"Chains" is a song by American R&B recording artist

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...

featuring American rapper

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

and German singer-songwriter Bibi Bourelly. It was released on October 15, 2015, as a

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exclusive. The song is titled “Chains”, the interactive video experience is called “Don’t Look Away”, using facial recognition technology forcing viewers to watch, to keep their eyes fixed on those of the victims.

Background and release

The song's interactive video experience forces people to confront racial injustice and police brutality. To watch; users must open the video on their computers in Firefox or

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and activate their webcam. In the “Chains” it plays the images of Trayvon Martin,

Rekia Boyd Rekia Boyd was a 22-year-old black American woman who was fatally shot in Chicago, Illinois by Dante Servin, an off-duty Hispanic Chicago police detective, on March 21, 2012. Killing Servin, an off-duty police officer, drove his car to Douglass ...

Sean Bell Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

, Marlon Brown,

Ramarley Graham The shooting of Ramarley Graham took place in the borough of the Bronx in New York City on February 2, 2012. Richard Haste, a New York Police Department officer, shot Graham in the bathroom of the latter's apartment. The 18-year-old Graham was in ...

Amadou Diallo In the early hours of February 4, 1999, an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean student named Amadou Diallo (born September 2, 1975) was fired upon with 41 rounds and shot a total of 19 times by four New York City Police Department plainclothes office ...

, Caesar Cruz and other recent victims of police violence. Along with the images it includes descriptions of their deaths, of which no one has been charged or found guilty. Following the release, Usher led a dialogue alongside civil rights activist

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

, rapper

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

and

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reporter

Soledad O’Brien María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien (born September 19, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and executive producer. Since 2016, O'Brien has been the host for '' Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien,'' a nationally syndicated weekly talk sho ...

at 92 Y theatre in Manhattan to discuss their commitment to "Breaking the Chains of Social Injustice." During the discussion Usher explained the importance of speaking out against social injustice and explained his partnership with co-owner of

in mounting the campaign.

Music video

On February 2, 2016 Usher uploaded the standard music video for "Chains" on his YouTube and Vevo account. The video is directed by Ben Louis Nicholas and Daniel Arsham for Film The Future. The black-and-white video begins with the audio of Usher V, his oldest son saying "With liberty and justice for all?" and his youngest son saying "Justice for all". In the video Usher is followed by the police at night and as he runs with hands up, images of guns and people praying are shown. Later, Usher is in a church at his own memorial service, he doesn't understand until he sees the childhood pictures of himself and attempts to grab the attention of the silent mourners. During Nas's verse, Usher is pictured in the back of a police car crying.

Impact

In four days of the release the video was featured on ''

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'', ''

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'', '' CBS This Morning'', NBC, '' Rolling Stone'', '' Fast Company'', '' The Guardian'', '' The Huffington Post,'' BET, '' Entertainment Weekly'', '' Essence'', '' Pitchfork'', '' The Fader'', '' Vibe'', '' NME'' and '' Forbes'', contributing to more than 500 million earned impressions from more than 100 countries. Celebrities

, Beyonce, Steve Harvey,

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Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

, and Leonardo DiCaprio helped amplified the message by posting on their social media accounts to help make this serious conversation.

Live performances

Usher debuted "Chains" for the first time at the Tidal X: 1020 concert on October 20, 2015 in Brooklyn at the Barclays.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. * Writing – Bibi Bourelly, Paul Epworth, Albert Andre Bowman, Nasir Jones, Usher *Composers - Bibi Bourelly, Paul Epworth, Albert Andre Bowman, Nasir Jones, Usher, Arthur Strong, Issiah J. Avila, Miguel Gandelman, Juan Najera * Production – Paul Epworth *Conductor – Sally Herbert *Mix engineering – Manny Marroquin

Chart performance

References

{{authority control Usher (musician) songs Nas songs Songs written by Usher (musician) Songs written by Nas 2015 songs RCA Records singles Songs written by Bibi Bourelly Songs about police brutality