Jaden‘s always been a bit of a flower child — and taken an undue amount of online abuse over it — but in the video for his new song “Cabin Fever,” he fully embraces that characterization, cruising his candy-colored convertible on the way to a beach hang in pursuit of his quarantine crush. Although the brightly-colored video truly leans into the eye-popping hippie aesthetic, it doesn’t shy away from commenting on the moment, drawing parallels to protests in both eras.
Will and Jada’s son has seen quite a career evolution in the past few years. Although he started out making relatively straightforward hip-hop on his first studio album, Syre, then inverting it for a smart satire on its follow-up, Erys, “Cabin Fever” finds him following the footsteps of his close friend Tyler The Creator, leaving the constraints of the genre behind in favor of more free-flowing experimentation. Where Tyler’s Igor adopted elements of ’60s soul, Jaden seems to be looking to that era’s pop rock for inspiration, finding his groove on the song and in the video, which sees him whip out some pretty nifty dance moves in his signature New Balances.
Whatever is up next for the 22-year-old, his latest song is giving fans plenty of reason for excitement.
Watch Jaden’s “Cabin Fever” video above.