By Jamel Smith
April 26, 2022
Dreamville emcee Lute circles the block with the latest visual from his sophomore project. His critically acclaimed album, Gold Mouf, was released in October and the Charlotte rapper shows no sign of slowing down. On the heels of his appearances for Dreamville’s compilation album, D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape, and preceding the deluxe edition of his sophomore album release, Lute enlisted director Guerilla Mike (Michael Mihail) for his latest visual, “Changes,” featuring Chicago soul singer BJ The Chicago Kid.
The video features the two lamenting on people who change over money while they perform in an underground tunnel. Their convincing and front-facing performances are supported by a strong visual narrative and stunning imagery highlighting the beauty of Black life and the allure of capitalism. In several images, Lute is seen battling the urge to accept the spoils of his success– luxury car keys, gaudy gold chains, champagne glasses, and a band of cash– or happily settle for the “simple things” in life, like getting his hair twisted out on a neighborhood stoop.
Capping at a little over three minutes, director Guerilla Mike wields the power of strong, Black imagery reminiscent of Gordon Parks and Roy DeCarava to assist in telling the song’s narrative centering around Black bodies and Black life. This high level of visual storytelling is not foreign to Guerilla Mike or his work. Last year, he won a Telly Award under the category Promotional Video: Social Impact for directing DaBaby and Roddy Ricch’s “Rockstar” BET Awards performance. The same year, he won the Best Lockdown Video by the Music Video Production Association for directing the “BLM remix” of the same song.
A week after the music video was released, Lute returned with the deluxe version of Gold Mouf. Now with six additional tracks, the deluxe version has 19 songs in total. The expanded album includes new tracks “Outta Sight,” “Finding Self,” “Livin’,” “Luther’s Freestyle,” “Run It Back,” and the previously released “Like Wine.” One might remember “Like Wine” from Dreamville’s Gangsta Grillz mixtape released April 1. It was one of two tracks Lute was featured on, along with “Starting 5,” featuring fellow Dreamville emcees, Cozz and Omen.
Listen to Lute’s Gold Mouf Deluxe Edition:
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