ENOUGH OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
FRIDAY NIGHT CRU is quickly emerging as one of Jamaica’s hottest new acts. The duo of Dash D and KinDah have a fresh sound and a dynamic creative approach that are hard to ignore. The Cru began their journey just two years ago with the release of "Monáe" and have since made a mark on the local scene with singles "Follow My Lead" featuring Tessellated & Amaarae as well as "LAYB" featuring Zac Jone$ and PRG Kid. They bring a cultural vibrancy and energy to the new blends of music emerging from the island. Infusing Rap, Dancehall, Afro-beats and Reggae into their sound, FRIDAY NIGHT CRU has continuously pushed the boundaries of defined genres while at the same time remaining true to their roots. Their latest singles have seen the duo featured on Protoje’s Artists to Listen To, NPR Music’s Heat Check playlist and many more.
FRIDAY NIGHT CRU HAS HAD “ENOUGH” IN THEIR LATEST VISUAL
By Alysia Francis
FRIDAY NIGHT CRU is quickly emerging as one of Jamaica’s hottest new acts. The duo of Dash D and KinDah have a fresh sound and a dynamic creative approach that are hard to ignore. The Cru began their journey just two years ago with the release of "Monáe" and have since made a mark on the local scene with singles "Follow My Lead" featuring Tessellated & Amaarae as well as "LAYB" featuring Zac Jone$ and PRG Kid. They bring a cultural vibrancy and energy to the new blends of music emerging from the island. Infusing Rap, Dancehall, Afro-beats and Reggae into their sound, FRIDAY NIGHT CRU has continuously pushed the boundaries of defined genres while at the same time remaining true to their roots. Their latest singles have seen the duo featured on Protoje’s Fresh & Clean Playlist , NPR Music’s Heat Check playlist and many more.
We sat down with the CRU to discuss their most recent release, "Enough" and the visuals that just dropped! Check it out below!
Enough (official music video) - Friday Night Cru | Dir. by Adam Armond
NW: ‘Enough’ seems to tell a universally familiar story about the ups and downs of relationships, and the internal mental battles that come with them. It’s a personal story for many. Can you tell us a bit about the story behind this track?
FNC: It’s definitely a familiar story known to all. The main topic that runs throughout is about a couple in love and because of their differences in personality, but most importantly their love language, become emotionally exhausted and flirt with the idea of calling it quits. Honestly, love sometimes really isn’t Enough,
pun intended. In writing it, we often thought it was “A little bit too personal” but we really have fun finding an a story, experienced by all, and creating good melodies around it.
NW: Tell us about the process of translating the intimacy of such a personal track through the visuals and establishing the dynamic of Dash and the video’s leading lady, Kiana.
FNC: Firstly, Kiana is amazing, not just as a person but her energy on set was so transferable that it made the music match the visuals perfectly. We met her two weeks before shoot day and she just fell perfectly into character for each scene. There was definitely a level of trust and comfort, without that some of these scenes wouldn’t have been possible. We see an Oscar award in her future.
NW: From Monáe to Date Night to Enough, you’ve not only written all of your songs, but you’ve also conceptualized and directed all of your videos. Tell us about how your working relationship and creative dynamic have grown over the years and the support from your team behind the scenes.
FNC: Though we appear as a duo, there’s the unsung hero, Adam Armond who makes it a trio. It really starts with Adam. He’s our creative director/manager/graphic designer/director/video editor/ whatever you need him to be. We write songs in hope that he likes them. If not, then we get sent back to the drawing board. We often create as the trio. The industry is so visual focused now that as we’re writing we’re also thinking of the best ideas for a music video. We have too much to say and too many ideas in our heads to have people writing and creating for us at the moment.
NW: So speaking of creative dynamic, what was the process and experience like shooting this video within the limitations of COVID-19?
FNC: With Enough, we were already six months into the pandemic so we knew anything we did would be limited to few people. Thankfully this song is super intimate so most shots were just with Dash and Kiana. Again, Dacx was our go to videographer for this project since we worked and trusted him with many of our past videos. Other than Dacx and his team of Ajan and Aliyah, we also had Hayley and Zahra doing make up and wardrobe. Funnily enough, that was it. Those five people plus the artists and Kiana were all the people on set. Adam, the director was on an iPad or iPhone the entire time because of the travel restrictions that left him trapped in Florida. That led to him directing most of the shots with KinDah virtually so they would come out as envisioned. It was definitely an interesting process. What was awesome was getting a few of our homies to come through for the party scene as extras. That always brings more vibes to the shots.
NW: Would you say you took a bit of a risk sonically and visually with ‘Enough’?
FNC: Definitely. As much as we love making rap, dancehall and afro-beat tracks we also have a deep love for R&B/Pop music. We knew after releasing all the dance songs lately that this would be a risky switch but the moment Dash sent the voice note idea of Enough we knew it had the potential to be a hit. It transcended the genre conversation and was just great music. We knew this song would connect on a personal level with someone and just told a story that we could all resonate with. Luckily, we started off with this mix of rap and R&B music so our audience gives us that space to move around genres and not be surprised when we release something like, Enough or Fever. Really grateful for those people who love both sides of our music.
NW: And finally, what’s next for Friday Night Cru?
FNC: Honestly, it’s time for us to take that next step in the industry. We plan to slowly transition to releasing music in small projects. As new artists, a full album isn’t in our sights just yet but definitely would like to give our growing fanbase more than just one song at a time. We see the light at the end of the covid tunnel and we got some bangers for people to dance to before and after.
Video Production Credits: Adam Armond (Director, Editor, Special Effects), Dacx Foster (Dir. of Photographer), Atelier Ajan (Assistant Dir. of Photography) , Kiana Wong (Lead Female) , Rohan Paisley (Special Effects), Aliyah Atkinson (Production Assistant), Hayley Miller (Make-up), Zahra Warner (Wardrobe)