Beauty Break: Xenia Rubinos Dances Through NYC in Black Joy Project-Inspired ‘L.O.V.E.’ Video

By Sameer Rao Mar 24, 2017

Singer and songwriter Xenia Rubinos highlights New York City’s cultural tapestry in the dance-filled new video for her song "L.O.V.E.," released yesterday (March 23).

The clip features the artist dancing her way through Manhattan and Brooklyn, hugging strangers and even doing the running man near a graffiti-covered car. One scene features her showing off an engagement ring to Black and Brown friends sitting on a stoop, pausing to take in their joy before dancing down the sidewalk. She closes at Toñitas Social Club, a Latinx-owned spot in Brooklyn’s rapidly gentrifying Williamsburg neighborhood.

"L.O.V.E." comes from "Love Me," a 36-track playlist of romantic songs released by Amazon Music last month for Valentine’s Day. Its lyrics address feelings of being in love, with Rubinos repeating, "I see me and you, now, forever" in the hip-hop-grounded song’s two slower breakdowns.

Rubinos, who identifies as Afro-Latina, told Vibe yesterday that she took inspiration from the Black Joy Project, a social media project that celebrates and empowers Black people’s happiness as a counterpoint to racism’s emotional toll:

I was inspired by the Black Joy Project which seeks to fill social media with as many uplifting images of POC as possible. This is my ode to Brown & Black joy, being in love and sharing that exuberance with complete strangers all around the city, feeling that universality of love connecting us all. This is us casting a love spell on the world, this is us showing you Brown & Black joy, this is us visualizing & manifesting a reality centered on love for one another and the simple joy love brings.

Watch the video above, and let us know what you think in the comments.

(H/t The Huffington Post)