A week before the release of her Grammy-nominated album Laila’s Wisdom, Rapsody dropped a conceptual single in which she examines the relationship between money and love. “Pay Up” featured her clever wordplay and served as the first offering from the LP without any featured guests. In fact, Rapsody in many ways starred as the guest on her own track, rapping from two different perspectives. Co-produced by Khrysis and Ka$h Don’t Make Beats, it dropped back in September, but it continues to serve up dividends as this week, she releases its video.

Rapsody’s Chrome Video Is About So Much More Than Car-Jacking

Much like her appearance on PRhyme 2‘s “Loved Ones,” another relationship-focused track featuring her sharp sense of layered meaning (“I owe you [IOU] nothing, f*ck your vows [vowels]”), Rap’s lyrics on “Pay Up” set the scene for more than meets the surface. The video does the same, reflecting the tropes she introduces in the song. For starters, the video features a couple whose dynamics vary from the default position; it’s the woman who forgets an anniversary, while the man (played by GQ) shows up with celebratory flowers which she vehemently dislikes. The Brian Petchers-directed clip follows Rapsody as she delivers a double narrative while watching relationships unfold from a movie-theater seat. She’s also starring in the “films” she’s watching, perhaps signifying the notion that critiquing relationships is both a spectator sport and something we should apply to our own interactions. The cinematic treatment runs throughout, and the video culminates in full-fledged closing credits.

Also featured in the video is Jamla family member and singer Heather Victoria, whom Heads may recognize as the featured vocalist on “Pay Up.”