Emerging R&B singer Chxrry22 has released a visual for her current focus track “Wasteland.” She co-directed it with Nsty.
In the vintage-style video, Chxrry22 and her crew of women travel around Toronto, Canada, relieving the city of trashy guys that they call ‘wastemen.’
“This was shot in my hometown, Toronto, and is easily my current favorite song off my project,” Chxrry22 told Paper Magazine. “I wanted to pay homage to all the beautiful women from my city and the ‘wastemen’ they’ve had to deal with. Most women have had a shared experience of being overlooked and it felt right to make a song that they can feel empowered by.”
“Wasteland” appears on Chxrry22’s debut EP, The Other Side, which was released in September via The Weeknd’s XO/Republic Records.
“Wasteland” tells the story of a woman being mistreated by a guy until he figures out what she does for a living. Chxrry22 told Rated R&B about the inspiration behind the song in a recent interview.
“If you come to Toronto, there’s very much a clear divide in a sense with women and men. Honestly, I think in the world — in every industry and every city — women aren’t looked at as equal or viewed as important. There’s been times where I’ve been around men, and they’ll say hi to everyone except me,” said Chxrry22.
She added, “But later, they’ll find out, ‘Oh, she works with Abel,’ or “Oh, she’s a singer.” And it’s like, “All of a sudden I’m worthy of your introduction?” I needed to make a song about that. Every girl has been in this position where you’re with your boyfriend, he sees his friends, and they say hi to him but don’t acknowledge you.”
Speaking on The Other Side, Chxrry22 told Rated R&B, “My approach to writing this project was, ‘Just be as honest as you can be and talk about everything — the good and the bad. Don’t make yourself the victim. There’s a lot of people that walk around feeling like the villain all the time. And it’s okay. Not everybody is the victim.”
Earlier this month, Chxrry22 released her rendition of The Weeknd’s hit single “Sacrifice.” She accompanied her angelic cover with a performance video that she filmed at Zig-Zag Studios.
Watch Chxrry22’s “Wasteland” video below.
