romeo and juliet go gqom in dj lag’s “uhuru dis” video

West Side Story was cool but it has nothing on DJ Lag’s new video for “Uhuru Dis.”

Re-imagining Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as a Gqom musical, Lag and director Chris Kets transport us to a futuristic Durban where sci-fi and magical realism intersect: “Romeo and Juliet is a universal story of love and tragedy, says Lag of story behind the dazzling visuals. “Chris Kets, the director conceptualised this. We wanted to remix something that has been done over and over again and make it our own. [We wanted to] locate it in Durban and [set it] to the sound of Gqom.”

“Uhuru Dis,” one of the standouts from 2019’s Uhuru EP, features a chorus courtesy of vocalist and sex-positive advocate Moonchild Sanelly who brings all her vibrance and electricity to the camera in the datamoshing video. Gqom is dance music, so of course, o31 Movement choreographers Luzuko and Artchild play the titular star-crossed lovers and the epic clash between the Capulets and the Montagues pits the International Pantsulas against the 031 Boyz in a beach dance battle that ends in (near) tragedy.

DJ Lag’s Uhuru EP is streaming on all platforms now. Watch the new video below.