Exploring How Jim Legxacy's "father" Transforms Black British Nostalgia Into the Sound of Tomorrow
Come aboard the bus as we journey through a musical dreamscape…
Jim Legxacy (second from the right) behind the scenes of "father". Image courtesy of Lauzza and XL Recordings.
Singer, rapper and producer Jim Legxacy's new single "father"—and its accompanying video—is truly one of a kind. The South-East London artist dropped the visuals last week alongside his latest single from the highly anticipated third mixtape, Black British Music (BBM).
The video sent ripples across the internet, going viral on Twitter/X, racking up over 500,000 views on TikTok, and earning nods from cultural commentators like Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop), celebrated actor-director Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, The Kitchen) and popular US streamer plaqueboymax.
Directed by Lauzza, whose work spans collaborations with PinkPantheress, Lancey Foux, YT, Natanya, and more, the video is a masterclass in visual storytelling, nostalgia, and cultural reclamation.
The video follows a schoolboy Jim, dressed in his uniform shirt and Nike trackies, as he boards a bus, seemingly on his way to school. But the moment quickly morphs into something magical—he is transported into a dreamlike world, wrapped in the hazy, futuristic softness of a Frutiger Aero aesthetic. The visuals drift between the familiar and the surreal: a bus ride, a classroom, his bedroom, a park nestled beneath bouncing city blocks.
It's a love letter to a pivotal era for Black British Londoners who grew up in the 2010s—Blackberry perched on an AQA textbook, chicken and chips after school, playing video games in the evening. These were the textures of our adolescence, yet they've rarely been cemented in on-screen representation, let alone through a lens as tender, nostalgic, and imaginative as this. Jim captures what it means to have grown up in that era and, in doing so, transforms it into a cultural artefact.
What makes "father" even more compelling is its emotional depth. Lines like "Tryna come up off the roads on my own two / I never had a father" reveal a rare, understated nuance in a genre often dominated by bravado. Jim's lyricism doesn't just allude to struggle; it hints at the deeper why. He has openly discussed using music as a tool to process his emotions, and this introspection feels groundbreaking in a space where status, dominance and emotional detachment have long been the default.
The line "On the block I was listening to Mitski" perfectly subverts expectations—placing Jim, a young Black boy from Lewisham, within a world that lacks the infrastructure to acknowledge the complexity of his influences. In a single bar, he paints a portrait of multidimensionality: a teenager navigating both the hustle of South-East London and the introspective world of alternative music.
What stands out most about Jim's artistic vision is its tenderness—it feels almost like inner-child healing. He doesn't just nod to the past; he reimagines it, weaving nostalgia with forward-thinking storytelling and production. The "father" video, in particular, is a seamless blend of past, present, and future; memories rendered in hyperreal colours, infused with the internet-era sensibilities that define Gen-Z creativity.
And that's exactly what separates this new wave of Black British artists from their predecessors; this Gen-Z edge. Our generation's artistic DNA is shaped by residing for years in the depths of internet culture, layered memes, intertextual references, and inside jokes. Very much 'if you know, you know' moments. The "father" video is packed with them.
“This duality, this refusal to be boxed in, is precisely what makes Jim an incredibly compelling artist.”
A split-second nod to YT's "Oi!" producer tag instantly transports us to a neighbouring world—the "MVP" basketball court—almost like a cameo in a self-expanding cinematic universe. Every element, from the Xbox 360 nod to the Star Wars reference, builds upon itself, crafting a cultural moment so rich in layers that it inherently sets itself apart from anything that has come before.
Jim Legxacy is one of his generation's most astute, forward-thinking artists. We've been missing his willingness to be emotionally open, deeply referential, and unapologetically imaginative for a while. He refuses to be restrained by boxes or expectations, and that freedom alone gives him the makings of one of the greats.
To me, this moment is more than just another viral release; it's the self-fulfilling prophecy of his name in motion. A legacy unfolding before our very eyes. Be sure not to miss it.
Stream "father" below: