Crispin Brooks x Shara Vallee x Willo “Run Away” video premiere
1 h
Newsdesk
Music News is proud to host the exclusive world premiere of “Run Away” by Crispin Brooks x Shara Vallee x Willo.
Crispin Brooks thinks in scenes before verses. Raised by parents who were, among other things, writers and teachers, he studied classical piano by age 7, took formal art classes by 11, and read widely before his work moved through journalism, graphic design, and film. His pull toward music began just as visually: early MTV videos in the mid-’80s, along with the melodies and jingles of Nickelodeon and Sesame Street, gave him an early fascination with short-form storytelling set to music. “At my core, I’m a storyteller,” he says, and that has stayed true whether he is writing songs, directing videos, developing artists or building through music publishing.
After returning to the Caribbean in the late 2000s, Brooks began shooting music videos, then writing for soca bands and solo artists. In the smaller islands of the Northeastern Caribbean, he became known for helping artists shape the full presentation around their music. As a label owner and artist manager, he also guided Nyne and Shara Vallee to several local and regional hits, with Nyne helping bring island pop further into view in Anguilla and St. Maarten/St. Martin. “Run Away,” the new release from Crispin Brooks x Shara Vallee x Willo, carries that history into a project rooted in Anguilla, Caribbean rhythm, and the kind of music-video ambition Brooks grew up admiring.
“Run Away” opens a new chapter for Brooks through The Dream Jungle/The Dream Jungle Publishing, his new media entity. Willo, also known as Jemal Willock, supplied the beat that sparked the chorus, while Shara Vallee brings the vocal performance at the center of the record. Both connections go back years: Brooks has worked with Willo across several releases, and Vallee, his cousin, has collaborated with him across genres.
The track reflects Brooks’ Caribbean ear and pop instincts. Raised around reggae, dancehall, soca, calypso, zouk, bouyon, and kompas, while also absorbing hip-hop, ’90s pop, R&B, dance, house and rock, he writes in a lane where island cadence meets clean pop structure. “Run Away” comes through as an uplifting, bouncy dance-pop record with a four-on-the-floor drive and an island-pop lift. It moves fast, but the hook does more than push the record forward. It opens the door to a story. That story began as a visual. Once the chorus stuck, Brooks kept seeing a wedding scene, then looked for a way to turn the setup on its side. The approach comes from his love of the classic ’80s and ’90s music-video era, when pop visuals often came with characters, styling, lighting, choreography, and real narrative shape.
The “Run Away” video flips the expected wedding-crasher plot. Instead of a man rushing in to reclaim the bride, the groom is still drawn to an ex, and the interruption turns him into the runaway. Shot in Anguilla, including Green Space park, the video uses open-air settings and wide drone views over the water to underline escape, freedom, and the pull of love, while still leaving room for the quirky, comedic moments Brooks wanted in the story.
The video also gives Vallee space to step outside her comfort zone as an artist and play a character, adding another layer to a release built around performance, narrative and movement. With recording engineer Sheraul “Shay” Hughes, editor Ralston Smith, producer Lauraine Gumbs and the full cast and crew helping bring the wedding scene to life, “Run Away” points toward the projects Brooks is already building next. He has several more singles outlined from concept to treatment, with music made for dance floors, screens and the stories still ahead.
