Lightning Strikes Twice in Gener8ion's 'Storm'

Distinctive voice drives powerhouse music video

One night I was on YouTube, seeking out something to watch, and I saw a thumbnail photo that called me. I clicked, not recognizing names or title, and I was swallowed into a world I couldn’t escape.

In the first 30 seconds, my mind was trying to scratch an itch I couldn’t reach. I know this place, this ever mounting tension, its rawness. Then I got it, this feels like “Stress” by Justice from 2009, an unforgettable, rip roaring, off-kilter portrait of thugs roaming around Paris causing mayhem.

It’s almost a copy of it. You could nearly map Yung Lean’s violent swaggering around the school over the Stress video and they would match.

I kept watching, slightly bothered, softly cursing whoever made it as ripping off someone else, yet doing it so bloody well.

Play

By the time the big scene comes around—the beautifully choreographed school class photo with Yung Lean in the middle, defiantly smoking a cigarette while the rest of the class sweep into waves of blazers—I am mesmerized. I get it: Identity. I forgive whoever ripped this video off because they brought something new and genuinely creative.

All the points in my critical mind line up and it feels like that ding! moment when you are playing Tetris and you clear the board. It feels like release… pure.

When the Gener8ion video ended, I checked the credits: Directed by Romain Gavras. I thought: That’s familiar, what else did he do” I look: “Stress” by Justice. Now I feel relief, the world makes sense again.

He wasn’t ripped off. He didn’t rip himself off, either. He took something that was truly his own and extended his world. And I felt gratitude, a reminder of standing your ground creatively.

Gavras stuck to his guns, but returned with a sharper, more beautiful version of what was already his. He didn’t rinse himself clean and deny us something great just because he had done it before. That is a rare mix of great confidence and humility.