Mykki Blanco has been in and out of headlines for a while now, but she’s been making ferocious, important music for at least the past 5 years. Today, she released the Woodkid-featuring “High School Neve Ends,” along with a video that details a prolonged love story that ends in very bloody, violent circumstances.
The track was produced by Woodkid, and the French musician also sings the hook. The video was directed by Matt Lambert and filmed by Martin Ruhe, who served as the cinematographer on the Ian Curtis biopic, Control, and it works especially well when contrasted with the beautifully produced track. “High School Never Ends” is apparently taken from a yet-to-be-released collection from Blanco, though nothing has been announced. Her last album was 2014’s Gay Dog Food.
Blanco also released a statement about the video’s inspiration, which can be summed up by the fact that she had believed for a time that Europeans were more tolerant than Americans, but has since been proven wrong.
“I have been living in Europe off and on since 2012 when my career began because audiences seem to accept and acknowledge my creative work there on a larger scale. I’m saying this because I’ve seen Europe change, I have seen the surface of acceptance and the novelty of my brown skin become a frown in a public square, a belligerent rant in grocery store with a cashier telling me to ‘Go Back to My Own Country’… This story is about outsiders, forbidden love… when the Far Left & the Far Right are willing to go to any extreme to prevail in their truth.”
Watch the video below, and be warned: it’s pretty violent.