I first fell in love with Shamir upon hearing the frenzied joy of 2014’s ‘On The Regular’, and my love continued to grow when I saw him live at Visions Festival the next year, and he gave me the sweetest of hugs when I told him I was a fan. And my love got even bigger when I watched the video for his new single ‘Straight Boy’.
A massive step away from the uptempo playful pop of his debut, ‘Straight Boy’ lays bare a heart-rending raw emotion, as the moving beauty of Shamir’s vocals and the delicate simplicity of the melody oozes an endearing vulnerability.
Asking what it is about straight boys that makes them act the way they do, Shamir explains of the single:
“(it’s) about how frustrating it was for me to have my whole identity picked apart at a young age just to see straight white men use it as an aesthetic choice. The video quite unequivocally depicts the process of white washing and the repudiation of the queer and people of color who pioneered.”
Watch the new video for ‘Straight Boy’ – a visual representation of the song’s meaning, as Shamir stands in front of a white backdrop, his image gradually being replaced by a white guy:
Shamir’s upcoming new album Revelations is out 3rd November via Father/Daughter Records.
Mari Lane
@marimindles
Get In Her Ears 
Published by