In January, Brooklyn-based artist Nick Hakim released another bout of his experimental R&B with the gauzy “Bet She Looks Like You,” in which he declares: “If there’s a God, I wonder what she looks like/I bet she looks like you.”
We may have just gotten a glimpse of the she-god Hakim had in mind with his video for the single, directed by the filmmaker Terence Nance (the guy behind the gorgeous 2012 short film An Oversimplification of Her Beauty). Hakim is an artist who avoids the literal— in a recent interview with NPR, he kept the “she” and “you” in the song artfully vague. Nance’s stunning visuals don’t reveal the full story behind the song, but we do see three generations of black women gather around a nativity scene just long enough for a black face to emerge.
“It’s a music video that illustrates the scientific fact that god looks like Naima,” Hakim revealed.
“Bet She Looks Like You” is off of Hakim’s forthcoming album Green Twins, the follow-up to his pair of EPs Where Will We Go, Pt. I & II. The album is out on May 19, and Hakim is celebrating with a release party in his hometown of Washington, D.C. on May 20. He’s currently on tour and stopped by SXSW earlier this month to perform a stripped-down version of his song “The Want” during NPR Music’s South X Lullaby series. See below for some upcoming shows:
Mar 29 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
Mar 30 The Back Room – Milwaukee, WI
Mar 31 Hi-Fi – Indianapolis, IN
Apr 01 Club Café – Pittsburgh, PA
Apr 19 The Dome – London, UK (Sold Out)
Apr 20 Le Pop Up du Label – Paris, FR
Apr 21 Brussels, BE – Chez PIAS
Apr 22 Studio 672 – Cologne, DE
Apr 23 Bitterzoet – Amsterdam, NL
Apr 25 Berghain Kantine – Berlin, DE
May 11 The Drake Hotel – Toronto, ON
May 12 Bar Le Ritz PBD – Montréal, QC
May 13 Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA
May 14 Iron Horse Music Hall – Northampton, MA
May 17 Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
May 20 Rock & Roll Hotel – Washington, DC