Video: Raphael Saadiq: "Good Man"

Discussions about what constitutes a good man or a good woman run rampant these days. It keeps the blogosphere ablaze with viral arguments about what to look for and whether such a thing even exists. Unfortunately we often end up talking more about how much money he makes, how fine she is, or how many people he/she has slept with, than we talk about the goodness of each other's hearts. In his most recent video, Raphael Saadiq depicts a "Good Man" who maintains a good heart even when cursed with loving a self-serving woman.

Of course, Ray Ray's portrayal of a good man is up for debate, but there is no doubt that this is a cold ass video. In it, Yaya DaCosta (cotdamn!) plays a woman who's greed and lack of fulfillment supersede her love for her man. We see her turning tricks and turning her back looking to escape an affliction and emptiness that torment her from the inside-out. Even at the very end when our leading man shows his loyalty to a woman so vile, we can't tell if her tears are of regret or joy.

Regardless of how you interpret the video, you have to hand it to the Oakland OG for pulling off such a wonderfully shot period piece. From the fashion, to the architecture to the cars, "Good man" captures an era, while also proving that time hasn't changed much concerning matters of the heart. When two people love each other with their full selves, complete with their circumstances, faults and insecurities, sometimes it doesn't matter how "good" you are. Sometimes things just fall apart. What we have to decide however, is whether to fall apart with them, or to get back up and carry on open and unjaded. 

Watch Brene Brown's TED Talk on the importance of openness and vulnerability and download Raphael Saadiq's "Good Man" on our Bay Abridged: January mixtape!