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CL’s ‘Lifted’ Video Gets Cameo From Method Man

By Victoria Johnson
Published on: 15:37 PST, Aug 21, 2016

K-pop star CL debuted her video for “Lifted” this week, and it’s paying major homage to hip-hop.

Set in the genre’s birthplace, The Bronx, CL dances away with a group of friends. But that’s not all, the song also samples the classic 1993 Wu-Tang Clan song “Method Man” off of the hip-hop group’s debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). And as if that wasn’t enough, Method Man himself also appears in the video to play patty cake and dance with the K-pop sensation.

Similar to Method Man, CL raps about drinking forties, getting shorties and rubbing it in your skin “like lotion” as she dances in The Bronx and literally “gets lifted” with animated clouds in the sky as she overlooks New York City.

So far, the video has gained over 4 million views on YouTube. But that’s nothing compared to the numbers CL usually pulls. As the front-woman for K-pop girl group, 2NE1, CL often gains over 15 million views on any given video. One of their biggest hits, “Come Back Home” from 2014 gained over 53 million views. Another previous hit, “Hello B*****s” gained over 18 million on their dance performance video while her collaboration track, “Dirty Vibe” with Skrillex, Diplo and fellow K-pop star, G-Dragon, garnered over 36 million views.

In an interview with Noisey, CL explained how the song, “Lifted,” came about. “This song was made a few years back on New Years Day,” said CL. “I was in the studio with my producer Teddy randomly and we decided to make music. We started watching music videos of Wu-Tang on YouTube and ‘Method Man’ came on. I went in the booth with the lyrics and started humming this melody which ended up becoming ‘Lifted.'”

As for meeting the man who the song was named after, CL could hardly believe it — especially after Method Man revealed that the track came about from him watching videos as well. “I was like ‘Wow is this really happening to me right now?’,” said CL in another interview with Fuse.

But the video is much more than a simple day in New York City. CL wanted to show the “internet kids” how to get out and have fun as well. “I just wanted to bring them out of the internet zone and be a part of the video so I called my friends and told them to bring all their friends,” she said. “We just had fun. We had 40s we were drinking. It was like a party with my friends and my fans and that’s another special thing.”

Dave Meyers, who directed the clip, is also responsible for the visuals for Missy Elliott’s “Lose Control,” Katy Perry’s “Firework” and Pink’s “Stupid Girls.”

“In person he was so amazing,” said CL of Meyers after she admitted to being a fan of his. “He created like a great vibe for us to be us and he just like captured the moment.”

CL is one of the many South Korean artists who have gained global popularity over the past few years. Along with CL’s three other group members, Bom, Dara, and Minzy, the aforementioned group, 2NE1, debuted in 2009 with the single, “Fire.” Afterwards, they saw much success with singles like “Go Away,” “Lonely” and “I Am The Best,” which was featured in a 2014 ad for Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3. (In April 2016, Minzy officially left the group.)

Now “Lifted” seems to be on its way to becoming a hit as well. Within three hours of its release, it claimed a spot in the Top 30 of iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap chart. Apple Music also just named “Lifted” one if its “Best of the Week” tracks.

Watch the video above.

[Image via YouTube]

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