Richardine Bartee
As seen on Popdust: GRUNGECAKE will share unique and up-to-the-minute content with its sister site, Popdust, through its journalist and editor Richardine's written reviews and other forms of coverage. Learn more about the New York City-based Recording Academy/GRAMMYs member now through her biography on GRUNGECAKE.
Personally, I think using their platform to showcase Black love—from childhood until old age—was a heartfelt decision for the Long Beach California duo—This Wild Life—to make. Watch the video below.
In the beginning, there’s a young couple on bicycles. The boy in a suit and glasses takes a puff of his inhaler as he lays eyes on the girl across from him. In the next scene, he receives a handwritten letter from the girl. It asks if he likes her or not. She’s intended to check one of two boxes. As the boy holds the paper up to his face, Kevin Jordan and Anthony Del Grosso perform lyrics from ‘Catie Rae’ that reveal a sweet message: One partner didn’t have the direction they needed until they met. Assuming that the boy checked ‘yes’, he huffs his inhaler again as they walk off.
Next, we get to meet the young adult versions of the couple. From kissing to holding hands and the young man fixing the antennas on the television, we get to see glimpses of what Black love is. It is normal, just as any other couple’s relationship. One partner tries to feed the other. They don’t want it. One partner proposes to the other. They wed. They fight. Then, they make up. They eat together. They question if the other is still in love with them. They split. And sometimes, they come back together.
Upon watching it for the first time, I became emotional. For most of my life, I hadn’t seen many examples of Black love on the big screen—in this way. As a journalist, once, I wrote a piece about it for Real Black Love, but they’ve removed it since. Here’s a snippet of what it said.
Finally, This Wild Life will be part of the last Vans Warped Tour. Visit their official website to view their upcoming tour dates. Then, be on the lookout for their forthcoming album—Petaluma—out June 22.
As seen on Popdust: GRUNGECAKE will share unique and up-to-the-minute content with its sister site, Popdust, through its journalist and editor Richardine's written reviews and other forms of coverage. Learn more about the New York City-based Recording Academy/GRAMMYs member now through her biography on GRUNGECAKE.
