Cornrowed badass Brooke Candy is releasing her new EP, Opulence, on May 6th – and she dropped a music video for the album’s title track earlier this week. Candy, who considers herself equal parts stripper and rapper, had her breakout with a verse on Grimes’ track “Genesis” and then quickly released her own single, “Das Me,” which propelled her to cult icon status. Her sound is a smorgasbord of contemporary styles (the fast spitting of Nicki Minaj meets the fierceness of Iggy Azalea meets electronica, IMHO) …but she refuses to accept any of those comparisons.
Although Candy’s image has been criticized for being overly sexual, the artist feels she’s always had control over her persona. Identifying as a feminist, she uses her pop goddess status to challenge gender roles and what it means to be in control of your sexuality. In her debut “Das Me,”Candy opens almost immediately with the line “A dude could fuck three bitches and they’d say that he’s the man / But I get it in with twins, she’s a whore / That’s what they saying.” She opens a serious discussion re: what it means to reappropriate a slur and own it, all while laying on a bubblegum pink Cadillac in a futuristic gold jumpsuit.
In her newest video, Candy comes back with an aesthetic that’s equally terrifying and mesmerizing. The “Opulence” experience starts off with the rapper beating up a man and then proceeding to shove $100 bills in his mouth. It’s something you have to see to believe. Steven Klein, director of the video, commented that “‘Opulence’ is an exploration of the horror of excessive materialism disguised as beauty in our present age.” Throughout the video, Candy proceeds to give us nightmares as she transforms from one sparkly succubus to another. The costumes and situations are over-the-top demonic, but it’s hard to look away. See for yourself below – and if you like the nightmares she’s giving you, don’t forget to pick up Opulence on May 6th.
Image courtesy of noisey.vice.com.
