Joji drops new single 'Gimme Love', fans call him an inspiration for moving up from his 'Filthy Frank' days
Joji has dropped the music video for his song 'Gimme Love' over a month after fans began speculating that this was his upcoming single and now that it's finally out, they have nothing but love to send his way.
The singer-songwriter, rapper, producer and author, whose real name is George Kusunoki Miller (though he is more commonly remembered as his former internet personalities 'Filthy Frank' and 'Pink Guy'), had not initially revealed any details about this single. Hawk-eyed fans, however, had spotted a project titled 'Gimme Love Music Video' was recruiting actors via the site 'Backstage' but was quickly taken down, not before fans got a hold of all the information they needed, though.
Speculation soon followed until April 12, when Joji teased the upcoming single through his label over several days before finally confirming the title of the track on April 15, a day before the song's official release. 'Gimme Love' is the third single off Joji's upcoming album 'Nectar', which the artist has announced will come out on July 10.
Much like most of Joji's work, 'Gimme Love' features dark, lo-fi, and electronic instrumentals in addition to clapping snares and synths in the background. But in contrast to his previous work, this song ends with a melodic, almost upbeat acoustic section.
The song itself appears to be a love ballad that sees Joji begging a lover to return his affections, highlighting the pain that goes along with not receiving the love he craves. The accompanying music video sees Joji in multiple different roles, including a young student working on assignments and a stressed-out employee in an office, as well as several other settings including a hospital and space station. The scenes flash from one to next in quick succession, seemingly telling the story of someone that has risen from the bottom to the top all the while dealing with pain and frustration along the way.
Finally, seemingly done with the world, Joji hijacks a rocket and takes off into space, as he solemnly sings "Everyone's looking for someone to hold / But I can't let you go." Evidently, he does not survive the journey.
Fans have already begun praising the release, as well as letting Joji know how proud of him they are. One fan tweeted, "Listen, I've watched Joji grow from his days on FF, listening to Chloe Burbank on SoundCloud and hunting songs through YouTube. The amount of pride I feel for him is incredible. He has become an inspiration to so many and its beautiful," while another stated, "Me basically flippin my middle finger on my problems and saying hi to new opportunities!" in reference to the scene where Joji does exactly that. The fan also added, "I’ve been a fan for a very long time, you from a content creator to a music artist, from hardship to success I’ll be a loyal fan stay humble and create more awesome music man"
Another fan shared, "You also make me happy because your smile is enough inspiration for a lifetime . No matter where you go in life i’ll be there."
Fans also praised the song itself, tweeting, "WAIT WHAAAAT???!!!!!! OH MY GADDDD I LOVE IT REALLY! SPECIALLY THE COLOR GRADING!!!!!" along with an image that confirms Joji directed and edited the video himself. The user also added, "EVEN THE TRANSITIONS, GAD D*MN, I LOVE IT"
Given the artist's penchant for being more abstract with his sound, lyrics and the visuals in his videos, it's unsurprising that fans are now asking for some answers, in addition to theorizing what this song and video could mean! One fan stated, "I need joji to be in genius seat and breakdown the whole song of GIMME LOVE. thats it. I love hearing his voice."