Comparing the 2020s to previous decades, there’s more discourse about trans people than ever before. But that isn’t necessarily a win for the LGBTQ community. Trans identity has become a dog whistle for conservative who are intent on legislating other people’s existence; you’d be hard pressed to find a politician or pundit who hasn’t weighed in on the issue more than once. But a trans person talking about trans identity? You might as well look for cryptid representation in media. After all, plenty of people talk about sasquatches, but you never hear Bigfoot speak out.

Enter Cavetown’s music video for “Cryptid,” a song from their latest album, Running With Scissors (out now on Futures Music Group, a joint venture between Neon Gold and Avenue A Records that formed in 2024). Via a sly, clever and potent allegory, the English singer-songwriter, who is trans, depicts the world of a vibrant but vilified cryptid community that finally rises up in the face of prejudice — not to attack, but simply to exist.

Directed by Eden Mili, an Australian-born director and visual artist who, like Cavetown, is currently based on New York City, the “Cryptid” clip takes us from the sewers to the streets, where we watch deer-like cryptids come into their own power.

Here, Cavetown (Robin Skinner) and Eden Mili walk Billboard through the making of the video (filmed in part at retro Brooklyn roller rink All Night Skate), its subtle references to queer history and what else influenced Running With Scissors.

Did you know each prior to making this video? How did the collaboration come about?

Eden Mili: No, the first time we met in person was the day of the shoot, which was kind of crazy. But we had obviously spoken about it before.

Cavetown: I had a basic idea for the world and storyline that I wanted to create and I needed to find someone to help fill in the gaps and make it all cohesive. As soon as I read Eden’s treatment, I was just comparing all the others to hers. I thought graphic design was beautiful, all the colors, the font choices, the attention to detail. I get so many treatments where it’s just blank and white screen text and some random like picture they found on Pinterest. Eden’s felt like it was already in the world that I was imagining like aesthetically.

The main thing that drew me to it was that it was very nonviolent. I think a lot of the treatments [for “Cryptid”] had been misconstrued as like, “the uprising is the deer kill the hunters.” And sure, maybe hunters deserve to get killed sometimes. But I don’t think that’s what we’re trying to say here.

Part of the goal of the video, for me, was if someone who’s on the hunter’s side in the real world is to watch this — like a Republican or whatever — I don’t want them to see it and be like, “Well, yeah, the cryptids ARE the enemy because they’re violent.” There’s already a lot of false things that are projected onto the queer community — about anyone who’s protesting — about it being too violent. That’s absolutely not what I’m trying to say. I’m trying to create a world where these cryptids are marginalized, but they’re proud of themselves, and they have a community together. Uprising is just about demanding your presence. It’s not about killing the aggressor.

Mili: In the video, there are a lot of specific references to queer history and general uprisings that exist in the real world. One of them, which I don’t know if people are gonna clock, but the name tag that the host at the diner is wearing, who’s supposed to be more on the hunter side, is Phyllis, who was a very anti trans leader [Phyllis Schlafly]. And with the purple sashes halfway through the video, those are the same sashes that they wore during the Stonewall Riots. There are little things. As someone who’s been to a bunch of protests, it’s never violent. It always is, to an extent, pretty peaceful. I wanted to portray how I felt and how Robin felt and how a bunch of queer people have felt at like these protests.

How did you find your star, Léoh Hailu-Ghermay, for the video?

Mili: I had another actor initially, who is also trans, and then they couldn’t. I was like, “Do you know anyone?” and their roommate was Léoh, which was perfect. Initially the cryptids were going to have masks on their faces, and then I was looking through Léoh’s Instagram. The makeup that all the cryptids are wearing is makeup that Léoh actually wears in real life every time they go to an event. So the styling was inspired by their actual clothing and style.

Robin, what made you decide to have the cryptids have the deer-like horns?

Cavetown: I guess that spawned from the lyrics, when I was referencing trail cam footage. I was playing a lot in my mind, creating metaphor to represent queer communities, marginalized communities in a different way. One that kept coming back to me was deer-like, cryptid creatures, inspired by skin-walkers [witches in Navajo culture who can turn into animals], who you see on some blurry trail cam footage. That reminds me a lot of the ways footage or stories around trans people and their actions in the world can be distorted and misconstrued and twisted in a different way to work against us. When I think of trail cam footage of a creature, I imagine it with deer horns. I think a lot of skin-walkers are deer-based. There’s something about a deer that’s just beautiful too.

A beauty and grace.

Cavetown: But also a sharpness. Yeah, deer are beautiful, and they’re able to f–k you up, but they’re peaceful. I hadn’t even really thought about the deeper meanings behind why I chose a deer-hybrid creature, but I think that’s probably part of it too.

I wouldn’t call “Cryptid” an angry song, but it has more of a bite than some of your other stuff. Maybe more frustration.

Cavetown: Yeah, definitely frustration. A frustration that I felt for a long time, and through my community, I’ve felt more empowered to voice that frustration. I felt a lot of pressure in the past to not say anything unless it’s going to be constructive, or I’m going to provide some big idea that no one’s ever said before or make a difference. You feel very powerless.

But I’ve been feeling that there is a power that I do control, that no one can take away from me or from anyone like me: that’s my demanding that I exist and that I deserve to exist. We’re always going to be in control of our community. You can’t really destroy it no matter how many stupid laws you pass. A lot of it comes from a place of anger, but also in an empowering way. Demanding, “No, you’re wrong. You don’t see me the way I am. I deserve to be here, and so does everybody else.”

What was the shoot like? Cathartic?

Cavetown: I was definitely nervous because I’m pretty new to the city. A big thing for me moving here has been wanting to get out and make more friends, especially more friends in the queer community. I’ve grown up isolating myself from my own community in a way which is kind of crazy since I make songs for my community. But I’ve created a wall where I just get anxious that people are gonna know who I am already and stuff. I was nervous to step into this space where I knew there’d be a lot of queer people and I wanted to do the message justice. But I made so many really great friends. Léoh was so lovely and so great to work with, and so is Eden. There were so many extras there, too, which was really fun to get to know some of the local queer people.

Mili: People hadn’t heard the song, too, so it was their first time hearing it and getting their raw reflections on it too. I could tell people were definitely connecting with it. Nadine, who was playing Phyllis, the host, I found her through a friend of a friend. She was like, “My son came out when they were in middle school, high school,” and it’s a sad story because they were bullied to the extent where they then killed themselves. But in saying that, she was excited to be a part of something that could shine for him.

Thanks for sharing. That’s horrifically sad. But also speaks to the queer community’s ability to take that pain and create and come together and share. Robin, I wanted to ask you about another song from Running With Scissors, “NPC.” Great title. Where did that come from?

Cavetown: “NPC” was mainly inspired by this imaginary friend I had as a kid called Mr. Nobody. And his whole deal was that he was just wasn’t there. He was just absent. For some reason I just had this I had in my mind that he’s the absence of matter, holding a briefcase, and he was always away on a work trip. He existed for me, even though I never really met him. I hadn’t thought about him for a long time until I was battling with my own relationship with touring and with traveling. I find transitions really hard, moving between being at home and being away and then being in a different hotel, being in a bus. It’s very overwhelming for me. I’m always on a work trip, and I was like, “Mr. Nobody, that’s me now. I’m kind of that guy that I imagined so many years ago.”

And having that realization felt comforting. That imaginary friend was representing something that I would become, which felt like a weird, spiritual, “Whoa, I’ve always known that I’m going to be someone who’s traveling.” Also, it reminded me to find a sense of home and a sense of grounding within just myself, because I’ve been with myself my whole life. I live in this body, and this body is my home, and that’s the one constant that I can take everywhere with me.

Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

This week, A$AP Rocky checks the dummies, Madison Beer fully arrives and ENHYPEN keep fans on their toes. Check out all of this week’s picks below:

A$AP Rocky, Don’t Be Dumb 

In a hip-hop ecosystem where most A-listers are hyper-prolific, A$AP Rocky has remained a headliner by taking his time and carefully curating his discography; Don’t Be Dumb, his long-awaited and oft-delayed fourth studio album, not only rewards patience but adds new wrinkles to the rapper’s approach — a evolved relationship with melody, and a wiser lyrical slant — that could have only come with time.

Madison Beer, Locket 

More than a decade after making her pop debut, Madison Beer has reached an enviable point in her career, in which she’s straddling a line between fresh new star and longtime indie heroine capable of booking a Madison Square Garden date. Locket, her third studio album, represents a mainstream breakthrough — not just because singles like “Make You Mine” and “Bittersweet” have earned hundreds of millions of streams, but also because album tracks like “Bad Enough” and “Angel Wings” are among the strongest of Beer’s catalog.

ENHYPEN, The Sin: Vanish 

While ENHYPEN’s seventh mini-album The Sin: Vanish is led by the crackling hip-hop single “Knife,” that anthem serves as something of a red herring for the K-pop group’s most wide-ranging body of work in recent memory — the vampire mythology adds to the product, but even casual listeners will be able to (sorry) sink their teeth into a lot here.

Wizkid & Asake, “Jogodo” 

Not only are Wizkid and Asake two of Nigeria’s biggest crossover stars, but — with 2020’s Made in Lagos and 2022’s Mr. Money With the Vibe, respectively — each has translated global smashes into sumptuous, front-to-back great studio projects; a forthcoming joint EP is a thrilling prospect, and the sly, shimmering lead track “Jogodo” surpasses expectations.

Megan Moroney, “Wish I Didn’t” 

Ahead of her upcoming Cloud 9 album, Megan Moroney has just unveiled one of the catchiest tracks of her career: “Wish I Didn’t,” a country-pop ode to a force-of-nature personality, pairs Moroney’s smoky delivery with a timely warning to someone who’s about to underestimate her, and stokes greater anticipation for her new project.

Editor’s Pick: Mitski, “Where’s My Phone?” 

Finally, an indie-rock anthem for those of us who can never find their phones! The first taste of Mitski’s upcoming eighth album, Nothing’s About to Happen to Me, is deeper than a misplaced cell, but offers straightforward delights for longtime fans, including a jangly hook and fuzzed-up guitar freakout in the song’s final 30 seconds.

Jamaican reggae powerhouse Protoje is hitting the ground running in 2026, and Billboard can exclusively announce that his new album, The Art of Acceptance, will arrive this spring via In.Digg.Nation Collective and Ineffable Records.

Protoje’s latest LP will serve as the official follow-up to 2022’s Third Time’s the Charm, which earned him his second Grammy nomination for best reggae album. Driven by his trademark conscious lyricism and appreciation for the genre’s classic periods, The Art of Acceptance will include the previously shared tracks “Big 45” and “Feel It,” as well as a new collaboration with Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley titled “At We Feet.”

Now available to stream on all platforms, “At We Feet” marks the very first collaboration between the two superstars and serves as the official lead single for The Art of Acceptance. “Whatever we need, Jah put a we feet,” Protoje croons in the refrain, bridging roots reggae with more contemporary production flourishes. In the wake of Hurricane Melissa, which became the strongest storm to strike Jamaica in the island’s history in October, the steadfast, faith-driven lyrics of “At We Feet” are especially poignant. The new single also arrives alongside a SAMO-directed music video, which was shot between Kingston and Miami.

“‘At We Feet’ is about faith, surrender, and trust, knowing that when you move with love and positivity, provision comes, even in hard times,” the St. Elizabeth native explained. “It’s a reminder that beyond our plans, there’s a greater design unfolding.”

To support The Art of Acceptance, Protoje will embark on an international tour beginning with a performance at Florida’s Reggae Rise Up Fest on March 14. The European leg of the trek will kick off on March 19 at De Roma in Antwerp, Belgium, visiting major cities including Paris and Zurich before concluding with three shows in the U.K. Protoje will then head to the States for the tour’s American leg, which includes a special Stephen Marley-assisted show at Houston’s House of Blues on April 22.

Although it’s been a few years since Protoje’s last full-length album, the acclaimed singer-producer has remained busy, lending his talents to several tracks on Lila Iké’s gorgeous album Treasure Self Love. Billboard named his protégé’s debut LP the No. 3 Best Caribbean Album of 2025, and the set will compete in the best reggae album category at February’s Grammys.

Check out Protoje’s upcoming tour dates and listen to “At We Feet” below:

Before his death in 2009, Dan Seals had a storied career as both a pop and country artist, with such ‘70s hits as “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” and “Nights Are Forever Without You” as half of England Dan & John Ford Coley on the pop charts and then a string of country No. 1s as a solo artist in the ‘80s, including “Bop,” “Addicted” and “Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold).”

His legacy will be celebrated with Dan Seals & Friends: The Last Duet, an Aug. 28 release from Melody Place Records and the Dan Seals Estate that features many of his biggest hits re-created as new duets with artists including Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Jamey Johnson, Alabama, Marie Osmond and Tanya Tucker.

While four of the songs have already come out — “Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)” with Bryan, “Three Time Loser” with Johnson, “My Baby’s Got Good Timing” with Jasmine Amy Rogers and “Nights Are Forever Without You” with Sara Evans — Billboard is exclusively revealing the full track list below. Upon the release of his duet with Seals, Bryan said, “When I think of all time iconic songs, this one definitely comes top of mind. Dan was an artist I had on repeat and actually still do. I sang this song when I was back in Georgia and now to be here and paired with him on this new release is just unbelievable.”

Noted producer and Seals collaborator Kyle Lehning put together the project, using digital technology to extract Seals’ vocals and recordings and then adding on the duet partner to create something familiar, yet new.  

“Dan was always true: as a singer, as an artist and as a man,” Lehning said in a statement. “Seeing the way all of these artists responded when they had Dan’s voice in their ears shows how that warm truth in his voice still touches people in the best way. The song ‘Still Reelin’’ was Dan reflecting on the effect that Elvis and the early rock n’ rollers had on him as a child, it’s nice to see that people are ‘still reelin’’ from his music today.”

The album also includes what is being billed a 50th-anniversary edition of “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight,” which came out in March 1976 and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The version takes Seals’ recording of the song from his 1995 album In a Quiet Room record with new vocals recorded by Coley.

England Dan & John Ford Coley took four songs to the top of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, while Seals landed 11 No. 1s on Billboard’s Country Songs chart, including “Meet Me in Montana,” a duet with Osmond, who appears on the new album on “You Still Move Me.”

All singles from the album, which can be pre-saved here, while a number of music videos and other visuals featuring archival footage will be rolled out.

Dan Seals & Friends: The Last Duet track list

1. “Big Wheels In The Moonlight” – Blake Shelton
2. “God Must Be A Cowboy” – Ned LeDoux
3. “Nights Are Forever Without You” – Sara Evans
4. “Bop” – Tanya Tucker
5. “You Still Move Me” – Marie Osmond
6. “Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)” – Luke Bryan
7. “The Healing Kind” – Katharine McPhee
8. “Wood” – John Berry
9. “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight (50th Anniversary Edition)” – John Ford Coley
10. “Love Is The Answer” – Jackie Evancho
11. “Addicted” – The Castellows
12. “Love On Arrival” – Wendy Moten
13. “One Friend” – Lynda Carter
14. “Three Time Loser” – Jamey Johnson
15. “My Baby’s Got Good Timing” – Jasmine Amy Rogers
16. “Steel Reelin’ (From Those Rock & Roll Days)” – Alabama