Missy Elliott has inspired more than a few female rappers, but her influence on the R&B girls should be noted as well. One such is singer/multi-passionate creative LAYA who paid homage to her childhood idol in March during Women's History Month with a faithful and futuristic cover of "Sock It 2 Me" for Amazon Originals. The song has now been widely released to digital music services, and to welcome its arrival LAYA has also dropped its official music video.
LAYA sits in the director's chair for "Sock It 2 Me" and lets her creativity run wild in the DIY capture. The clip begins with a man's side profile in shadow against a blue background. As the camera moves in, we see that he has LAYA on his mind to the point where she's literally inside his head. She's situated against a blood-red background and dressed in black lingerie and dark sunglasses. She's holding a hand mirror, and we see her reflection singing the lyrics while her lips barely move.
Things only get stranger from there in another scene that features LAYA's detached arms in long black gloves and one leg in a thigh-high black boot just kicking it on the floor next to her head, which has both eyes replaced with two mouths. It's a little creepy when all the mouths start singing, but the graphics don't make it look too realistic, so it's not as scary as it could have been.
Since her "Sock It 2 Me" remake initially surfaced, LAYA has made her major label debut on Warner Records with the rerelease of her Um, Hello EP. We've also seen more of her creative vision in videos for "Brag," "Crazy Down" and "On Sight." She's booked, busy and blessed, too, scheduled to join Teyana Taylor and Baby Tate at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! at Prospect Park in July and to support Alex Isley on select dates on the Marigold Tour.
Get used to LAYA, because she's not going anywhere but up. Let her sock it to you when you watch the video for "Sock It 2 Me" below.
