Nigerian multi-hyphenate Cruel Santino (fka Santi) has released the official music video for “Beautiful Nothing” featuring collaborator Gus Dapperton.
The video is the first visual off his conceptual sophomore album, Subaru Boys : FINAL HEAVEN (out on Monster Boy/Interscope Records). Co-directed by Cruel Santino, the video is an insight into the underwater world that the artist has been creating around the project.
Speaking on the collaboration and music video, Santino explained, “Working with Gus felt like a God send, very meant to be. We followed each other on socials and messaged back and forth about being fans of each other’s music. So, I knew I had to get him on the project, and we came up with ‘Beautiful Nothing’ and ‘Wicked City.’”
A 21-track conceptual album (co-produced by Cruel Santino), Cruel Santino’s Subaru Boys is broken up into multiple arcs, each with its own theme and navigator, guiding the listener through a sonic tale of war and glory. Joining Cruel Santino on this epic adventure are the project’s special guests including Skepta, Amaarae, Koffee, Gus Dapperton, and a slew of new music stars from Santino’s “Monster Boy” world.
Written across continents, the first half of the project squarely taps into the Alté and Afrobeat lane (with songs like “Matilda” and “Swagger Back”), Cruel also lends himself to sample from recent Grime resurgence on “The Pearls.” While the latter half is influenced by more modern genres heard on “Fallin” (which leans R&B) and “Beautiful Nothing” (draws from bedroom pop sounds).
Gliding through genres and musical inspirations, Cruel taps into many references to create a body of work that is both cohesive and aims to please many listeners. Subaru Boys : FINAL HEAVEN was released on Monster Boy — a joint venture deal that Cruel Santino announced with Interscope Records in 2020. He is the first Nigerian artist ever to strike a JV deal with a major record label.
