Macklemore Abandons Color in “Kevin” Video

There are just a few days remaining until Macklemore and Ryan Lewis drop their album This Unruly Mess I've Made, and in anticipation, they've released the video for "Kevin." The song was first premiered at the American Music Awards in November of 2015, what was then the only look into the album beyond its first single, the catchy old-school jam "Downtown."

As with that performance, Macklemore is joined by gospel and soul singer Leon Bridges in the video as the two occupy an abandoned building that could be understood to symbolize some of the trauma and despair that Macklemore raps about in the song. Directed by Jason Koenig and Ryan Lewis, the visuals are entirely black and white, as Mack spits insight while illuminating America’s affinity for prescription medicine, the pitfalls of addiction and the system that profits off of dependency. Never one to shy away from heavier world topics, Macklemore delivers an appropriate video accompaniment to an at times tragic and moving song.

This Unruly Mess I've Made is set to drop this Friday (Feb. 26) and has so far promised plenty of head nodding and conversation stirring as the pre-release singles "Buckshot" and "White Privilege II" have mapped out a project that is tonally and thematically diverse. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have laid low in recent years following the success of their 2012 album The Heist, but have come back in full force in recent months. Check the video for "Kevin" above.

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