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JMSN Explores Desert, Dualities in Sax-Assisted ‘Love & Pain’ Video

JMSN 'Love & Pain' Video Priscilla Album

Detroit-via-Los Angeles singer-producer JMSN (like the whiskey) has some odd yet impressive bona fides in his back pocket. Of late, he’s been operating in the TDE family, having contributed to four of the songs on Kendrick Lamar’s Essential album good kid, m.A.A.d. city, and banked a forthcoming EP with Black Hippy member Ab-Soul. But before all of that, the young man born Christian Berishaj was signed to Universal Motown and even did a tour with the Backstreet Boys. Having been liberated of his label when that imprint folded, JMSN retreated into a bottle (like, the whiskey) and recorded his dark R&B epic Priscilla.

That self-released album is getting a reissue in October, and in honor of the occasion, we’ve got the Stephen Mallet-directed video for “Love & Pain.” The aching track opens with a warm blast of saxophone and transitions into a heavily textured mix of woozy R&B and exotic instrumentation. Comparisons to the Weeknd (et al.) are unavoidable, but Berishaj’s incredibly clean vocals don’t sulk so much as soar, even when confronting the sort of dualities spelled out in the song’s title. The clip features oversaturated shots of a desert landscape where strict tradition butts up against rugged freedom.

Bonus: Take a spin through this “Love & Pain” remix by Aussie producer Ta-ku.