Nakhane Strips Down and Reclaims Power in Bold Cover of “Killer” (Video)
South African, UK-based multimedia artist Nakhane has returned to the music scene with a powerful and deeply personal reinterpretation of the 1990 Seal and Adamski dance anthem, Killer.
Accompanied by a raw, haunting self-directed video, the release marks a new chapter in Nakhane’s multidisciplinary career—and a profound reckoning with identity, visibility, and the sacredness of the body.
More than a cover
For Nakhane, Killer ’25 is not simply a nostalgic throwback—it’s a ritual of rebirth. “It’s a song about rebirth and consequence – themes that have followed me through my life as both musician, filmmaker and writer,” they explain. “This version isn’t just a cover; it’s a conversation between past and present. It’s about honouring our ancestors, both by blood and practice.”
The new rendition transforms the original club classic into something more introspective and emotionally charged, weaving together elements of electronica, gospel, and cinematic soundscapes.
A new visual language
Shot in rural Manchester using just an iPhone 14 and a Canon M50 EOS, the self-directed video for Killer ’25 is a striking visual departure for Nakhane.
Wearing nothing but a G-string—symbolising a kind of ancestral loincloth—they writhe, stumble, and crawl across the English countryside in a raw performance piece that’s as much about reclaiming space as it is about vulnerability.
“This is a Queendom of one. I have no subjects,” Nakhane wrote on X, describing the video as a reclamation of power through exposure rather than allure. “The abject is no longer cutely hidden under a beautiful suit. It is exposed for all to see. It takes centre stage.”
The result is an unflinching interrogation of Black embodiment, spirituality, and alienation in a Western context. “The body, the Black body, my Black body—not captured to entice or titillate, but to be a thing of horror,” they write. “Disgust, horror, pain, sadness, the macabre… I watch the video now, having spent almost 8 months editing it, with pride; because for the first time I was in total and utter control of how my body was to be seen.”
A journey through sound and cinema
Killer ’25 arrives amidst growing recognition of Nakhane’s cinematic talents. Their directorial debut, B(l)ind the Sacrifice, has been making waves on the international film festival circuit, screening at Locarno, Stockholm, and the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Like the new music video, the film explores themes of religious tension and ancestral inheritance—recurring threads in Nakhane’s work.
They also recently starred as Siddhartha in The Seeker, a musical adaptation of Hermann Hesse’s novel, presented at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
The artist’s voice, unfiltered
Killer has been a part of Nakhane’s live set since the You Will Not Die era. “Audience members would tell me how much they enjoyed my rendition and that I should record and release it,” they recall. “I’m slow… but it wasn’t until 2024 that I began to earnestly work on a recorded version.”
The result is a masterful blend of sound, spirit, and sight—a defiant reclaiming of selfhood that invites viewers to confront discomfort and embrace truth. Watch the Killer ’25 video below.
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