British singer/songwriter Jorja Smith has released a video for “Blue Lights,” her 2016 debut single that marked her entry into the music world. Smith told Genius the song was inspired by how young men in her community are impacted by racist policing. Smith wrote, “I was trying to give some hope saying, ‘Don’t run, don’t you run when you hear the sirens coming.’ Then it flips at the end because I’m saying, “You better run now because the sirens are coming for you.’ I feel like the song’s a bit of a circle, and that’s like life. Everything just repeating, everything’s just going in a circle.”
Directed by Olivia Rose, the black and white video is shot in Smith’s hometown, Wallsall, England, and features an all-male cast, including The Streets’ Mike Skinner, producer Preditah and her Jamaican-born father, Jaykae Smith, who was once the lead singer of 2nd Naicha.
Smith explained her vision for the video in press release, writing, “I wanted to capture men/boys of Walsall and Birmingham from all different walks of life doing everyday activities to show that the stereotypes we are bombarded with are misleading and, ultimately, harmful. I chose Walsall as the setting for the video as that is where I am from and where I drew my inspiration from when writing the son.”
Her debut studio album Lost & Found will drop on June 8, 2018 .
Check out the “Blue Lights” video below.
