FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

Venezuelan-American Rapper Jack Russell's "Chamito Maraña" Is Pure Fire

"I want to separate the sound from my image," he tells us of his new, pixelated video.
Meredith Balkus
translated by Meredith Balkus
Brooklyn, US
Image via screenshot

This article originally appeared on Noisey en Español. Leer en Español.

People are endlessly interested in knowing the person behind the song, almost as much as they're concerned about whether or not the quality of the work is important. Not Jack Russell. In the video for his new single, "Chamito Maraña," he he blurs out his own face with small pixels while singing, drinking an orange soda, or dancing with kids from Southern Alabama who have more flow than all the white people on planet Earth combined. "I want to separate the sound from my image, since in my opinion [one] shouldn't have anything to do with [the other]. The music has become very visual and that doesn't make sense," Russell told Noisey en Español over WhatsApp.

In the video, the rapper walks through the most touristic part of New Orleans, and through the Magnolia Projects, better known as the birthplace of Cash Money Records. "I lived in Alabama for 11 years, and the closest big city was New Orleans, which is an hour away by car," he wrote. "I spent all those years there. Sur is linked to my Venezuelan origins and to the southern culture of the United States, which is where I grew up," he concluded with a fire emoji.

The track makes you want to move your head, raise your hands in the air and arch your back in a strange way. If you don't know how to dance, don't worry—just look in the mirror and practice with the video for "Chamito Maraña" below. It's the fifth single from Sur, Russell's debut album that drops this summer.

Follow Diego on Instagram.