Posted by Maura Johnston on 03/23/2011 at 3:58 PM Videos

The Popdust Files: hit the lights, jay sean, lil wayne

The video for “Hit The Lights,” the second single from Jay Sean’s forthcoming album Freeze Time, has landed. You would think that a Lil Wayne-assisted track would occasion a video that, while it might not be a Hype Williams extravaganza, would at least have something representing “production values.” You’d be wrong in this case! This clip is, in part, seemingly set in a dance club in the minutes after it opens its doors and the place isn’t that crowded and the desperation of everyone inside is maximally obvious; then it adjourns to CGI Make-Out-Land for the rest of its non-dance-routine scenes. One thing that remains constant, though: the feeling of this whole enterprise being done on the cheap.

Yeesh, that is low-quality that shines through even over lower-quality Internet video lines. Although perhaps the aesthetic is deliberately retro; after all, someone on the clip’s production team clearly has an affection for the old HBO open, back when the channel was called “pay TV” and didn’t broadcast 24 hours a day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G2hoj64PfU