Princess Nokia’s “Morphine” video is a stereotype-breaking goth masterpiece

Princess Nokia introduced us to a whole other side of her when she dropped her fourth mixtape, A Girl Cried Red. For those that fell into her orbit when she released the incredible 1992 tape last year, AGCR was probably a surprise; the 8-song tape finds Princess Nokia pivoting to "real alternative music," as she explained in an interview with Dazed back in February. "It's not just a little touch of it or it blended into hip hop."

The project is complete with over-enunciated phrasing and some truly melodramatic lyrics; the line "smash my heart in pieces it looks so good on the floor" makes an appearance on several tracks. In a way, its release was a quiet revelation — a small little tap on the nail that's cracking open the stereotype that only white people participate in the goth-emo-alternative subculture.

Today, Nokia dropped the video for "Morphine," an AGCR cut that continues to break the stereotype wide open, and I am here for it 100%. The clip features Nokia on a rooftop surrounded by a diverse crew, all dressed to the tens raving and having a blast. But the big wink in the visual comes right at the beginning, when Nokia and her crew start replicating the dance moves from that viral video of cyber goths raving around an underpass. It's only a couple-second homage, but the message I'm getting from it is clear: yeah, non-white people rave in underpasses too — and what about it? Meme-worthiness aside, the image is validating, and feels like a breath of fresh air.

Also, let me tell you, there is a club/rave breakdown two-minutes in that brings me back to my Basshunter-listening days in high school, and it gives me goosebumps all over and makes me wanna freak the F out on the dance floor. So you should get your life and watch this video now.