Maryland rapper IDK returns with the poignant and timely new single “Mr. Police.” Bold and insightful, the thought-provoking track is a lead up to the breakout artist’s forthcoming F65 album, arriving May 5. The powerful music video, which shows the jeopardy of driving while black, will be featured on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber with an in-depth interview on Thursday, April 27. Watch the video above.
“Mr. Police, how are you? You say I sped right past you,” the 30-year-old croons over a jazzy piano melody, adding later, “Hope I don’t go to jail.” The lighthearted musicality paired with grim lyrics, hinting at fear and uncertainty, make for a powerful combination. That tone bleeds into the video, which features reenactments of chillingly familiar interactions between police and people of color.
The video ends with a statement from IDK, which reads: “We want to create awareness in order to prompt dialogue and potentially change the narrative around law enforcement misconduct. Not all police officers are bad. This is to shine a light on the ones that are.”
“Mr. Police” is yet another formative stepping stone for the hip-hop pioneer. IDK owned the Mojave stage at Coachella last weekend. Inspired by F1 racing, his epic road to Coachella featured an envoy of Maybach’s accompanying his custom Lanvin Mercedes Benz AMG race car, matching race suit and helmet, and his limited-edition Nike Air Max Pro 97 collab sneaker. The budding mogul also revealed his custom Mercedes Benz race car in Grand Theft Auto before unveiling the real car at Mercedes Benz in Beverly Hills with a pop-up performance for his fans. Racing is also the theme of his highly anticipated album, F65. While Formula 1 was a key inspiration, IDK’s main focus is the human race.
The rapper builds on a blockbuster 2022, which included a series of singles that capture his range, spanning the jazzy, avant-garde, and silky smooth: “Coal,” “Monsieur Dior,” “Free Slime,” and “Drive.” IDK also hit the road alongside Pusha-T for his It’s Almost Dry tour, where he performed songs from Simple., his eight-track collaborative project with Grammy Award-winning DJ/producer Kaytranada.
IDK’s remarkable 2022 came after a massive 2021 — a year in which he released his sophomore LP, USEE4YOURSELF, launched his Apple Music 1 radio show, Radio Clue, and led a 10-day music business program at Harvard University in collaboration with No Label and partners NIKE, Logitech, GUESS, Brand Jordan, and Converse
Director: Anthony Sylvester
Producer: Nick Baudille
Production Company: X1 Productions
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Twitter – https://twitter.com/idk
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About IDK:
Short for Ignorantly Delivering Knowledge, IDK is as much a moniker as it is a mission. The Prince George’s County, Maryland, artist has long dedicated his life and art to presenting big ideas in accessible ways. Using witty lyricism, percussive flows, and a chameleonic musicality, IDK turns life lessons and philosophical musings into utter bangers. In the process, he’s become one of rap’s most inventive practitioners. His new album, USEE4YOURSELF, is his richest work yet, a sprawling meditation on love, materialism, masculinity, and the effects of a troubled upbringing. Loaded with unpredictable features and recollections from childhood, it’s a character study framed in fierce beats and blockbuster productions. It’s also a culmination for the man born Jason Mills, who began his musical journey behind bars about a decade ago. Through albums like Subtrap (2015), IWASVERYBAD (2017), and Is He Real? (2019) IDK built a proper body of work. And he using that foundation as a jump-off point for not just music, but action that enriches the world: his inquisitive Radio Clue Apple Music radio show; No Label Academy, his music biz course in collaboration with Nike and Harvard University; and his Clue Records, which in 2020 released IDK & FRIENDS 2, a soundtrack for Kevin Durant’s Basketball County: In the Water documentary full of DMV-area artists. As IDK puts it, with that trademark mix of flex and humor: “I’m in competition with myself and only me. And I’m whooping my ass every time.” using that foundation as a jump-off point for not just music, but action that enriches the world: his inquisitive Radio Clue Apple Music radio show; No Label Academy, his music biz course in collaboration with Nike and Harvard University; and his Clue Records, which in 2020 released IDK & FRIENDS 2, a soundtrack for Kevin Durant’s Basketball County: In the Water documentary full of DMV-area artists. In 2021 he dropped confessional and guest-laden album USEE4YOURSELF, which featured Young Thug, Offset, Swae Lee, the late great DMX, and more. The critcically acclaimed offering received praise from NPR, Billboard, Office, i-D, NME to name a few. His most recent project was 2022’s Simple. with Kaytranada, which featured both artists in peak form, pushing each other to new limits. As IDK puts it, with that trademark mix of flex and humor: “I’m in competition with myself and only me. And I’m whooping my ass every time.”
