August Alsina - Song Cry (Explicit)

What this video is

Released December 11, 2015 alongside August Alsina's sophomore album This Thing Called Life on Def Jam Recordings, 'Song Cry' occupies a precise moment in mid-2010s R&B when male emotional vulnerability was entering the genre's visual mainstream. The title consciously references Jay-Z's 2001 single of the same name, extending a lineage of hip-hop soul emotional expression. The video's abstract desert-and-symbol…

Why it matters

A key artifact of mid-2010s confessional R&B, 'Song Cry' demonstrates the genre's growing investment in cinematic, symbol-laden music video language as an extension of lyrical vulnerability. It bridges the emotional directness of New Orleans soul tradition with the visual ambition of the…

The director

Payne Lindsey (b. November 21, 1987, Kennesaw, Georgia) is an American director, documentary filmmaker, and podcast host. He began his career directing commercials, music videos, and short films in Atlanta before pivoting to investigative audio storytelling.…