R&B wunderkind Khalid has returned with the video for his new, mellow jam as he prepares to release a mixtape to hold fans over until his next album. After announcing that Scenic Drive would drop this Friday, December 3, the 23-year-old has released the video for “Present,” which he originally released toward the end of October.
Rather than plotting out a high-concept video, Khalid instead chose to have fun in the clip for “Present,” offering a laid-back smoke session with a troupe of beautiful, well-dressed dancers. The initial staging presents Khalid and his dancers as works of art, like classical statues before they come alive to run through joyful choreography and blow smoke in the air. Their costuming suggests that the baggy look favored by gen Z remains firmly in fashion, with quilted coats, tech vests, and billowy sweatpants aplenty adorning them as they grin their way through their uptempo dances.
Fans expecting Khalid’s new music to harken back to his impressive and beloved debut American Teen might be disappointed, though. In October, he explained why his music necessarily evolved to suit his life circumstances, telling a curious fan on Twitter, “I’m a whole 23 almost 24 years old, American Teen is not happening again.”
Watch Khalid’s “Present” video above.
Scenic Drive is out 12/3 on Right Hand Music Group/RCA Records. You can pre-save it here.