Narrated through the bloodline of Blackness, D Smoke trekked down to the historic bayous of Louisiana for the official “Black Habits” video.

The title track, which is already a standout fan-favorite of the project, is a bow to Blackness in its most socially and economically intelligent form. The Inglewood-native explores this theme for its optical adaptation set on a plantation owned by a white slaveholder family. From horse-mounted overseers scattering the cotton field and keeping watch over slaves to a circle of African women flowing into tribal dance, D Smoke intricately extracts the vines of our African-American roots. 

D Smoke’s presence emerges in the visual as the revolutionizing voice of exaltation in the former slavetrade society as well as contemporary civilization. At its face value, the video displays one idea of Black evolution— from the fields of backbreaking slave labor to modern-day high-priced jewelry stores and Black children playing on huge trees that once poured over slave plantations. But beneath the surface, “Black Habits” challenges our ideas of Black generational advancement. D Smoke goes from sitting atop a horse on the plantation to swagging atop a cruising vehicle in the night. From clasping pricey gold chains on his neck to closing a deal on the very home that once enslaved his African ancestors. As he signs the closing documents and makes his way to his new home, the video concludes with “buy land not jewels,” four words that reminds us to reclaim power in our Blackness and the heritage from which it’s bred from. 

Check out D Smoke’s “Black Habits” music video above.