Frank Ocean releases music video for new single “Nikes”

Video via director Tyrone Lebon’s Vimeo.

Early Saturday morning, just a few days after releasing Endless to the world, Frank released a music video for a new single, “Nikes,” as an Apple Music exclusive.

“I got two versions. I got twoooo versions,” says the video’s ad-libbing narrator, as it were—a callback to Frank’s blog post announcing Boys Don’t Cry in April 2015.

The video, directed by Tyrone Lebon, features a wide variety of interesting scenes and cast members. Most notable are Trina and A$AP Rocky, with tributes to A$AP Yams, Pimp C, and Trayvon Martin.

A post on the KanyeToThe forum indicates that the video was shot in July 2015, somewhere in London, the same month a new album was supposed to drop, while this Reddit post specifically noted that the video was shot on April 13, 2015. This post had a behind-the-scenes photo to prove it.

In addition to the video made available on Apple Music and Tyrone Lebon’s Vimeo account, you can watch an alternative cut of the track on Director of Photography André Chemtoff’s portfolio. This version contains additional lower-pitched ad-libs, a slightly different visual cut, and an alternate mix on the outro.

UPDATE 6/26/2016: It looks like an extended version of the video may exist. It seems likely that a longer cut was produced for a version of the song featuring Japanese rapper KOHH.

A selection of still frames from the music video are displayed below; select a photo to view a full-size version.

Video Credits:

Art Director: Ed Quarmby
Production Designer: David White
Stylist: Max Pearmain
Make Up Artist: Isamaya Ffrench
Hair: Cyndia Harvey
Casting: Charlotte Roberts, Melissa Thompson

Director’s Assistant: Holly Gore
2nd Unit Camera: Deepa Keshvala, Frank Lebon, Hanna Moon, Merlin Massara
1st AC: Tim Allan
2nd AC: Jenny John Chuan
Grip: Tom North
2nd Grip: Jamie Monks
Gaffer: Danny Hayward

Director: Tyrone Lebon
DOP: André Chemtoff
Editor: Adam Biskupski
Colourist: Aubrey Woodiwiss at Electric Theatre Collective
VFX: Electric Theatre Collective

Producer: Tom Birmingham
Exec Producer: Tash Tan
Post Exec Producer: Hannah Turbull-Walter
1st AD: George Nelson
2nd AD: John Robinson
Production Manager: Lana Salfiti

 

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music, videocurb"Nikes", music videos, Tyrone Lebon, Boys Don't Cry, official releases, singles, Blonde, A$AP Rocky, A$AP Yams, Pimp C, Trayvon Martin, Trina, glitter, Max Pearmain