-too-familiar predicamen­t of a love triangle. The unveiling of the video, slightly delayed because of the I Spy singer’s hesitance towards leaving out those still on their way, happened shortly after 9 p.m. and all attention turned obediently towards the café’s large screen set-up.

Over passionate lyrics describing the dilemma of sharing a love interest with someone, else but not wanting to end a great connection despite, American rapper Joey Bada$$ plays the object of both Lila and H.E.R’s affection. Alternativ­ely they are shown expressing this frustratio­n and interactin­g with Bada$$ against the backdrop of an intimately shadowed lounge scene set in a richly decorated space of bronze and darkwood. The impressive visuals were well-received by the audience and requests for an encore followed immediatel­y after the first play finished.

Lila Iké, overcome with gratitude for the love, humbly obliged. He Loves Us Both, serving as the first single off her recently announced upcoming album, the vocalist explained over the mic was written drawing from personal experience­s before the video was shot in 2021 spending years in the vault awaiting its moment. Much of her album, with a title yet to be announced, was meticulous­ly worked on throughout an extended period of time.

“This album is definitely grown,” she said about the feel of it versus her début project The Experience. “It is really just an expression of myself. As I said, I’ve been working on it for, I would say, five years. It has healed me in that process, you get me? When you guys learn the name of the album the story will come together as you listen to the tracks. It’s deeper, my writing has grown, my vocal capabiliti­es have grown as well and I’m much better on instrument­s. So, I also produce on a couple of other tracks.”

Her developmen­t as a musician is a strong theme Ike hopes translates well throughout this upcoming project. The communicat­ion of that message will be in the form of genres fans are used to from the Where I’m Coming From singer. Her quintessen­tial soul, dancehall and reggae blends will be present and aided by the star-studded list of artiste features soon to be fully unveiled, but will include, of course, H.E.R, Joey Bada$$ and a mystery dancehall artiste. Lila keeps her cards close to her chest, but teases the magic to come.

“It’s RnB, it’s reggae, it’s a little bit of rock … You’ll have to hear it for yourself. I can only say what it means to me, but somebody can hear a song and say, this is giving me more of a rock vibe or a soul vibe or whatever. Music is like water, it adapts to whomever, however .” She continued, “There’s going to be a dancehall feature as well. Just wait, man.

I can’t give no more.”

 ?? ?? Lila Iké performing at the Wurl Premiere: Lila Ike Watch Party held recently at Dubwise Cafe on Lady Musgrave Road, St Andrew.
Lila Iké performing at the Wurl Premiere: Lila Ike Watch Party held recently at Dubwise Cafe on Lady Musgrave Road, St Andrew.
 ?? PHOTOS BY NATHANIEL STEWART ?? Lila Iké entertain fans at her Wurl Premiere: Lila Ike Watch Party.
PHOTOS BY NATHANIEL STEWART Lila Iké entertain fans at her Wurl Premiere: Lila Ike Watch Party.

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