Last April, FKA branches appeared in GANG, the collaborative mixtape of British rapper Headie One and producer Fred again .., singing in the interlude “Judge Me”. Now, almost a year later, the trio returned to the track, building it for the full song “Don’t Judge Me”, with an artistic video to boot. Twigs’ voice sounds ethereal as always in music, while Headie One’s verse addresses racism in the UK “We can walk free, but are we really walking free here?” he hits. “How can this be my home when I feel like I want to escape here?” Along with another impressive presentation of stick dancing (wearing all black designers), the video features black English activists and cultural figures, including poets Solomon OB and Benjamin Zephaniah, writer Reni Eddo-Lodge, models Kukua Williams, Munroe Bergdorf and Danto Earth, performer Lisa Elde, businesswoman Nicole Crentsil, fitness coach Efua Baker, football player Mahlon Romeo and radio host Clara Amfo, according to a statement. This group is around the source of the artist Kara Walker Fons Americanus, a piece currently installed in London’s Tate Modern that tells the story of the transatlantic slave trade.
“Don’t Judge Me” is the twigs’ first full song since their acclaimed 2019 album, Madalena. She recently said she made a new album in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is not clear whether “Don’t Judge Me” will be part of this project.