Chicago Hip Hop Powerhouse Jelani Lateef Soars To The Heavens With ‘I’m A Star’

Embodying perseverance and inspiration, Jelani Lateef infuses vulnerability and hope into his new release, ‘I’m A Star’.

In ‘I’m A Star’, the perfect follow up to ‘Can’t Stop Now‘, Lateef lays it all out in a way that can be read in two ways: in one direction, he says he’s a star, so how can he not shine? In the other, it’s shining – putting everything he’s got into his career – that’s made him a star. He radiates confidence but it’s taken a lot of hard work to get to that point.

The music video for ‘I’m A Star’ puts Jelani right in the centre, as he should be. He’s a living example of what it takes to chase your dreams and make it out to the other side. Edited by Jelani himself, this music video has none of the bling, cars, or cameos we’ve come to expect in mainstream hip hop videos, but they’re not necessary, as Jelani Lateef’s electrifying performance is all we need. The clip was filmed by Lateef’s ten year old daughter, bringing an authentic quality to the already anthemic track, and the added effects overlaid on the video give it an extra layer of grit and rawness that go perfectly well with the song itself.

Watch the music video for ‘I’m A Star’ below, and find out more about Jelani Lateef and his music online on his official website, Bandcamp, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Jelani Lateef - I'm A Star (official music video)

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com

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