Premiere: Watch jj's "Dynasti" Video

Watch jj's latest video "Dynasti," and experience the timelessness of rap lyrics in their most Scandinavian form.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Swedish duo jj sound like angels possessed by benevolent Young Money spirits. Made up of Elin Kastlander and Joakim Benon, the duo has been spreading the gospel of  hip-hop into a language Scandinavia knows well since their first release in 2009: dream pop. Their brand is consistent; they piece together lyrics drawing lines from Drake, Lil Wayne, Kanye and even The Terminator 2, laid over accessible, light-as-air melodies. While pop artists at every level conveniently borrow elements of hip-hop culture without making them interesting, jj's project stands out. By re-contextualizing some of the most recognizable phrases of the current pop culture landscape, like "You can't tell me nothing," and "Come with me if you want to live," they attempt to make them timeless.

After releasing two eponymous albums four years ago, their latest, V, was highly anticipated. It dropped in August, and today we're premiering a brand new video for "Dynasti."

"It's an invitation to party," Benon says. A collection of cinematically-shot symbols fill the loose narrative, pianos laid out in a V burn to the ground, Kastlander bleeds from the mouth draped in shaman-esque clothing at the end of a long journey. A tribal dance around the fire takes place that would make any of the kids in Lord of the Flies quiver. It feels like it could be a sampling of M. Night Shyamalan's latest flick. "That's what we always want to do,"  Kastlander says. "Make a movie with the whole album. It's going to be longer. We are just taking it one step at a time."

They didn't go into it with a fully formed treatment, though. The video is a collaboration with two of the duo's friends, directors Olivia Kastebring and Fabian Sigurd. They chose the location, a "giant sandbox," as Fabian describes just a few hours outside of Stockholm. "The paradox with this dynasty, is that it's not set in time and now it's up to the future to take care of it," Olivia says. 

V is out now on Secretly Canadian/Sincerely Yours. Read an extensive feature on jj over on Pigeons & Planes right now.  She also laced us with the super unorthodox treatment they put together for the film. Check it out below, and watch the trippy video for "Dynasti." 

this is the dynasti when 26 looks back at 24

this is the dynasti when all we wanted was more

this is the dynasti before we grew older

this is the dynasti before you sent no°5 in a zip-folder

this is the dynasti before that last harry potter movie

this is the dynasti before daft punk went groovie

this is the dynasti before the seasons of game of thrones

and before pussy riot entered "holy"zones

this is the dynasti before someone told us sky is the limit

and we rented that sky lift, just to get a wider image

this is the dynasti before sad boys lost gravity 

this is the dynasti before someone taught us about naivety

this is the dynasti before they spelled those contracts and wanted us to sign fuzz

and before we begged stole and borrowed everything they never offered us

this is the dynasti before someone told us about money

this is the dynasti before our friends made us richer than honey

this is the dynasti before we knew that this video would be impossible without them

and before we knew our friendship would last until the end 

this is the dynasti before hate stroke Showan

this is the dynasti before game was changed by Shyman

this is the dynasti before the world was crying too shy

this is the dynasti before we could go on like nothing happened

this is the dynasti before the streets belonged to us

this is the dynasti before we joined forces

and before bush was fired by moses

this is the dynasti before fågelsången and that twitter 

this is the dynasti before you prayed to jesus but bought him on glitter 

this is the dynasti before you got a bank deposit box and locked it in

this is the dynasti before we found it on blocket and joined linkedin

this is the dynasti before they dreamt about you and me

this is the dynasti before dean met me

this is the dynasti before we fell apart

this is the dynasti before we were a part of it all 

this is the dynasti before

this is the dynasti now

let's get ready for some mumbo jumbo no° 5

 

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