(Photo By Dreem Katcher Music)
International Maverick (IMAV) is on his tenth visual release from his latest project, Dreem Katcher. The Chicago talent decided to bring a single called “Life” to the small screen this time around. The song was once again produced by Maverick himself. The track is set to a middling paced beat with finespun components like a piano, kick drum, & sharp snare, and a lax vibe. The hook is comprised of a sample from the legendary Diana Ross. It’s a nice emotional touch to the selection. The verses are informative. Maverick dons a down to earth flow, frank wordplay, and true life rhymes as he paints a picture of the reality of an indie artist in terms of balancing chasing their dreams with the demands of the real world. Needless to say it’s not always a pretty situation. Overall, this single is golden.
Work Nowitzki stepped back behind the camera for the video and also took care of the editing as well. The visuals open with candid shots of Maverick creating the beat. He tosses on the Diana Ross vinyl record and then gets busy on the keys. From there, Maverick is shown chilling in a stairwell that is dominated by graffiti and various markings. Yet another look shows him performing on the beach surrounded by a breath taking body of water. A third set up shows him outside of an ornate expansive building. And then a fourth location finds him wandering throughout a run down dilapidated structure. The duration of the vision fluctuates between these different shots. The striking contrast in settings has a symbolic air to it. The nicer areas speak to the dream side of things. The shabbier ones speak to the harsh reality side. To accompany the symbolism, there are some novel effects in play. The effects include color changes, on screen lyrics, split screen tricks, etc. The piece ends with a fitting quote from the late great Jean-Michel Basquiat. All in all, this was an exceptional work.
**My Two Cents: This was my favorite submission from International Maverick thus far. The song was commendably packaged and I loved the theme of the content. I’m not an artist but I’m definitely someone chasing their dream while at the same time still having to deal with real life. So I can relate to the struggle. The video was awesome too. I think the environments were smartly chosen. My favorite part was seeing Maverick in his studio. He looked truly at ease and it’s always cool to see an artist in their niche. If readers have never checked out an IMAV post before, they need to peep this one for sure. -MinM
