WATCH: ZG Smith, “Nighttime Animal”

Artist: ZG Smith
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Nighttime Animal”
Album: Nighttime Animal
Release Date: February 23, 2023
Label: Tone Tree Music

In Their Words: “When Kyshona and I were writing ‘Nighttime Animal,’ in my mind the term was sort of a proxy for people who go against the grain. I think most of us have this pull in our lives to fit in, acquiesce to our surroundings, and be, for lack of a better term, ‘day people.’ In some ways that can be positive; we’re communal beings by nature, and we should definitely be able to function cooperatively, but a lot of folks end up quashing their own individuality and creativity in order to follow someone else’s idea of convention. Even worse is when some larger outside entity like the government tries to minimize individual autonomy, as is the case with reproductive rights legislation in Tennessee and other states right now. I think the defining energy of your life should be centered within you and no one should have power over someone else in that way. You can kinda see this in the way we crafted the arc of the music video when the main character, the ‘Nighttime Animal,’ has this sort of ‘hell yeah!’ moment when he finds the motorbike and lets himself go.” — ZG Smith

Photo Credit: Natia Cinco