As Adele sang in her beloved song “Someone Like You,” sometimes relationships last in love. But sometimes, they hurt instead. Steve Lacy’s Grammy Award-winning album, Gemini Rights, explores the latter at great length, especially on his track “Helmet.” To celebrate the LP’s one-year anniversary, Lacy belatedly dropped the official video for the track.
The video, directed by Aus Taylor, is an in-depth look at healing from a toxic romantic breakup. As Lacy struggles to regain his footing, he aimlessly wanders around his bedroom, searching for something to distract him from the pain. However, he quickly learned that the world doesn’t stop revolving just because he’s sad.
At one point he sings, “I tried to play pretend / Try not to see the end (ah) / But I couldn’t see you the way you saw me / Now I can feel the waste on me / I tried my best to be worth all your while / You just gotta let me go as I’m tryna let go of you.” It’s his way of saying that ending the relationship was for the best.
Throughout the “Helmet” video, viewers are reminded just how introspective Lacy’s work is — an attribute that made people fall in love with him in the first place.
Watch the full video for “Helmet” above.
Gemini Rights is out now via RCA Records. Find more information here.