Preservation has unveiled the music video for “Rose Royce,” a visual that was animated from scratch by the track’s featured rapper Quelle Chris. This is the latest video from Preservation’s just-released Eastern Medicine, Western Illness (Nature Sounds), which was deemed “a remarkable piece of work” by Stereogum. Preservation crafted the record while living in Hong Kong for 3 years, strictly sourcing beats from local Chinese record store vinyl finds. The album’s other features include: Mach Hommy, Ka, Your Old Droog, Roc Marciano, Mc Tree, Billy Woods, Nickelus F, Grande Marshall, Navy Blue aka skater/model Sage Elsesser, and Bronx veteran A.G.

Watch the “Rose Royce” music video below.

Much like the album, the video's whimsical animations shift from traditional to modern Chinese aesthetics, as the screen flashes between video games and calligraphy, dragons and dense cityscapes. During one scene, every featured emcee on the record is sketched sitting in a living room together, a way that Quelle Chris nodded to the myriad of talent on this record. Quelle Chris has previously animated his own videos, using only basic video game software, a process he's previously spoken to WIRED about.

Much like the album, the video's whimsical animations shift from traditional to modern Chinese aesthetics, as the screen flashes between video games and calligraphy, dragons and dense cityscapes. During one scene, every featured emcee on the record is sketched sitting in a living room together, a way that Quelle Chris nodded to the myriad of talent on this record. Quelle Chris has previously animated his own videos, using only basic video game software, a process he spoke to WIRED about.

Last week Pitchfork’s The Ones featured the music video for “I-78” featuring Mach-Hommy, which first debuted as an Adult Swim Single. Eastern Medicine, Western Illnesshas also been spotlighted in Brooklyn Vegan's Best Rap Albums of May, and Brooklyn Vegan’s Playlist feature, OkayPlayer’s The Round-Up, DJ Booth's Lo-Fi Rap Snack Pack, AV Club, 2Dopeboyz, Hypebeast, and a feature with Bandcamp.

Preservation also just spoke to DJ Booth for an in-depth piece on making this record and releasing it in the midst of the pandemic and the escalating Black Lives Matter movement. “I went to my close people,” Preservation says, “and they told me this is the medicine we needed.”

Praise for Eastern Medicine, Western Illness

“A remarkable piece of work” - Stereogum

“Quentin Tarantino wishes the Kill Bill score was this fluid and artful” - AV Club

“It’s the way that Preservation melds his production to perfectly fit his collaborators for concise and cohesive tracks that makes this album so special” - Hypebeast

“If you like your rap on the psychedelic, left-of-the-dial side, you should not sleep on it” - Brooklyn Vegan

Eastern Medicine, Western Illness is available digitally, on CD, vinyl, and a special edition double cassette: https://naturesoundsmusic.com/emwi/

Tracklist:
Dragon Town (feat. Young Queenz)
A Scholar’s Rock (feat. Grande Marshall)
Money In The Wild (feat. Tree)
Rose Royce (feat. Quelle Chris)
1-78 Capillaries (feat. Mach-Hommy)
Wan Chai (feat. Nickelus F)
North Bridge (feat. Navy Blue)
Lemon Rinds (feat. Billy Woods)
Medicine Drawer (feat. Roc Marciano)
Correspondence (feat. Your Old Droog & Mach-Hommy)
A Cure For The Common (feat. Ka)Children Of Never (feat. AG)
Mouth Of A River (feat. Michelle Siu)