In 2014, songstress Nikki Jean was a few years removed from her debut record, “Pennies In A Jar”, a project that had her touring and writing material around the world with some of the greatest songwriters of all time, including Bob Dylan, Burt Bacharach, Carole King and Carly Simon. She closed the year by releasing the well-received EP “Champagne Water”, featuring indie MC Ab-Soul.
Having recently signed a new deal with Rhymesayers Entertainment, Jean, formerly of the genre-bending Philadelphia group Nouveau Riche, is back with another round of new music. Her new EP is due later this year but its first single, the soothing “People + Planes” is slowly making its way into rotations around the globe. In the song, Jean questions the current state of the world, as gun violence, murder and war seem to have displaced love, harmony and togetherness:
People and Planes
Bullets and bombs
Where will they land?
When will it end?
What could go wrong?
The visuals for “People + Planes” are jarring. Directed by Jean and Double-0, the video shows Jean sitting alone, in a darkened room. As the camera pans slowly towards her, we see that she is sitting in front of a TV, singing and watching the news. Her face begins to crack as negative stories flood the screen and she continues to fracture, until she reaches an inflection point and explodes into pieces, emanating light throughout the room.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7n2ykpyzD8
You can buy or stream “People and Planes” on a variety of music services, including Spotify, Apple Music or Google Music.