Winona Ryder has not only graced our screens this new year with her performance in the long-awaited Stranger Things finale, but she has also made an unlikely cameo in the new music video by notoriously talented rap god, A$AP Rocky.

The beloved musician released a single preceding his upcoming record, ‘Don’t Be Dumb’ set to release January 16. The music video is that of his single ‘Punk Rocky’ released on January 5. Not one to produce low effort music videos, A$AP Rocky, full name Rakim Athelston Mayers, always exceeds expectations with his extravagant music videos. Alongside Ryder there are also appearances from the likes of Danny Elfman, Thundercat and ASAP Nast.

The song features otherworldly vocals paired with dream like music video visuals; the whole thing is a total acid trip in the best way possible. In one scene in particular Mayers’ bruised eye begins mouthing lyrics to the camera, totally eerie yet brilliant visual effects. Now more than ever considering the detrimental rise of AI usage to creat art, we require creativity and visual effects to be used in music videos. The livelihood of countless individuals is rooted in music video related jobs, whether that be planning the visuals or having a hand in set design, it is so important artists not only continue to make videos, but we continue to support them.

Winona Ryder makes her appearance as Mayers’ next-door neighbour in a garage-band esque set up. She initially appears lounging on her front porch in comfy attire before offering our leading man some home cooked goods. Ryder then goes on to join in an exciting party among friends before being busted by who we can only presume is her partner. Despite her screen time being short lived, Ryder will forever steal any role she is in, hopefully this urges her to take part in countless more music videos!

The track itself features a punk-rock inspired sound, leaving fans questioning the artistic direction and flow of this highly anticipated new record. Produced and written by Mayers himself alongside Cristoforo Donadi, Zach Forgarty and Ging. The artist alluded to the music video release by posting a 14-second teaser trailer on his social media pages, this featured a small snippet of the song, further building excitement.

The album is set to feature an all-star line up of producers, including Pharell Williams, Mike dean, Metro Boomin, The Alchemsit and many more.

The album art is undoubtedly extraordinary, and this is due to the fact it was created by none other than director Tim Burton. The cover features six of Mayers’ alter egos from the record, something we cannot wait to see delved into more. Burton’s eye for artistry has always been evident, notably when he picked Ryder as his leading lady in his hit film, Beetlejuice. It is incredible the pair have somewhat collaborated once again on an unlikely project.

‘Don’t Be Dumb’ is set to be Mayers’ fourth studio album, and we are coming up to almost eight years since his last studio release, ‘Testing’ which came out in 2018 so it is safe to say that fans are ecstatic for new music.