Young Guv’s has released a music video for his song “Traumatic”, and it is quite the music video. The singer—born Ben Cook—is a jack of all trades. In addition to singing and playing his own instruments, he’s delved into acting, writing and playing in what is described as “screaming hard rock bands”. In 2016, Young Guv released a mini-album titled “Ripe 4 Luv”, which earned him Canada’s Polaris music prize. Now that you know a bit about Young Guv, how about we jump into his music video?

As I said in the intro, “Traumatic” has a winter wonderland feel to it. The aerial shots of the wintry woods gave us a perfect view and makes you wonder what lies beyond. Accompanied by a lone guitar, Guv’s solo appearance on the top of a flight of stairs and in front of a large window gives off a slightly melancholy feeling. Part of the lyrics “what if I disappear?” seem somewhat depressing, particularly we witness him fading out of a scene. Clad in dark clothing and sunglasses, Guv comes across as a ghostly figure

The upside of this video is the way Tristan CM shot the video. I was truly impressed by the aerial shots in the video, particularly of the woods. I believe the way a video is shot can help tell the story the singer or band is trying to convey. The editing was perfect, particularly in the scene where Guv fades from view at 0:34.

As for the song itself, the music is upbeat, in contrast to the theme itself. Guv’s ghostly vocals stand out and make you want to sing along with him. The drum has an exciting beat and will make the fans want to get up and dance.

“Traumatic” is quite a unique song and video. It came across to me as somewhat depressing and ethereal. It was almost as if Young Guv was a ghost telling his story. Although it came across as a depressing theme, the aerial shots were amazing. Given the theme of the video, it was awesome to see those above ground shots.

Final Grade: C

About The Author

Lauren Beverly

Music Reviewer

I love to write and have been doing so since the age of eight. Fictional stories have always been a favorite of mine, because it gives me a chance to be creative and to express myself in a multitude of ways. On more than one occasion, a song proved to be the inspiration to several stories I have written. Believe it or not, some of those songs were on soundtracks! That’s mostly what I listen to, aside from hits from the 1950’s up to the 1980’s. I’ve learned that anything can be the inspiration to a story, even a poster from the 1990’s or a DVD cover.

I’ve lived in Upper Marlboro all of my life and spent much of my childhood watching cartoons of all kinds, and listening to my older sister’s cassette tapes. Growing up, I listened to everything Jackson related, Paula Abdul, Elton John, and even the controversial group Milli Vanilli. As a teenager, I continued to listen to old-school hits and that was pretty much all I liked, aside from listening to all of Michael Jackson’s music. To this day, I still love old-school hits. That hasn’t changed.

I own a variety of CDs from artists such as Styx, The BeeGees, Michael Jackson, Queen, The Yellow Submarine Soundtrack, and many others. When a soundtrack comes out, there will always be one specific song from that album that I’ll love. It never fails.

I’ve graduated from Bowie State University in December 2013 with a B.A. degree in English.

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