Loving the People was directed by American filmmaker Phillip Youmans. Kiwanuka premiered the video to his official YouTube channel last night (December 14th), which has obtained over 9000 views already. 

The videos’ introduction sees an upshot of a palm tree dotted boulevard, and samples a speech from John Lewis, the late US Congressman and civil rights activist. Lewis’ iconic human rights speech continues, saying: “A moving feeling within me/That I was sitting there demanding a God-given right/And my soul became satisfied that I was right in what I was doing/At the same time there was something deep down within me, moving me.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @michaelkiwanuka

Isolated piano notes mark the start of Loving the People, whilst the shot transitions to four young individuals in their home. As the music video progresses, we see the young people frolicking in the sun, body painting, skateboarding and dancing. All the while, Kiwanuka’s beautiful instrumental envelopes the psychedelic film. 

Director Youmans said in a statement: “Listening to ‘Interlude (Loving the People) feels like sunshine on my skin.” Speaking out on the video, Youmans said: “This film is an escapist trip where young black people revel in the psychedelic experience. For me ‘Loving the People’ is about the adrenaline of unconfined love and joy, a celebration of black youth and imagination.”

Youmans’ psychedelic vision certainly appears within the Loving the People video. It is a celebration of youth, art and unadulterated joy, a visual masterpiece to calm the anxieties that 2020 has brought the music industry and the world as a whole. The short film can be watched in full below.

Michael Kiwanuka announced the arrival of the Loving the People music video via social media. Sharing a clip to Instagram, Kiwanuka wrote in the post: “Interlude (Loving The People) a film by Phillip Youmans. Featuring words by John Lewis. Link in the bio.” The post, which received over 10,000 likes and views, was met with a warm reception by fans. 

Kiwanuka is a monumental record. As well as its commercial success amongst fans and critics, the self-titled record took home the Mercury Prize Album of the Year award last month. Kiwanuka beat out the likes of Dua Lipa, Stormzy and Charli XCX for the coveted prize. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @michaelkiwanuka

In a statement following his big win, Kiwanuka said: “It has definitely encouraged me to keep dreaming big. I hope it inspires people who maybe have a similar story to mine or people who, in other ways, maybe feel like they’re going into something that is maybe outside of their comfort zone or not usually the path they would be expected to take.” 

 Kiwunaka went on to leave a motivational statement to his fans: “I’d hope it inspires them just to keep going and to keep being true to themselves, to keep going but not to compromise. That’s something I really believe in and I hope that is something that can garner from my music and especially the songs on this album.”

Kiwanuka is out everywhere now.

The show took place tonight (September 24th), with expansive coverage of the virtual ceremony delivered via BBC 4. Sports Team and Charli XCX, nominees for the prestigious Album Of The Year award, both delivered vibrant, compelling performances.

View this post on Instagram

Solid Ground live at the @vamuseum London. Featuring album artwork portrait by @markeidric. Directed by @rajavirdi. Link in the bio. Musicians: @simonedaleyrichards @elovetales @elodiechousm @cliftondotcom @kwedman_cello @4blax4 @kadzmusic

A post shared by @ michaelkiwanuka on Sep 22, 2020 at 6:20am PDT

The winner of the 2020 Mercury Prize is multi-instrumentalist Michael Kiwanuka for his soulful, sultry album of the same name. To kick-start the new series of his long-standing show, Jools Holland also hosted an intimate conversation with the prize winner Kiwanuka on a special edition of Later…With Jools Holland. 

Other artists nominated for Album of The Year were likes of singer-songwriter Georgia, rock band Lanterns on the Lake, and composers Anna Meredith and Moses Boyd. The complete list of nominated acts for the Mercury Prize can be found here. 

Sports Team’s offering for the virtual ceremony was a vigorous, high-energy rendition of Here’s The Thing. The catchy, satirical track Here’s The Thing comes from Deep Down Happy, Sports Team’s long-awaited, debut album that astounded fans and critics alike following its arrival in April of this year. 

Meanwhile, Charli XCX delivered a stunning performance of her moving track, Visions, live from her home in Los Angeles.

Sports Team took to social media today to share their blinding performance of Here’s The Thing. Posting a clip of frontman Alex Rice singing his heart out to Instagram, Sports Team playfully wrote that there is a “6/1 chance of Alex disgracing himself on the One show tonight.” Receiving over 7,000 likes, the post was a big hit amongst Sports Team fans. 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

6/1 chance of Alex disgracing himself on the One show tonight. Full @mercuryprize performance on YouTube now A post shared by Sports Team (@sportsteam) on Sep 24, 2020 at 4:27am PDT

Charli XCX also took to Instagram to spread the news of her exciting performance. Fans were clearly ecstatic at this news, awarding the post a whopping 89,000 likes.

In celebration of Michael Kiwanuka’s phenomenal win, radio DJ Tom Ravenscroft played KIWANUKA in full on BBC Radio 6 Music from 8pm on September 24th. 

Michael Kiwanuka has also confirmed that he will hit the road in 2021, embarking on an extensive UK and European tour. Tickets for the tour can be found here, and dates for the UK iteration of the tour can be found below:

26/03/2021 – O2 Academy – Glasgow
27/03 – Bonus Arena – Hull
29/03 – O2 Apollo – Manchester
30/03 – Empress Ballroom – Blackpool
01/04 – Demontford Hall – Leicester
02/04 – Pavilions – Plymouth
03/04 – Brighton Centre – Brighton
05/04 – O2 Academy – Leeds
06/04 – O2 Academy Brixton – London
09/08 – Summer Sessions – Edinburgh
15/09 – O2 Academy – Newcastle
16/09 – Corn Exchange – Cambridge
17/09 – Alexandra Palace – London