The Road Back

In The Road Back, rapper Cricchi paints an emotional story of a man trying to rebuild his life after being sent to prison. A simple but well-delivered music video accompanies personal, moving lyrics to a song inspired by its creator’s real experiences.

The video features Cricchi performing his song on a vibrant rooftop overlooking a city backline – sacred ground for heartfelt, rags-to-riches rap. Interspersed with the performance is footage of Cricchi’s story of homelessness, prison and drug addiction – before a recovery to the man he is today. The tone of both video and song is optimistic, even with the heavy subject matter, with a stated aim to help those who are in a similar boat.

Truthfully there isn’t anything revolutionary in the production of The Road Back. The video covers ground personal to the performer, though it must be said that it is a (sadly) common enough journey to have been addressed in rap videos before. The settings of prison cell, suburban streets and sunset-rooftop also feature in more music videos than mid-2000s Ludacris, so genre fans will feel cosy in their surroundings. But no envelopes are at risk of being pushed.

Whilst originality is in short supply, quality is not. The video is crafted and considered. The streets Cricchi walks bursting with life and authenticity to deliver a real sense of background to his story. The rooftop sequences allow for some experimentation with lighting – a jump between day and night shots in this setting acting as an interesting visualisation of the dark and light sides of his personality. The prison scenes are a little less inspired and lack the same dynamism as the rest of the video, unintentionally echoing the impact prison itself can have on an individual’s life.

Cricchi’s performance throughout is natural, emotive and raw. The rapper has spoken about his aim to act as an inspiration through art and to act as a voice for the broken, and that aim is successfully achieved through both words and performance here. It takes courage to lay out ones’ failings and retrace old missteps, and Cricchi does so without feeling the requirement to implant false bravado or toughness.

The Road Back is an effective if not outstanding music video, ticking all the boxes required of it and making sure its message lands with impact. The real boldness is in its accompanying song and the personal lyrics of its artist, with the video a vehicle for their delivery. In this it succeeds in allowing the artistry to shine.