FKA Twigs, London rapper Headie One and producer Fred have teamed up again for the new song “Don’t Judge Me”. It is an extension of the “Judge Me (Interlude)” from the 2020 GANG mixtape by the rapper and producer. The new song comes with a video by Emmanuel Adjei (who also co-directed Beyoncé’s Black Is King). The picture shows branches dancing in an empty room as Headie One walks down a street. It gets a little supernatural in the end. See below. Scroll down to see Adjei’s statement on the “Don’t Judge Me” music video.
In mid-October, FKA branches said in an interview for the Grammy Museum’s Programs at Home series that they finished a full album while staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her staff includes the Spanish producer El Guincho, who worked on Björk’s biophilia and Rosalia’s breakthrough EL MAL QUERER. Since the release of MAGDALENE, twigs has appeared as a guest on the debut album of the enigmatic producer Slingbaum and accompanied Nicolas Jaar on a track for his project Against All Logic.
FKA branches filed a lawsuit against ex-boyfriend Shia LeBeouf alleging abuse and assault. LeBeouf emailed the New York Times that “many of these claims are not true,” but did not comment on any specific claims. “I am ashamed of this story and apologize to those I have hurt,” he wrote. This week, Twigs continued to discuss the allegations on the BBC Radio 4 Grounded With Louis Theroux podcast.
Read Pitchfork’s cover story, “The Sacred and Profane Genius of the FKA Branches,” and learn more about Headie One and Fred in “Great Records You May Have Missed: Spring 2020”.
Emmanuel Adjei:
THE INVISIBLE OPPRESSOR
We cannot judge whether a person discriminates based on color, gender, religion or gender based on a person’s appearance. The oppressors in the people around us mostly remain invisible until their abuse against others is exposed. This is one of the reasons discrimination has been so difficult to fight for generations. Who does the victim have to fight against if they cannot identify the perpetrator?
In this audiovisual document we see artists like FKA Twigs and Headie One who, among other things, influence the black British and fight against invisible forces of judgment and repression. With the huge Victorian-inspired Fons Americanus fountain by visual artist Kara Walker, which depicts the sad historical story of slavery and colonization, as the setting and especially as the spirit of the film, this important monument creates another layer of depth and meaning for an invisible and but common history.
