As is the case for a lot of 18-year-old’s, Miami rapper Denzel Curry has a lot of youthful aggression to exorcise. With his single “Parents”, from last year’s excellent Nostalgic 64 mixtape, he takes aim at the very source of many a teenager’s worldly plights. While a lot of the track comes across as the hormonal rants of a pissed-off kid (“Your momma ain’t shit, your daddy ain’t shit/And then you realize that life is a bitch”), the song has a decidedly transformative message, one emphasized in the accompanying music video.
Directed by Unkle Luc, the clip’s like a nightmare version of Will Smith’s “Parent’s Just Don’t Understand”. Except, instead of comedic wigs and woefully un-hip parents, it’s the tale of young parents and their complete disinterest, bordering on negligence, for their toddler. While Curry is right to rail against parents, especially if they’re like the kind portrayed here, it’s the gritty, slightly uncomfortable visuals that truly drive home Curry’s ultimate point: “Claimin’ you a baller but your momma living with ya/Better look inside the picture, cause you ain’t getting richer”. Translation: if you young folks just realign their priorities, maybe this endless cycle can finally come to a close. Who said the youth of today don’t have something profound to offer?
Watch it below (via Complex):
