The video, largely shot in black and white, captures a meeting between two women on the set of a photoshoot. The handful of sequences in color are fantasy scenarios spurred by a moment of eye contact between the two. The pair embrace by the water with the New York City skyline in the background, elegantly pose for photographs, and gaze into each other’s eyes while lying next to each other. Both the song and the video feel lush and ethereal, and any queer person who’s imagined their entire life unfolding with someone on a first date will be able to instantly recognize the yearning that Aftab and Thompson capture so well.
Such a synergetic artistic collaboration makes complete sense when you consider how well the two know each other. Thompson told Rolling Stone that she isn’t even “sure how [Aftab] first came into my ears, but her music was instantly familiar and essential. Maybe I actually met her in a past life.”
“She is a singular artist and human,” Thompson added. “She inspires me in the way anyone does when they are entirely authentic and unafraid of their own personhood.”
Though “Raat Ki Rani” marks Thompson’s directorial debut, it’s far from her first gay music video. Who could forget her collaborations with Janelle Monáe, appearing in the videos for “PYNK” and “Make Me Feel”?
As for Aftab, this marks her first solo release since her 2021 album Vulture Prince, which made her the first Pakistani woman to ever win a Grammy. In addition to a new album, she’ll be embarking on a tour of Europe and the U.S. later this year, starting with a performance at the Live Is Live festival in Belgium and concluding in Los Angeles next January.
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