Words by Jesse Serwer
Paebak is one of the Caribbean’s most consistent and prolific rappers, and he can generally be relied on to bring strong visuals to match his insightful lyrics, as well. Of course, when you live in a place as aesthetically pleasing as St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, you have a head start but the artist has always made it a point to go beyond simple pretty scenery and represent the territory’s depth and diversity.
With his island-mates—and past collaborators—R City (formerly known as Planet VI and Rock City) currently riding up the charts with their Adam Levine collaboration “Locked Away,” Paebak is re-introducing himself with a fresh mixtape, Work, and a video for the Commodores-sampling single “Forever a King.” Directed by visual artist Sir Fawn, the clip has a surreal quality to it, setting up Paebak’s evocative opening line, “I guess King Tut’s my neighbor/Selassie’s my tennis partner,” with scenes of a St. Thomas-shaped boat floating in a misty bathtub and a wild horse running free.
Already airing on MTVu and MTV Jams, “Forever a King” gets its online debut here. For more on Paebak, read our interview with the Island Boy here.