Khalid’s slow-burning “Young, Dumb & Broke” off his debut album American Teen has already garnered rave reviews. His European tour mate Lorde called the single “f*cking gorgeous” according to Rolling Stone. The official third single from American Teen, “Young Dumb & Broke” now has an official video and drops the viewer right in the middle of the last day of school.
The Calmatic-directed “Young Dumb & Broke” video plays up to Khalid’s final day as a high school student at the fictitious University High School. He still wins prom king, just as he did in real life, but the cast of characters here are certainly different. Shot in a yearbook recap style, the video gives traditional awards such as “Most Likely To Succeed” the same amount of cache as “Most Likely To Not Give A F*ck.” Dennis Haskins, the actor who played Mr. Belding on Saved By The Bell is Khalid’s principal. Wayne Brady plays the janitor who apparently threw his life away and wound up right back in high school. Buddy and Kel Mitchell have roles as well. The same goes for Nathan Zed, Fifth Harmony’s Normani Kordei and She’s All That star Rachael Leigh Cook.
But more than that, the song’s lethargic pace and celebration of the very attributes that plenty of people mock in teens, is exactly why it’s being celebrated by that very demographic. Look no farther than his recent, completely overrun show at the Santa Monica Pier to see that Khalid’s appeal is moving well beyond music video fame and into IRL starpower.
In a recent Rolling Stone profile on him, Khalid revealed an affinity for Father John Misty. “If I were to have an idol in terms of songwriting, it would probably be him,” he says. Despite spending most of the summer on the road, Khalid has made more in-roads post “Location” and American Teen. He appeared on Calvin Harris’ Funky Wav. Bounces Vol. 1 with Future, got nominated for Best New Artist at the 2017 MTV VMAs and snagged pretty spectacular verses from Kehlani and Lil Wayne on his “Location” remix.
Watch the “Young Dumb & Broke” video up top
