Haleek Maul - 88

Haleek Maul’s most recent music video for single 88 matches the sense of menace in his lyrics so appropriately that the settings used – a compilation of graveyards and seemingly dilapidated buildings adorned with candles – seem to avoid cliché entirely.

The film captured for 88 augments the song to its fullest capability; lyrics such as “What’s inside the demon that wears me” and recurring phrases like “This is my night” take on new meaning when accompanied by numerous shots of Haleek intermittently looking enraged, antagonised and possessed in a series of harrowing locations.

The 16 year-old’s dedication to atmospherics, both visually and in the music itself, signposts him as an extremely relevant up-and-comer in hip-hop, especially when you consider the fact that a new generation of rap artists seem to be embracing more inventive ways of approaching their music videos(The Underachievers being just one example). Maul’s fixation with a horrorcore-driven rap aesthetic becomes more apparent than ever in the video for 88, which you can watch above.