“How do you visually paint a portrait of power?” According Marco Brambilla, the director of the newly unveiled video for Kanye West’s “Power”, that’s the question he and the Chicago based rapper set out to answer.
The finished product comes in the form of an “apocalyptic” “work,” which sees West — draped in black and with a heavy gold chain around his next — standing in God-like form. As the camera zooms out in one continuous, unedited take, the God-like imagery becomes more vivid and West is revealed to be a classical structure, surrounded by nude women. But as the entire scene comes into view, we learn that the Sword of Damocls is hanging above and this becomes not a representation of glory but rather of execution.
Explains Brambilia in an interview with the New York Times, “It’s a moment of transition for him… It’s like the end of an empire. It’s him becoming mortal again.”
It’s also pretty stunning, and proves a truly captivating accompaniment to an already captivating song. Plus, despite it’s epic nature, the clip clocks in at just 90 seconds — meaning you’ll only miss like maximum three tweets from Kanye. Check out for yourself below.