NOBANTU SHABANGU
Ami Faku releases an emotional music video for ‘Imali’, aptly capturing the despairing economic landscape of South Africa.
Ami Faku has recently premiered the raw music video for her hit single “Imali” which featured on her titular album of the same name. Fans of the soulful songstress have long anticipated the release and with good reason.
The music video begins with Faku dressed in a dull brown bathroom gown seated on a couch with a stony expression on her face. She moves her lips like a zombie, completely depleted of all energy. The camera then shifts to fellow musician Blaq Diamond who is dressed in blue work overalls. Leaning on the door frame, both his lyrics and physical stance seemingly express the sheer exhaustion of being Black in South Africa.
The gold-certified songstress’ new video traces the economic divide between South Africans. The growing number of shacks in informal settlements (in addition to running sewage) is contrasted with the shiny high-rise buildings of the business district in the northern parts of the city.
Faku does not move from the couch in the entirety of the video, barefaced in her signature style. She instead remains in character, playing the role of the many emotionally shell-shocked Black South Africans who continue to live through gross inequality.
Faku’s video speaks to a glaring reality in the country. The history of Apartheid positions white South Africans at an economic advantage that has them generally dominating land ownership and the economy. The South African government has yet to adequately find a solution for land ownership and economic equality.
Watch the video for “Imali” below:
