By November 23, 2019
Dexter Jordan is a Charlotte-based R&B artist who released his emotional debut album earlier this year, entitled Blue. The album is a dynamic love letter to himself providing cathartic comfort and closure in the wake of the loss of both a close friend and his late mother in 2016. Jordan’s wistful, soul-filled art is heavily influenced by his devoted southern gospel roots; a strong, loving testament to the church-infused lifestyle of his upbringing. The widely applauded Blue has offered Jordan wonderful opportunities like opening up for Anthony Hamilton, performing at DC and Charlotte Pride Festivals, and healing himself from the pain of losing his beloved mother by expressing himself unapologetically through his music.
Today, Jordan premieres the evocative music video for “Skyscraper (In N.Y.C),” one of the tracks from Blue that shows off the hopeful and self-accepting growth that Jordan has found through sharing his original songs. Inspired by A Tribe Called Quest’s “Electric Relaxation” and filmed by a team of like-minded videographers and stylists (Ryan Schostack, Colin Schostak, Kyle Banks, and Ally Gondeck), the video features a collaged backdrop of New York’s famous neighborhoods– Queens, Harlem, Manhattan and Brooklyn, in a hazy vignette paying homage to the late ‘90s reclamation of the city as a creative haven for black creatives.
Jordan wanted to express his queerness proudly in the presence of the fearless glamour of New York’s limit-shattering skyscrapers. In the video, Jordan is bright-eyed and warmly, radically comfortable in his own skin as he shares his dream to become a bird– capable of leaving earthly turmoils below him and soaring freely into the blue sky. As “Skyscraper” plays out, Jordan guides the viewer along a wine-filled day in the Empire City where he realizes the bird he once longed to become like has been inside him, fluttering and ready to ascend, as soon as he accepts his full self.
The music video also features Yebba, an accomplished singer-songwriter who has collaborated on songs with music titans like Mark Ronson, A Tribe Called Quest, Robert Glasper and Sam Smith. Yebba, who lost her mother in 2016 to suicide shortly after performing her first song, connected with Jordan and his messages of grace, resilience, and growth in the wake of unexpected tragedy.
Watch the music video for “Skyscraper (In N.Y.C)” from the album Blue by Dexter Jordan. Follow Dexter Jordan on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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