Video

Langa Mavuso teams up with Aimee George for a moving and emotive video for “Pretend”

There are a few ways in which “Pretend” can be interpreted depending on your chain of thought in the moment. But at the track’s core Langa Mavuso – alongside the dulcet tones of Aimee George – speaks to the grating experience of coming into your own, and the friendships that are left behind in the process. 

At perhaps his most vulnerable yet, the burgeoning R&B star waxes lyrical on the loss and occasional pretence that comes along with becoming your authentic self, through the lens of a crooning, lilting ballad. While it’s a little hazy at the edges, for want of a little more melodic originality, the accompanying video provides such a punch of authenticity it drives out every qualm.

Directed by Kalai Barlow at the helm of Obscura Films, the visual is an ever-moving juxtaposition of Mavuso and George as they spin the nuances of the song, alongside interpretive dancers Chad Baai and Prince Igbokwe. And it’s the latter duo who bring such harrowing sentiment to every frame it left me all but dumbstruck.

Cutting through the edges unexpectedly with knife-sharp emotion, “Pretend” comes along with a striking visual which elevates the track so far beyond the poignant, yet quintessential, ballad that it is.