A number of Doctors have appeared in music videos, and Jodie Whittaker in particular has been in several. I love Riz Ahmed as an actor and enjoy a lot of the songs I’ve heard from him as a rapper, but I’m not feeling this one.
To start out with, the song is incredibly catchy. It has a really strong beat and a great hook. If I just heard it playing in the background somewhere, I’d think it was really cool. But I have a hard time with the lyrics. “All of You” seems to be about the rapper addressing an ex (which the credits for the music video back up,) still wanting her but keeping her at arm’s length. Even as he tears her down for things she’s done – there’s a brief suggestion that’s she’s fooled around with another guy, or at least flirted with another guy – there’s an intense sexual desire pulsing through the song.
It’s angry, thirsty, and more than a little possessive. The chorus is anchored by the words, “You can’t have all of me, / But give me all of you. / I wanna walk tall knowing that I’m owning you.” It seems like it’s more about the rapper wanting to have her, and maybe humiliate her, rather than really caring about her or wanting a genuine relationship with her. Other lines in the song include, “ ‘Cause it’s not love, it’s a war for you,” and, “You’re a heart-shaped, tart faced Rubik’s cube.”
I know that rap music gets called out a lot for misogyny, and while there are plenty of songs that deserve that criticism, it’s not an issue that’s exclusive to rap as a genre. When I really listen to the words of all sorts of songs, I get uncomfortable with the messaging. That’s true of contemporary top 40 stuff, classics from 50 years ago, and songs I loved as a teenager. I’m careful to check myself on thoughts that this is a “rap problem,” but I still recognize the issue when I see it in rap, just like I do in punk, pop, etc.
It’s disappointing, because Riz MC is definitely a very talented rapper. Again, the beat is fantastic, and there are some really incredible rhymes and lines of wordplay here. A few lines from the song that I love without caveats are, “You’re as intricately infinite as London town,” and, “Now I’m scribbling my grief on a piece of you.” But the overall theme of the song keeps me from enjoying it.
The music video leans hard into those elements that I don’t like. Jodie Whittaker is credited as Broken-Up Girlfriend, and the basic set-up is her on her way home, listening to a song her ex (Riz MC) wrote for her. She’s shown getting lost in the rhythm and getting deeply turned on by the erotic lines (and given that they’re broken up, it feels uncomfortable to be giving such a strongly-sexual song to your ex-girlfriend.) There are also interstitial shots of her, Riz MC, and the guest rappers on the track threaded throughout the video. They’re shot in close-up with limited color, undressed and staring into the camera—mostly they’re in separate shots, but when they do share the screen together, the sexual aspect focuses more on that possession/humiliation angle than on any kind of connection, like a shot of Riz MC deliberately smearing her lipstick across her face with his hand.
All this said, I’m fully aware that, as an aromantic asexual, this video is not in any way geared toward me. So there’s a possibility that I’m reading it wrong and some people might find it really sexy in a dark/exciting way. But I wasn’t feeling it. While Whittaker does exactly what’s required of her for the video, it’s not something I really enjoy seeing her in.
Accent Watch
Not applicable—there’s no dialogue.
Recommend?
In General – No. There are Riz MC tracks/videos I like a lot better than this one.
Jodie Whittaker – No.
Warnings
Some implied nudity, strong sexuality, language, and thematic elements.
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