Oscar and Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter DIXSON has unveiled a video for his latest single “Sweeter.”
Directed by Khairi Christopher and DIXSON, the video depicts a heartwarming story of young love. Filmed at DIXSON’s former high school (Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy), the video opens with a limping basketball player escorted through the halls by his coach. A fellow student attempts to help them before they eventually make their way to another part of the building.
The video cuts to the injured basketball player in his bedroom writing and recording songs. On the school’s picture day, he reconnects with the girl who tried to assist him. She happens to be a student photographer snapping everyone’s portrait. He gifts her a CD with the songs he wrote titled 004DAISY. (It’s also the title of DIXSON’S new EP that features “Sweeter,” which he produced with DJ Dahi and Steve Lacy.) You’ll have to watch the rest of the video to see how the story pans out.
In a Twitter Spaces conversation with Rated R&B’s Antwane Folk, DIXSON revealed his inspiration behind the video. “I shot the video at my high school. I had a principal there. Her name was Geraldine Thompson. Her husband is a pastor in Atlanta of a pretty big church. I was always so inspired by their relationship with each other — the honesty and the stories we always heard about them,” said DIXSON.
“My parents are very similar. My mom was in education. My dad was a pastor. My parents divorced right before I started going to the school. To see this couple existing and communicating in a very honest and truthful way was real. As you get older, you get to connect with these people and they begin to tell you stories about how things weren’t always great. And you’d be surprised if you see them together. It’s like, Man, no way. Y’all encountered all of this hardship? I just remember hearing those stories and logging that in my head.”
DIXSON also revealed that he was inspired by his current girlfriend who didn’t get to attend prom because she was pregnant. “I really took that to heart because prom for me was such a big moment and I couldn’t imagine a world where I didn’t get to do that. I have a lot of friends who didn’t go to prom because they were recording, on tour, on Broadway, or something like that. But to hear that you couldn’t go to prom just because you were pregnant, it didn’t sit well with me when she told me that.”
He added, “To be honest, having a child is definitely more important than going to prom if you have to be there for that child. I’m thankful that she felt comfortable enough to share that story with me in detail so that I could synthesize that into a song and into a visual.”
As noted above, “Sweeter” is lifted from DIXSON’S latest project, 004DAISY, which was released last September on Roc Nation Records.
“004DAISY is the beta, my own version of freedom. If you let them, they will box you in. This is me boxing back. Round 1. Punching mediocre square in the jaw. My drive is expanding. From God’s ears to yours,” shared DIXSON.
004DAISY was featured on Rated R&B’s 30 Best R&B Albums of 2022 list. The project includes features from Sevyn Streeter, Tinashe, Vic Mensa, Michael Armstead and Stolen Nova.
DIXSON’s new video is paired with a “Sweeter” four-pack EP, which includes the original, a sped-up version, an acapella and an instrumental.
Watch DIXSON’S “Sweeter” video below.