Synopsis

Tricky moves through a stylized Chinatown populated by mobster figures, creating a strange collision between pop stardom and criminal mythology. The video places him inside a world that resembles a gangster movie while an animation-like visual treatment bends the imagery into something dreamlike and unstable. Its darkly comic atmosphere mirrors the song's attack on artists who mistake cinematic violence, exaggerated personas, and record-business status for real life.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released in 1999 and runs for approximately four minutes.
• It was produced by Propaganda Films.
• "For Real" was the lead single from *Juxtapose*, Tricky's collaboration with DJ Muggs and Grease, and was released as a single on August 3, 1999.
• The video's Chinatown mobster setting reflects the song's criticism of gangsta posturing and the tendency to confuse movie imagery with lived experience.
• The animation-style visual effect was singled out in a retrospective review of the music-video compilation *The Work of Director Stephane Sednaoui*, where "For Real" was described as one of the collection's standout clips.
• The track's subject also connected with Tricky's recurring criticism of fame and the music business, following similar concerns on earlier songs such as "Record Companies" and "Money Greedy."