Usher has released a new video that’s more of an interactive visual experience than your average music video.
“Chains,” which is available to watch exclusively on TIDAL, begins with an eerie, solemn instrumental. You are instructed to set up your camera; it’s about to be an immersive experience. Once your camera is set up, you are advised, “Don’t look away.” If you look away or even turn your head slightly, the video will stop. It only operates through facial recognition.
Watch it here.
The song, featuring Nas and Bibi Bourelli, tackles the experience of what it is like to be Black in America today. Usher sings, “I’ve had enough running…we’re running from chains…don’t act like you’re saving us.”
Usher will perform Chains for the first time at the TIDAL X 1020 Amplified by HTC concert in New York City next week. Proceeds from the concert will benefit groups that promote social change. Families of the victims from the video will be flown in for the performance. Usher will donate proceeds to a Donor Advised Fund administered by Harry Belafonte’s social justice organization, Sankofa.org.
You can only watch the video on Google Chrome and Firefox browsers, and remember, whatever you do, do not look away.
