Atlanta rapper Deanté Hitchcock released his debut album Better last week to overwhelming critical and fan acclaim despite being a relative newcomer to the major label rap game. Better delivered on the potential Hitchcock displayed as one of the guest artists on the Dreamville Records compilation Revenge Of The Dreamers III after his contributions earned him both a Grammy nomination and a platinum plaque.
Today, Hitchcock shared the aggressive music video for the chest-thumping single “Attitude,” directed by iNightlyfe and GLP. The video, shot in intense black-and-white, addresses police harassment of Black men, as a loitering Hitchcock is dragged out of his car by an officer and placed in the back of a squad girl with his girlfriend. A twist of comedic irony lightens the mood; his girl shoves her phone screen in his phase, pressing him about the identity of an unknown female contact while he stresses over their fate. Fellow Atlantan Young Nudy delivers his own verse while flanked on all sides by police cruisers, their flashing lights providing a spooky backdrop for his dread-shaking performance — which mirrors his own experience being arrested alongside his cousin 21 Savage last year.
The video closes with another shot of humor: Deanté’s girl wastes her visit to him in jail still trying to find out, “Who is this female?” The video is a perfect summation of everything that makes the Atlanta newcomer appealing: unimpeachable mic skills, sharp-eyed cultural insight, and a wicked sense of humor. Keep an eye out, because this won’t be the last you see of Deanté Hitchcock.
https://twitter.com/DeanteVH/status/1263136922077204482?s=20
Watch Deanté Hitchcock’s “Attitude” video above.
Better is out now on RCA Records. Get it here.
