Toronto native, Killy, just dropped his music video for his new smash single “OH NO” and it is a perfect example of why you can’t listen to an artist like Tekashi 6ix9ine about what it takes to be a lasting force in this industry. A month ago Tekashi went on DJ Akademiks live and discussed how he used to be a fan of Killy but he’ll never “go mainstream” because the label isn't pouring millions into his brand and ramming him down our throats on the radio. Now, this statement may have some truth to it because you don’t hear Killy all over the radio at the moment but every artist’s come up is not the same. Yes, you do have many artists who came up like 6ix9ine who have massive support behind them but you also have artists like Lil Durk and Russ who have climbed their way to superstar level off of good old fashioned hard work. Killy has been up and coming for a while and with that grind, his views, following, and presence have only grown stronger in the game. You see when artists don’t get immediately famous off of antics and their label spoon-feeding them millions to promote, one of two things can happen. A. The artist eventually quits and finds a new day job or B. The artist works harder to perfect that craft and ends up attaining the success they have been manifesting the natural way. I believe option B is what is happening right before our very eyes here at Elevator.
“OH NO” is a pairing of a futuristic-sounding banger with an even more futuristic visual which features production from Y2K via Epic Records. With the directorial debut of Ryder Ripps, who has worked with huge mainstream artists such as Kanye West, Travis Scott, and Pop Smoke. This music video opens up like a cross of the 5th element and avatar. When you listen to the lyrics of the song it explains that Killy has reached that point in a romance where it is simply time to “move on”. The video really plays into that as it displays Killy barely escaping the clutches of a female alien captor with the help of Y2K who wields a keytar lazar and a dune buggy. The song and the video are such great examples of synchronized art that you could listen to the song and watch the video(on mute) separately and still get the same message that is being translated and that message is a longing to escape from a situation that has run its course.
“OH NO” really does a great job of setting the tone for what type of art is to come in the near future from Killy and it seems like the world is liking that tone. The video for “OH NO” hasn’t even been out one month and it is already almost at a million views(not bad for a non-mainstream artist). This artist's momentum has been the definition of consistency when you look at his timeline.
His first video “Killamonjaro” off of his debut project “Surrender Your Soul” has over 33 million views since it’s release in 2017. The project also received multiple platinum and gold singles which resulted in a world tour. This year he received a 4th JUNO nomination for his sophomore project “LightPath 8”. Killy also released two other videos this year; “Drought” with half a million views and “Salor Moon” with a million views. All three of the videos he’s released this year have very different styles which are a key identifier when it comes to the lasting artists in this industry. So I guess the jury vote is left up to you. Does Killy have what it takes to rise up to the level of “a mainstream artist”? Check out his new video “OH NO” and you let us at Elevator know what you think!
