$NOT is back today with the music video for “Life” from his recent album Beautiful Havoc, available everywhere via 300 Ent. The first time I listened to Beautiful Havoc, “Life” stopped me. $NOT is known to have his emo moments, but there was something so honest and vulnerable about this song that I was just entrenched in it. This is the line that immediately pulled me in: “In a world full of hate mixed with all of loneliness / So point that gun to my head and watch my soul leave my skin / And people askin’ me if I’m ok, doing fine (I’m okay) / I’m okay with dyin’ in the field, that a peaceful place.” It’s raw, it’s honest and it’s something that so many people are struggling with, and I feel that $NOT being so open about his depression and experience with suicidal thoughts allows so many to feel less alone.

Using a door as a rolling motif of reaching the other side, director Omar Jones did a fantastic job at building this story visually. The video alternates images of the 22-year-old artist brooding in his bedroom on a rainy night with shots of him taking in the natural landscape as he prepares to face his ultimate demon – himself. It’s a really powerful video.