Synopsis

Set in the early 1970s, "Good Man" follows a couple whose relationship fractures under pressure from desire, pride, and changing social circumstances. Raphael Saadiq appears as the limo driver and narrator, observing the troubled romance from a distance while the song's wounded protagonist insists that he is fundamentally decent. The film-like video balances glamour and hardship, contrasting social ambition with humility as affection gives way to distrust, regret, and emotional collapse.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video stars Chad Coleman, known for playing Cutty on "The Wire," opposite Yaya DaCosta, who had appeared on "America's Next Top Model" and in "The Kids Are All Right."

• "Good Man" was released as the second single from Saadiq's 2011 album "Stone Rollin'." The single and video arrived in February 2011, ahead of the album's May release.

• Saadiq described the song as being about a man who may be surrounded by questionable circumstances but is still, at heart, a good man. That idea gives the video's central character a deliberately complicated moral dimension.

• The production was presented as a short film rather than a conventional performance video, with Saadiq functioning mainly as an observer and storyteller instead of the romantic lead.

• The song later gained renewed attention through its inclusion in the Netflix series "Luke Cage," where its crime-drama atmosphere complemented a violent sequence.