Ed Sheeran will drop the video for the remix of his = (Equals) track “2Step” on Friday (April 22). The new version of the track, which features Lil Baby, is the fifth single form Sheeran’s fifth studio album and the visual has a very special meaning for the singer.
According to a preview, the clip was shot in Kyiv, Ukraine last year, well before Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked war on the nation in February of this year, plunging the nation into a bloody battle for survival in a conflict that has killed more than 2,000 Ukrainians to date and injured nearly 3,000.
According to Sheeran, the video will drop on Friday morning and proceeds from the YouTube streams will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The preview includes images of thousand of people pulling off coordinated dance moves in a downtown city square as Sheeran struts across a crosswalk and Baby drops his verse from the midst of a scrum of people bowing in waves.
In an Instagram post announcing the video, Sheeran wrote, “We filmed the 2step video last year in Kyiv and although it was my first time there, I quickly loved the people and the place. There was no sign of the horror that was to come to Ukraine and my heart goes out to everyone there.”
Last week, J Balvin and Sheeran succeeded themselves at No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart (dated April 16) when “Sigue” took over the top spot from their other recent collab, “Forever My Love.”
Check out the video preview below.
Ed filmed the 2step video last year in Kyiv. The video comes out 5am on Friday this week and proceeds from the YouTube streams will go to the DEC’s Ukraine appeal. 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/ZqmLhfucjp
— Ed Sheeran HQ (@edsheeran) April 18, 2022