NY Rapper Lil Mama’s ‘UHOH’ Video Is A Big Nod To 90’s Dancehall
American rapper Lil Mama is ‘back with the bass’ on her new Dancehall-streaked club anthem, UHOH. The booming, uptempo track is a nod to her Jamaican roots, with patois lyrics, popular dance moves, and elements of 90’s Dancehall.
The track also features Jamaican artist/choreographer Cobourine, whose ad libs infuse the clip with a sound system vibe from start to finish. The striking visuals showcase dance crews, club scenes, and Lil Mama’s trademark brand of high energy choreography.
The visual treatment was handled by Directed by Walu, whose impressive list of credits includes 21 Savage, A$AP Ferg and Ari Lennox. The director has seen major success with his international clients, but also has a remarkable synergy with some of dancehall/reggae’s finest, among them Konshens, Kranium, Skip Marley, Tarrus Riley, and Delly Ranx.
On Instagram, he urged his followers to check out the eye-catching clip with a caption that summed up his creative direction for the project. “The video speaks for itself, we won’t be held back creatively. If a picture is worth a thousand words a film is worth billions,” he wrote.
The Lip Gloss rapper has worked with Walu in the past to bring island flair to her music videos as she did on her 2015 comeback single Sausage. In that clip, Lil Mama was seen dancing with the Jamaican flag in her hand among fire torches and rasta-colored backdrops. For their 2021 tribute to the culture, the pair was even more extravagant, with a flashy bashment concept, stunning fashion, and strobe light soundstages.
Patois bars are everywhere on the three-minute track; from the dancefloor instructions (“..bruck off yuh back and go on yuh head top”) to Lil Mama’s lingo on the catchy chorus (“He like di way I uh oh, uh oh/ And drop it to di flo-or, uh oh”).
A former America’s Best Dance Crew judge, Lil Mama highlighted the world-famous ‘dutty wine’ and ‘willie bounce’ dance moves in the clip, and showed off other street-inspired steps in the song’s dance breakdown. While a few of the outfits and scenes resemble those in Spice’s chart-topper Go Down Deh, Lil Mama added a charged-up delivery to her own hybrid summer anthem.
Meanwhile, her fans are here for the pounding rhythm and island swag. “Damn it’s 2021 and Baby girl committing crimes cause she murdered this” one fan said while another thought a “Remix with Koffee would be dope”.
Others intrigued by the quality of the visuals said, “I love music videos like this and I miss them, they don’t make them like this anymore”, while another user said, “This is the most creative video I’ve seen in years. These new females rappers only selling sex to be accepted. This is so different good video, great song.”
Press play on the visuals above.