Following his touching tribute to late rapper Nipsey Hussle at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards last month, GRAMMY-nominated rapper Meek Mill has released a music video for his new track "Believe," featuring 10-time GRAMMY winner Justin Timberlake. Watch the inspiring visual below.
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The bittersweet video, which follows a family experiencing separation due to the imprisonment of the father character, unfolds like a cinematic drama, juxtaposing powerful images of substance abuse and prison life with shots of recovery and redemption.
The track itself is an uplifting anthem featuring moving lyrics from Meek Mill, who offers sharp cultural criticism on heavy topics like drug addiction and prison reform. In his opening verse, he spits, "Follow your dreams, not your addictions / How we gon' follow our dreams locked in a prison? /They tried to swallow me whole, God be my witness / Deprive me out of my dreams, but I'm relentless."
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The track and video allude to Meek Mill's own experience in prison, following a two-year prison sentence he served after violating his parole in 2017, an episode he chronicled in his 2018 album, Championships, which was recently nominated for Best Rap Album, marking the rapper's first-ever GRAMMY nomination.
The video also pays tribute to Nipsey Hussle, who was fatally shot outside of his clothing store in Los Angeles last March. In the clip, Meek Mill flashes a necklace carrying a photo of the slain rapper.
The new "Believe" music video follows Meek Mill's participation in an affecting tribute to Nipsey Hussle at the 2020 GRAMMYs this past January, in which he performed onstage alongside DJ Khaled, John Legend, Kirk Franklin, Roddy Ricch and YG. Nipsey Hussle won two posthumous GRAMMYs that same night, including Best Rap Performance for "Racks In The Middle," featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy, and Best Rap/Sung Performance for his performance on "Higher," from DJ Khaled featuring John Legend.
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