Spree Wilson’s ‘Counterfeit’ Video Salutes Robert Palmer, Celebrates Black Women

Singer-songwriter Spree Wilson returns with a melodic and subdued track -- and a gorgeously realized visual to complement it.

On his new song "Counterfeit," Wilson sings about what some could see as the falseness of new love; it's a beautifully catchy song with the kind of laid-back production (courtesy of Malay) that lets the lyric sit front and center.

"Every bit/ I take it all, but it's counterfeit/ And I been hit/ The more I get/ The more I want to get out of it."

Wilson has been one of the more adventurous indie artists in hip-hop and R&B, and the same innate sense of melody that informed tracks like "The Spark," his hit single with AfroJack, musically informs "Counterfeit." Malay famously collaborated with Frank Ocean on his stellar channel ORANGE, and you can hear some of his trademark textures here. But it's the warmth of the song that really draws in listeners. And the video is Spree Wilson's vision of beauty. It's Wilson's take on a classic 80s video -- re-interpreted and repurposed.

"The video was inspired by Robert Palmer's 'Addicted To Love,' but where Mr. Palmer uses a white, European beauty standard, I decided to counter it with a strong cast of beautiful black women," the singer told The FADER. "Black representation in the media is extremely important to me, specifically the way black women are represented. With 'Counterfeit,' I want to push the boundaries of society's current beauty standards by celebrating the beauty of dark skin without the hypersexualization."

For those of you who need a reference, here's the classic Palmer clip below: