— Brockhampton’s Merlyn Wood confronts his demons head on in his latest single, “One of Us” and it’s digitized music video.
Notorious for his animated flows and confrontational flexes, Merlyn Wood is ready to reveal more about the man behind the mic. Following the release of his May single “Green Light”, the 26-year-old bares his soul in a haunting new video single as Merlyn explores issues close to his heart in “One of Us.”
Produced by Lido, an acclaimed producer who has worked with Chance The Rapper, Ariana Grande, and more, “One of Us” combines ethereal choirs, gently-plucked harps, and liberal bursts of distortion to create an insular and introspective sonic world for Merlyn to discuss his former struggles with drug addiction. Over the course of three verses, Merlyn takes listeners into the frenzied mind of an addict, chronicling the desperate need for a fix, followed by detachment from friends and family, and culminating in Merlyn’s realization that he needed to quit to save his own life.
“One of Us” is both a harrowing confession and a stern warning, providing a more serious context for Merlyn’s playful wordplay as he raps,
“Ever since I was six, I was seen as the token black kid
Couldn’t show any flaws. A mark on our reputation
I was fighting the demons that lived in my own reflection.”
Directed by Sean Russo and featuring a cameo from the actress Diamond White, the video for “One of Us” dramatizes Merlyn’s conflict with a powerful metaphor about his loss of control. The first two-thirds of the video take place in a blue-tinted digital realm, with Merlyn as an avatar with characteristics altered and closely monitored by an unseen entity. In the video’s final third, Merlyn attempts to awaken from his haze as the video adopts a more naturalistic color palette and a disoriented Merlyn confronts his masked demons in the flesh. Stay tuned for the end of the video, when a twist ending reveals the culprit behind the blue screen who has been at the controls the whole time.
Beyond music, Merlyn plans to continue expanding his universe of King Arthur-inspired ventures with A Really Round Table (ARRT) in which he aims to bring different communities together through unique goods, human-connection events, and philanthropy with a portion of all revenue will go toward solving hunger in Ghana.
With multiple solo singles under his belt and many more to come, there’s no stopping Merlyn’s rise. Be sure to follow Merlyn on Instagram and Twitter in order to keep up with him as he continues to forge his own path through the music scene and the world at large.