“Hold up the party/ Bring out the cameras/ This feeling extra,” Rhea Raj warns at the start of her track, “LIGHTS OUT.” Nostalgic Y2K visuals and a healthy dose of modern pop bring those sentiments to life in Raj’s latest visual, premiering today on PAPER, drawing viewers into a vibrant dance party, captured through a vintage, VHS lens.
With choreography by KARA and JAEDEN GOMEZ, and a custom two-piece designed by Yung Reaper, Raj complements her look with a traditional bindi and shoes by AAPI-founded brand, Azalea Wang.
"'LIGHTS OUT' is the house party music video of my dreams," Raj tells PAPER. "The song is about walking into a room and all the noise around you fades out. You’re in the moment living your best life, looking and feeling gorgeous. I cast all my besties to come party with me and we had the best night dancing to the song together."
For Raj, it was also important not just to bring the party, but to highlight her culture, as well. "Yung Reaper took one of my traditional Indian sarees and reimagined it into this fierce fit,” Raj says. “I paired it with bejeweled boots from Azalea Wang, my signature Om necklace and crystal bindi. The whole look was a meaningful blend of my cultural influences and is already one of my favorites.”
This is just another recent evolution for the artist, producer and dancer, who grew up learning Indian dance while looking up to mammoth stars like Britney Spears and Janet Jackson. Raj just dropped her debut album HUNTER back in May (watch "Messy") and, more recently, HUNTER (Tamed Edition) with acoustic renditions of the tracks.
Photography: Marina Oya, David Fernandez
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