21 year old Filipino/African-American artist Jelani Aryeh is back with the video for his recently released “From These Heights”, a song that combines his knack for catchy songwriting with deep existentialist undertones. The video was filmed in an empty house with shots of protests breaking through Jelani’s emotional state and lyricism. 

“It’s been a goal of mine to make a video for each single on the album. With “From These Heights” we wanted to put emphasis on the lyrics and capture its feeling with an intense performance-based video,” Jelani says. “To achieve that (director Will Noyce) really just kept it as simple as possible, with the majority of shots being just me delivering the message confined to a draped room. it’s designed so you have no option but to feel the weight of the words – I’m literally saying it to your face.”

Jelani crafts timeless songs with emotional depth beyond his years. Sonically he re-imagines the classic sounds of indie rock, alternative, and folk through the lens of a mixed race kid who grew up in suburban San Diego. His new album I’ve Got Some Living To Do is one of the most impressive and accomplished debuts of 2021 and will be released on No Matter/IMPERIAL this summer. Watch this space for more details. 

Like the rest of the world, Jelani spent 2020 alone and indoors, using the time to work on new music. The first offering from this period of isolation was the single “Stella Brown,” an upbeat ode to brunettes and young love. The song resonated worldwide, clocking up more than 20 million streams, landing covers on coveted playlists including Lorem and New Music Daily, critical acclaim from Zane Lowe and cemented his place as an exciting new artist to watch. 

This past March, Jelani showed another side of his upcoming debut with the release of the sunny, aspirational single “Marigold.”

Photo Courtesy: Zenzelé Moore – Ysaguirre