In his new single, ‘Stay’, Shawn Cook raps about love, as seen from the point of view of someone who has become jaded by all the games, and the ultimatums, and yet is still pulled back despite knowing it’s a toxic relationship.
Describing it as a “reverse carousel”, where he is unable to find peace in the never-ending loop of pleasure and misery, Shawn Cook shows viewers his own idea of it in the video for ‘Stay’. The battle between lust and loss is shown as we see him try to extricate himself from the cycle, and yet he is doomed to repeat his mistakes forever, pulled back as the video reverses.
Shot primarily in black and white, the clip has pops of colour throughout the clip, signifying that it’s not all hopeless. We start with Cook sitting on a stoop, and we are attracted instantly to his colourful socks, and his jade bead bracelet. He is pulled backwards, and we see his lady love, her bright red lipstick and golden wedding band showing why Cook is pulled back. Other highlighted features include a row of wine bottles, suggesting that might be part of the reason for their relationship being toxic. On a wall, as Cook is getting a light for his cigarette, we see the word “LOVE” in bright colours. He knows has to go back, he can’t ignore the siren call of “stay for a while”.
Check out the video for ‘Stay’ below, and find out more about Shawn Cook and his music online on his official website, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
