Kelela - Happy Ending

What this video is

Released October 19, 2022 via Warp Records as the second single from Kelela's sophomore album Raven, 'Happy Ending' arrived during a pivotal post-pandemic moment for underground dance culture. The video explicitly documents and celebrates Black rave culture in New York City — a community historically under-represented in mainstream music video production. Produced by LSDXOXO with additional production from Bambii,…

Why it matters

A landmark document of the 2020s Afro-electronic club music wave, 'Happy Ending' positions Kelela within a lineage connecting 1990s UK garage, Baltimore club, and New York's Black queer underground. The breakbeat-driven production and vérité dancefloor visuals constitute a rare archival record of…

The director

Alima Lee is a filmmaker, designer, artist, curator, and DJ based in Los Angeles, originally from New York. Her practice spans filmmaking and visual art, with a focus on themes of identity and intersectionality. She is Co-Founder and Art Director of Akashik…