Chances are that you’ve heard of the breakout Broadway sensation Hamilton, starring Daveed Diggs. Chances are also that you probably didn’t know that Deegs is also the frontman of the Los Angeles experimental hip-hop group clipping.
Known for their politically charged lyrics and raw production, the trio, which also features William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes, have two full length albums under their belts in the form of 2014’s CLPPNG and 2016’s Splendor & Misery. They also released the Wriggle EP this past summer.
Their new video is for the track “Shooter,”, in which clipping. hooks up with director Carlos Lopez Estrada to great effect for the fifth time. Set over a black background, Diggs acts as different kinds of shooters as background dancers act as victims of the gun violence. Knowing clipping.’s previous work and subversive anti-authoritarian ethos, this appears to be a damning indictment of the ease at which someone can decide to take human lives using easily obtained weaponry. Between the visual imagery and the production, it almost seems videogame-like, packing even more punch to the message.
Watch “Shooter” here, and decide for yourself what message is being conveyed.