JoJo's Intimate 'Small Things' Video Comes With A Powerful Note: 'Black People Made Me Who I Am'

At the starting of May, JoJo dropped her fourth album Good to Know, and during the year, we've been getting to know its songs, thanks to a sexy video for "Man" and also a creative quarantine collab with pal Zelda Williams for "Lonely Hearts."


On Tuesday (June 23), she let's visualize something else: an intimate, low-key blockbuster clip for "Small Things," a rainy and personalized slice of acoustic heartbreak. As directed by Santiago Salviche, JoJo herself appears as glam as ever, although also raw and susceptible, backed up by dancers whose movements start in insular positions (like bathtubs) before leaping out to colorful life.


In the video description, JoJo wrote that she waited to release the video in light of the widespread activism for racial justice within the past month. "I've been attempting to wait for the correct moment to share this video with you," she wrote. "With everything going on in the world and in our own backyard, I didn't want anyone to misconstrue its release as some sort of indication that I've moved on from the revolution this instance, here In the United States. I'd like to mention it clear as day: Black people made me who I am."


"Not only my longest standing friendships, nevertheless also the record executives, mentors, teachers, romantic partners, and loyal fans who imagined in me and took a chance on me - they have all shaped me. Without their support in each way, and without the artists who inspire me to prepare music, I would not exist," she continued. "My support for Black lives/art/love/safety/freedom isn't a phase nor does it have an expiration date. I'm honored to be a segment of R&B culture and I never take my warm reception for granted."


She characterized the video as "a segment of art that we made to express how painful it could be to hold in your feelings. To act like you're okay, as soon as - in all honesty - you're not. I wanted to video to feel like catharsis."


JoJo also shouted out by name the cute artists/dancers" she appears alongside in the video: Morgan Choice, Halima Dodo, Dominique Battiste, and Alexandra Carson. She concluded her message with a quote from Toni Morrison: "The function of freedom is attempt to free someone else."


Check out JoJo's magnetic "Small Things" video above, and read her full statement here.