There are few Milwaukee musicians working today with as much tenacity, confidence, and forward momentum as WebsterX. Ever since the release of Desperate Youth in 2013, the tireless rapper—a.k.a. Sam Ahmed—has been one of the city’s biggest draws, both solo and with the New Age Narcissism collective. (Watch this bonkers Summerfest performance for proof.) He’s no slouch with videos, either—clips for “Renaissance” and “Doomsday” are some of the best Milwaukee videos of recent memory. Now, WebsterX has taken his flair for visuals even further with the gorgeous, cinematic video for single “Lately.”
Written by Ahmed, Damien Klaven, and Cody LaPlant, and directed by Klaven and LaPlant, the video finds WebsterX emerging from the earth itself, stumbling through the gorgeous landscapes of Wisconsin cities Oregon and Cudahy, and finding his friends (Kiran Vee, Lex Allen, and Siren among them) waiting to carry him—both physically and spiritually—even further. Ahmed tells Complex (which is premiering the video) that the sumptuous visuals represent “light, light in the sense of realizing a light was always there, digging yourself out of a hole you were in and realizing the new world has amazing friends that come with it, don’t ever settle.” Watch it below.