Los Angeles based duo RM47 comprise MAAD and Raleigh. The pair have shared experiences as well as their own respective areas of expertise, and their collaborations complement and challenge each other, ensuring their work is as organic as could be possibly imagined. Before they began recording as RM47, MAAD had previously worked with Raleigh on solo releases, including ‘Eventually Pt. 1’, and EarlGréy’s ‘Overdue’. MAAD is a model, as well as a recording artist, songwriter, and DJ, while Raleigh is a musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer.
Their new single under the RM47 moniker is a nostalgic Alt-Electro-RnB track called ‘Needed U’, from their project, ‘Stuck with you.. But I like it’, which precedes their planned upcoming releases and live performances in 2022.
Their sound takes inspiration from Jersey club beats, and the funky rhythms of Afrobeat, and feels like it could come from anywhere, be it New Jersey, Nigeria, Chicago, London, Toronto or Tanzania. It’s an homage of their own lived experiences and that of their partnership.
At the start of the music video for ‘Needed U’, we see MAAD in bed, dressed in stockings and knee-high leather boots, in a red-tinted room that feels defiantly feminine; while Raleigh is straddling a motorbike in a chilly, blue-lit garage. The pair inhabit separate worlds with distinct aesthetics, and have distinct responsibilities and desires. But when they get together, the chemistry is immediately apparent. While ‘Needed U’ is a romantic song, it’s nonetheless a grown-up lover’s lament, a mutual protest, a pained conversation between partners who care deeply about each other but who’ve been letting each other down.
They find common ground on the leather sofa in the living room, and it becomes a place of intimacy and communication, as well as conflict. We see them sometimes head to head, sometimes arguing, but also sometimes flirting, and other times – just furious. One thing is plainly clear: they’re far too tangled up to say goodbye for good.
The very last scene of the video for ‘Needed U’ is a single side-eyed look, flashed by MAAD at Raleigh, as they sit together in near-darkness on a sofa. They’re close, but they’re not touching. The glance is full of menace, accusation, longing, betrayal, distrust, and affection, all at once. It’s searing, and it’s the perfect punctuation for a video that announces RM47 as a coming force.
Watch the video for ‘Needed U’ below, and follow RM47 on their exciting journey on their official website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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