WATCH: Jussie Smollett Attacks Oppressive Political Climate in New Music Video

By Sameer Rao Mar 16, 2017

Singer and actor Jussie Smollett ("Empire") appeals for justice and resistance in the new music video for his politically-charged song, "F.U.W."

The black-and-white video, which dropped yesterday (March 15), opens with photos of police in riot gear and an immigrant stopped by border patrol agents. Keeping with the song’s message, the Smollett-directed video later showcases images of resilience and solidarity, including: 

  • A Black child in a hoodie practicing boxing in the mirror
  • A Black woman holding a sign reading "Standing Rock" next to a Native man holding one reading "Flint"
  • A multiracial group of women standing in front of a wall reads, "My Body My Rights"

Various people of color—a hijab-wearing woman, a wheelchair-bound man, Smollett and the people above—stand with fists raised in clips interspersed throughout the video. It ends with them chanting "F.U.W.’s" closing refrain, "resist, resist."

The images underscore Smollett’s lyrics, which tackle a range of issues including police violence, xenophobia, Donald Trump‘s presidency and more racial and social justice issues. The song’s chorus reveals the meaning behind the title’s acronym: "It’s a fucked up world, but here we are and I ain’t going nowhere until we’re finished." 

"This is not a single," Smollett says in a statement emailed to media outlets by social justice organization Sankofa.org. "It’s an artistic expression. My view of this sick cycle, an era in which we must fight our way out of before it’s too late. This view of unity is something they may never understand. That is why it is up to us. Train your daughters and sons to be soldiers of love, despite and in spite of this F#$* Up World."

​Watch and listen to "F.U.W." above and let us know what you think in the comments.