Valee, the buzzy Chicago rapper signed to Kanye West’s GOOD Music by label president Pusha T, is just beginning to enjoy the trappings of success. In the video for his new single, “Awesome” with teen emo rapper Matt Ox, he interprets this literally; the pair hang out and perform the song among some of the more opulent spoils of fame, namely luxury cars and a helicopter.
The black-and-white video opens with shot of the helicopter sitting on the landing pad and spinning up its blades before launching into the performance section. Rather than turning up, Valee and Matt sleepwalk through a hangar stocked with the finest automobiles (a lot of) money can buy, letting the plodding beat and spacey lyrics do the heavy lifting on keeping listeners engaged. The two rappers run down the listen of luxury goods they’ve recently been able to procure, and how blessed the come-up has been. One poignant line from Matt Ox reminisces when they were “in that rain, takin’ a train, now we got Ranges.”
That come-up has largely been due to a run of well-received, sleeper singles from Valee, who collaborated with Pusha early this year on “Miami,” then with Vic Mensa on “Dim Sum,” then dropped his solo “Juice & Gin” video this summer.
