Give it to FKA Twigs to poke fun at the music industry in the bluntest yet most artistic way possible. In the newly released music video for Childlike Things, the track in collaboration with North West, taken from her new album, Eusexua, the British artist exposes how rotten the system is. Written by the brilliant Jeremy O. Harris and directed by her longtime collaborator, Jordan Hemingway, this eight-minute video combines harsh critique with outstanding visuals, intricate choreography, and a twisted sense of humour.
Co-starring film director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma) as a top executive in a record company, and influencer Jake Shane, who defends FKA Twigs’ project in front of him, the music video for Childlike Things is a tongue-in-cheek way for her to rip apart what goes behind the scenes when you’re a original artist fighting for your artistic vision to succeed despite the obstacles that suit-and-tie executives put in front of you. Even with Twigs’ global success, her forward-thinking vision is still misunderstood and confronted by those that, in theory, should fight for her.
That’s clear from the very beginning, when Shane’s character is explaining to The Executive what FKA Twigs is about. The latter doesn’t even know how to pronounce her name, asks questions like “remind me, she’s like what, a contortionist, this ‘feka twigs’?” and even complains about the album’s title and not understanding what it’s about. But it gets even harsher when he asks Twigs her age. “I’m twenty-four,” she answers timidly because she knows executives only bet on ‘the next big thing,’ on new faces they can exploit for their own benefit.
Since Eusexua came out, many of her fans were vocal about their shock – and even concern and disappointment – in North West’s collab. Especially since in all of the LP, she’s the only ‘artist’ featured. What is that about? We understand how being a nepo baby (in case you’ve been living under a rock, she’s the eldest daughter of Kim Kardashian and Ye) might’ve gotten her a role in The Lion King musical (which caused uproar when a viral video of her not hitting ANY of the notes went viral), but how the hell did their influence convinced someone as independent and vanguardist as FKA Twigs to jumpo on this? She thinks she’s answered that with this video.
In a quick chat with The Executive, FKA Twigs prides herself on being an original, on offering the audience a new experience, something they’ve never seen or lived before. What she does is unparalleled, unique, forward-thinking, which is why she asks for more budget. “More budget, are you serious?,” Smith’s character laughs off. “We don’t have that kind of money. And if we do, it’s for songs that have a beat, a hook, stuff like that,” he explains condescendingly. Defiantly, Twigs gets on stage to convince him that he’s wrong — an explosion of dancers, vocals, show-stopping looks, and some small flares.
But that isn’t enough — the Executive is gets up and is about to abandon the building. “You can’t leave!,” Twigs screams. “Your figures and numbers don’t mean anything when you’re sweating on the dancefloor discovering something new for the first time,” she says passionately. “That’s what this is about! The thrill of it! The ecstasy that takes over when you open the door on something you didn’t even know was shut within you.” So powerful, direct, and true!
“Watch me discover it,” she cries. “No matter witnessing you discover is gonna help you get on Spotify’s Discover page any easier,” he replies. And that’s the whole point of the conversation: today, record labels don’t bet on risky authors that bring something interesting to the table; instead, they want to give the audience the same tired formula that repeats itself to exhaustion. “You want my best advice? Hook up with a rapper,” he concludes. “My fans think I’m a deity, so they don’t like it when I put rappers on my songs,” she says ironically. And that’s when North West comes into play.
With her featuring, FKA Twigs justifies that she’s playing the game that the industry dictates to her but on her own terms. A rapper? No way! The kid of a celebrity in an ironic way, which she knows will appear in every media outlet’s headlines? That’s about right! If the money-obsessed executives want numbers, she’ll give them to them. But not as they think. “Welcome to the stage the tutorial goddess, the raspy voice troublemaker, and truth-teller, producer. The one and only North West!”
