In a world where everyone is either fighting over Kim Kardashian’s braids or stanning over Kanye’s Yeezy Season 6 rather genius campaign that features Paris Hilton and various other Instagram clones of a similar complexion recreating shots of Kim being “papped” (with a slice of McDonalds promo – the world doesn’t even recognise this as product placement – or maybe they just don’t care).
I wanted to instead focus this week on a video that serves not only as an LGBT+ political statement in Brazil but of an artist that I have truly grown to love in his own right on a level that I have traditionally reserved for the Kanyes, Lanas and Gagas of this world.
Here’s the video for Pabllo Vittar and Lucas Lucco’s Paraíso. A track that might be pretty uncomplexed lyrically, but a visual and cultural statement that goes far beyond the futuristic beach concept video that it is.
The video itself opens with a hyper reality tower block with the graffiti on it that spells out Homophobia Kills in Portuguese, followed by a super intimate and completely hypnotising trip into a literal paradise. The intimacy between the two is unfettered and frankly never before seen on such a mainstream level – considering Lucas Lucco is a the hottest straight idol in Brazil and Pabllo identifies as a drag queen. It all just makes me grateful for unrelenting progression in the face of such mounting adversity and uncertainty in this political climate for the community. Congrats and thank you Pabllo and Lucas.