Popstar Benny, the Atlanta producer with a seemingly bottomless sewing kit, has been pushing out bespoke instrumentals at a fast-fashion clip. In January, he shared University!, a 20-track project with an expansive sonic palette, stretching well beyond the confines of the jittery plugg beats he’s best known for, and an overflowing guest list.
Today (February 10), standout cut “All the Girls <3” — one of three tracks on the record featuring fellow Atlanta plugg pioneer Tony Shhnow — gets a Dre Vegas-directed visual treatment, premiering above. The video matches the lighthearted tone of the song, and the project as a whole, with Shhnow cast as the prize on a Bachelor-esque program where five women compete for his attention.
Despite both Benny and Shhnow’s plugg resumes, “All the Girls <3” is an expertly executed homage to Jersey club. Benny pulls the track’s title, and its central sample, from N.E.R.D.’s “Everyone Nose,” flipping a split-second snippet of the song’s iconic refrain over a manic melee of 808 bass and breakbeats. “Jersey club has always been one of my favorite sounds,” he tells The FADER. “It’s a rhythm and bounce guaranteed to make people move. With both the music and visuals, the overall idea was something fun — something for all the girls.”
Vegas takes a kitchen-sink approach to the video, combining composed studio takes with grainy shots from a handheld camera, achieving a low-stakes, DIY aesthetic. “Learning how to work with what we have sparked the idea for this video,” he says. “The plan is always for something fresh, but familiar — making something that stays with the culture.”
Shhnow, whose nonchalant, rapid-fire bars tie the song together, has a simpler take on the whole affair: “I love girls.”
