When YouTube introduced the live chat setting, music enthusiasts received another outlet to interact in real time with some of their favorite musicians.
And fans of Jacob Latimore, an American singer, rapper and actor, did just that on March 4. As a countdown to the debut of his newest single’s music video flashed on the screen, viewers around the world flooded the comments of Latimore’s channel; then around 8 p.m., the artist released his newest music video, “Come Over Here.” His fans greeted the music video with excitement, as it has all the hallmarks of a Latimore classic.
So, in honor of the video’s release, here’s a breakdown of what makes the nearly four-minute short so perfect.
A Love Story
Latimore, a cast member of “The Chi,” a coming-of-age drama on Showtime, seems to have taken inspiration from the TV show for his music video. The video begins with an endearing introduction that shows a young girl sitting by her lonesome near a beach. All of a sudden, a young boy greets her with a smile and offers her a popsicle, which quickly turns her frown upside down. The two children hold hands, run through forests of palm trees and play hide and seek, forming a bond of friendship and love.
As the video flashes to scenes of Latimore as an adult with a girl, the audience is led to believe that the introduction scene is a flashback to Latimore’s childhood. As the young boy pushes the girl’s hair behind her ear and ties a bracelet around her wrist, audiences are overcome with romance and emotion. Latimore’s lyrics and attitude in the video prove that this will be a good love story.
A Plea of Romance
“Come Over Here” and its lyrics mimic Latimore’s plea of romance toward his childhood crush. Even the title of the song itself suggests that he desires her presence so that the two can be together. The first lyric rings out like a chant or voicemail: “Please, if you can, drop all your plans and come over here.”
Latimore’s plea intensifies in the following lyrics, which offer another look inside the musical conversation. The line, “Don’t stop for nobody now, don’t stop for nobody. You got that something I can’t get from nobody,” introduces a sense of urgency that appears abrupt when compared to the previous lines. When he says, “Don’t stop for nobody,” Latimore signals with his hands the turning of a steering wheel, as if he wants his girl to get in her car and cruise over to see him.
At the same time, viewers notice the aftermath of an accident occurring behind the singer, as fire flares into the air, engulfing a car near a motorcycle laying on its side. Viewers notice that Latimore and his buddies are traveling late at night on their motorcycles. He rings out, “I won’t walk a thousand miles, I’m running” to further demonstrate his sense of urgency to get to his girlfriend. Latimore is going so fast that you almost want to scream “Slow down!” through your computer screen. The scene that’s revealed next will make your heart race.
A Plea for Safety
Latimore’s next line seems like an echo of his girlfriend’s plea for his safety. “Tell me where you at I know you like the speed but, baby, don’t crash,” he sings. Latimore’s girlfriend knows that when he gets on his motorcycle, he enjoys the thrill so much that he occasionally goes over the speed limit. Audiences can connect with her at this point in the song, as there is always a fear for the safety of your loved ones.
Fatal Heartbreak
As Latimore and his buddies flood the highway doing wheelies on their motorcycles, there is a sense of danger. Suddenly, the music stops and sirens sound. Listeners witness the abrupt sound of a crash while a motorcycle sits on its side, without Latimore. As the paramedics come to the seen, the “Chi” stars lays lifeless and bloody.
To add another layer of emotion to the scene, Latimore’s girlfriend is one of the first responders. As she approaches her boyfriend’s body, she burst out in desperate tears. The medical team tries to save him by applying chest compressions and pumping oxygen into his mouth, but their efforts fail to revive him. At the end of the scene, the singer lays on the gravel with no pulse, loosely grasping his girlfriend’s hand with the bracelet that he gave her as kids, in the introduction of the video.
At the end of the video, Latimore is dressed in all black as a symbol of mourning his life and love story. After he is pronounced dead, flashbacks to Latimore and his girlfriend remind the viewer of the good times they had together, bringing a sense of joy and nostalgia to the video. His (fictional) death at a young age might even inspire his girlfriend to save as many lives as she can as a medical responder.
What’s Next for Jacob Latimore’s Music Career?
Don’t worry, the music video is only fictional. Latimore is alive and ready to produce more songs and music videos. On March 14, Latimore posted on his YouTube page a snippet of a New York meeting to discuss his album, “Connection 2,” which serves as a follow-up to his 2016 album, “Connection.”
Time will only tick away until Latimore releases his next album, but it will be worth the wait.
