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In 2015, Tidal released Usher’s anti-police brutality song “Chains,” featuring Nas. Now, at the start of Black History Month, the emotionally stirring tune has brand new visuals.
Although Nas is absent from the new video, Usher can be seen expressing hopelessness as he walks though the streets in a hoodie and eventually finds himself bleeding in the back of a police car. The video becomes especially grim and moving when Usher visits a church and realizes that he’s at his own funeral and that the attendees are completely numb.
“Moment of silence/American school and we in church too (Don’t shoot)/Shooting, shooting, shooting, we the prey,” Usher and singer/songwriter Bibi Bourelly sing.
Nas mentions a few victims of police brutality in his verse, including Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Sean Bell, and Tamir Rice.
Last year, Usher explained what inspired him to write “Chains” and why the song is so important in today’s world.
“In writing this song, I was motivated by the events involving prejudicial injustices that are still happening today,” Usher said in a statement. “The reality is that racial bigotry diminishes the lives of too many people in our country. We have to come together as a country to solve these problems and this is one way I can contribute.”
