I remember making this record just as 2011 was coming to a close. I reflected on all of the people that were there at the top of the year who, for whatever reason, had moved on with their lives. Looking in the mirror, I took stock of those that remained, and I vowed that I would clear away those that were harmful and cherish those that were healthy to my growth as a person. This video is a celebration of that progress. Set in Vegas, the emptiness of material luxury contrasts the majestic power of a relationship whose worth exceeds the value of all physical goods.
Get them hands up
Get them hands up
Stackin’ dollaz homie
Get them grands up
Keep them hands up
Put ‘em in the air
Close your eyes imagine that you’re a millionaire
And I know it feel good, right?
Drinks up – it’s about to be a good night
Bring a friend, girl, tell me what it look like
Pop a bottle one time for the good life
And we sprayin’ champagne
Cause we don’t really know what tomorrow is gon’ bring
So we buy a case and we drinkin’ the whole thing’
Black aristocracy: diamonds and gold chains
Gold chains, gold chains
I’ma be a hustler I promise I won’t change
You see these 20′s – I promise it’s gon’ rain
Black Panamera I’m ridin’ my own lane
HOOK
Same time next year
I’ll be hoping that you’re still here
Doing a little better than you did this year, baby
Cause you’re my good girl
And you deserve everything that is good in life
Ooh
VERSE 2
And I promise that we can make up for lost time
You always held your temper when I lost mine
And you always understood what’s on a boss mind
So I swear I’d save your life if it costs mine
That’s on everything, baby, I’d take a bullet for you
Pull for you when no one else is pulling for you
Cause you did it for me – you said we’d make it happen
When they laughed and said I would never make it rappin’
Huh, but we livin’ much better now
Rolls Royce Ghost, Burberry sweater now
Hermes purse, Learjet-setter now
Who would’ve thought we’d be makin’ this much cheddar, wow!
Let’s have a toast to my enemies
And to my haters, you bastards, you give me energy
The fuel to succeed – to be a better me
And live the life that I lead – the Black Kennedy
HOOK
Same time next year
I’ll be hoping that you’re still here
Doing a little better than you did this year, baby
Cause you’re my good girl
And you deserve everything that is good in life
Ooh
(2x)
A LOOK AT “GOOD GIRL”
LAS VEGAS
Vegas city-goers aren’t the only ones keeping secrets. Despite popular belief, most of the famous strip lies in Clark County, not Las Vegas. [insert poker-face pun here]. It is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its casino resorts and associated entertainment. A growing retirement and family city, Las Vegas is the 28th-most populous city in the United States, with an estimated population by the U.S. Census Bureau of 583,756 as of 2010. The 2010 population estimate of the Las Vegas metropolitan area was 1,951,269.
GUCCI BLAZER
Frida Gianni introduced rockstar brash to gentlemanly bravado in her Fall/Winter 2009 Ready-to-Wear Men’s collection. Metallica meets Montalban. Leather, studs, and sequins meet silk lapels and handkerchiefs. The blazer Ryan wears is a runway piece from the collection that features velvet cuffs.
COSMOPOLITAN HOTEL AND CASINO
Arguably one of the most tantalizing sites on the strip, the Cosmopolitan is but another chef-d’œuvre designed by the Freidmutter Group, designers of the Ritz-Carlton and the Red Rock Hotel & Casino also in Las Vegas. The aesthetic continues throughout the hotel, where a mesmerizing installation by famous street artist Shepard Fairrey is fixed. The video was shot in the most exclusive part of the hotel, the West End Penthouses. These suites are reserved only for the hotel’s most high-profile guests.
RETROSUPERFUTURE CICCIO FRANCIS HAVANA
SUPER, by RETROSUPERFUTURE®, ignited the phenomenon of acetate sunglasses. They are made in multiple color graduations, which has generated a big trend starting in 2007. Super is the first brand to produce a complete range of colorful fashion sunglasses combining these characteristics together with a very high quality manufacturing process. SUPER sunglasses are made to the highest possible standards, hand made in Italy by the best manufacturers and with the best materials. For this reason, SUPER also decided to adopt ZEISS lenses, which guarantee an extremely high level of protection to the eyes in all conditions. Ryan is wearing a pair of Ciccio Francis Havana glasses.
MOËT ET CHANDON
French winery Moët et Chandon, cognac manufacturer Hennessy, and designer Louis Vuitton engaged in a mènage à trois of sorts, merging into the super group LVMH—”a world leader in luxury”—in 1987. Although Moët and Hennessy married 16 years earlier in 1971, this threesome has since become a marquee trinity of luxury.
PHOTO ALBUM
Given as a gift, a photo album of Ryan and girlfriend Kenza Fourati is seen in intimate glimpses. Candid shots of the couple beguile amidst fast-paced scene swaps, a blossoming motif of Ryan’s Music Motion Picture Series.
PORSCHE PANAMERA
400 hp at 6,500 rpm. 0 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds. A top Track Speed of 175 mph, and 24 mpg. It certainly does justice to the mysterious design sketch posted on Porsche‘s Consulting sight over three years ago that had plenty eyes searching for a match in each of their subsequent releases. Only Porsche could make a marvel out of a sketch.
BURBERRY PROSRUM SWEATER
“Burberry Prorsum” is the British fashions house’s latin motto. “Burberry Forward” they proclaim with the release of their Fall/Winter Prorsum menswear line. The brushed mohair sweater featured in the Music Motion Picture is but one example of Burberry pushing the envelope on design in 2012.
HERMÈS CLUTCH
Ryan wraps for Kenza one of Hermes‘s signature leather Jige Elan Epsom clutches. While under the direction of Robert Dumas-Hermès, the label saw a dramatic profit rise in 1990, and had grown to include over 30,000 pieces. Dumas-Hermès is also credited for the addition of the signature orange boxes in the early 50s. It’s perhaps the most recognizable gift wrapping.
ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST
It’s named ghost for its V12 engine’s “whisper-quiet” acceleration. Perhaps more haunting is the finesse with which designer Andreas Thurner continues to reshape the genetics of the Rolls Royce marque. Created in a country home in Central London, the Ghost maintains it’s 2:1 height of wheels to height of body while adapting a contemporary tranquility.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
At the time of his campaign, JFK was met with major opposition by people who found his presidential attempt audacious because he was Roman Catholic. But in 1961, the nay-sayers were silenced as the rise of “The America Camelot” burgeoned. There was an optimism in the air under Kennedy’s presidency. The one that couldn’t, that shouldn’t, did.
