Jhené Aiko is a “Maniac” in an asylum in the video for her sex-crazed single off her upcoming sophomore album.
Directed by Aiko and Topshelf Junior, the clip is meant to showcase what the song delivers with its raunchy lyrics and sensual production. “There are so many layers to my personality. One of them is very sexual and ‘Maniac’ is me sharing that side of myself,” Aiko told Rolling Stone. “When I started putting together the concept for the ‘Maniac’ visual, I wanted to explore what it meant to be manic.”
Bound, gagged, and caged up in what looks to be an abandoned asylum, Aiko appears helpless at the start of the clip. As it progresses, she breaks out of constraints to explore her sexuality, grinding on a mannequin on a hospital bed.
“Maniac” is an early glimpse at Aiko’s forthcoming LP, the follow-up to 2014’s Souled Out. For Jhené, the project also comes on the heels of last year’s TWENTY88 joint effort with her beau Big Sean.