Watch: Lil Wayne paints his pain in video for ‘Mirror’ with Bruno Mars

Lil Wayne is exorcising some psychic pain in his new video for “Mirror.”

The song, from the deluxe version of “Tha Carter IV,” is the closest we generally get to a ballad from Lil Wayne, who even invokes Michael Jackson, when he says “No message could be any clearer, so I”m starting with the man in the …. ” then adds, “MJ taught me that.”

The Antoine Fuqua-directed video opens with a close up of Lil Wayne”s closed eyes, tattooed with “Fear” on his right eyelid and “God” on his left lid. That camera then caresses slowly down his painted torso. A shirtless Wayne begins created some unseen masterpiece as red paint, symbolizing red blood, spills in rivulets.

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As he looks in the mirror, he comes to that startling realization that”s shocking for any man–when he or she see how much he looks like his father–and, as Lil Wayne smiles, he also sees some of the beauty of his mother. In between, Bruno Mars serves as a greek chorus of sorts, chanting “Mirror on the wall/here we are again/through my rise and fall/you”ve been my only friend.

At the end, it turns out Lil Wayne has been painting a rapper holding a mike, as both he and the rapper in the photo hold a messianic stance with their arms spread wide.

What do you think of the beautifully shot “Mirror?”

Follow Melinda Newman on Twitter @HitFixMelinda

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