When you have a voice like Brittany Howard, just about anybody looks good singing along. But when that person singing along is former NFL player, current Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor and generally beloved human being Terry Crews, it's all the more sweeter.
If the first single "History Repeats" from the Alabama Shakes frontwoman's debut solo album, Jaime, laid down some earthy funk, "Stay High" floats in the air, celebrating hard work with the love of home.
"Cuz where I come from everybody frowns and walks around with that ugly thing on their face / And where I come from we work hard and grind and hustle all day," she sings, hitting a high-flying Yes we do! in response.
"This video is shot in my home town of Athens, Alabama. The actors are my family and friends," Howard writes in a press release. "Terry Crews plays a man who isn't out to change the world, he plays a man who just wants to come home to those who understand and love him best. We see his inner beauty, grace and humanity in a place that is so often misunderstood."
How did Terry Crews come to appear in the video? Simple. Brittany Howard asked (she also makes a cameo).
"I got an email from the Brittany Howard, asking me to be a part of a song she wrote that was all about her dad and how special he was to the family. And she poured her heart out in this letter. I couldn't believe it," Terry Crews recalls. "Brittany was like, 'We can shoot it in L.A.,' and I said, 'No, I'm coming to you, we're going to Alabama. We're going to where you grew up, to where your family is."
Jaime is due out Sep. 20 on ATO Records.
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