We’ve all been there: that toxic, self-inflicted back-and-forth of being in a situationship you just can’t seem to make your way out of. “I keep going back to it because deep down, I like the drama,” INJI tells PAPER. “The boy drives me crazy, but I keep choosing him anyway.”
For the 24-year-old Turkish-born artist, this inner tug-of-war became fertile ground for her latest single, “U WON’T!”, a high-voltage, heartbreak-fueled banger that captures the whiplash of being caught in a cycle with someone who just won’t commit — but who you keep texting anyway. “It was inspired by a very real relationship I had in college,” she says. “I never got what I wanted or deserved, but I had this bizarre addiction to the chaos.”
Premiering today on PAPER, the music video for “U WON’T!” doesn’t just tell the story — it punches you in the face with it. Literally. INJI delivers a bloody, cinematic metaphor for emotional masochism, beating herself up (physically and emotionally) as a stand-in for the kind of psychic damage that only a truly cursed crush can cause. “It’s not him who makes me want to scream. It’s me, and my own damn brain,” she explains. “Situationships feel like a punch to the head. So I punched myself in the head.”
Shot with just a handful of close friends on a shoestring budget, the video oozes with DIY grit and raw emotional power. INJI styled herself, sourced the fake blood on Amazon and filmed the whole thing in a single venue found on a whim in New York. “There’s a special kind of joy in doing it all yourself,” she says. “Every frame in that video — every drop of blood — came straight from the heart.”
If “U WON’T!” sounds like something you’d scream into a hairbrush while texting your group chat, that’s entirely the point. “I hope they send it to all their girlfriends with a text like, ‘You and [insert name]…’” INJI laughs. “I hope they jump around and dance in their bedrooms. I hope they feel relief — like someone finally put their mess into words.”
What was the inspiration behind the song?
This song is about something everyone experiences in their 20s: situationships. Specifically, the kind that make your blood boil from frustration — but also weirdly thrill you. It was inspired by a very real relationship I had in college. I never got what I wanted or deserved, but I had this bizarre addiction to the chaos. I could never let it go, even when I knew better.
How do you hope fans feel when they hear it?
I hope they send it to all their girlfriends with a text like, “You and [insert name]…” I hope they scream it. I hope they jump around and dance in their bedrooms. I hope they feel relief — like someone finally put their mess into words.
How did you translate the song into the video?
In the song, I’m basically yelling and screaming about this messy, infuriating relationship—but then I keep going back to it, because deep down, I like the drama. It’s this self-inflicted toxic loop. The boy drives me crazy, but I keep choosing him anyway.
So for the video, we wanted something equally vivid and brutal. Because that’s what situationships are: BRUTAL. In the video, you literally see me — INJI — beating up… myself. It’s about the internal war that’s eating me alive. The self-indulgent, impulsive side of me (that runs back to the same mess) is violently taking down the more delicate side — the part that knows I deserve better. It’s not him who makes me want to scream. It’s me, and my own damn brain. Or to put it simply: situationships feel like a punch to the head. So I punched myself in the head.
What are some challenges or highlights from creating the music video?
We made this video with a tiny crew of close friends, on a very small budget. And honestly, there’s a special kind of joy in doing it all yourself. My director Ana and I came up with the concept together, found a venue in New York in a day, and I styled myself the same afternoon. I ordered fake blood on Amazon, smeared it all over my face, and got to work. It’s chaotic, it’s messy, and it’s so rewarding. Every frame in that video — every drop of blood — came straight from the heart.
What are you working on and excited to share with fans next?
I’m working on a killer album. I’ve finally found the direction I’ve been searching for, and I know my fans are going to love it. Honestly, it’s because of them that I have this vision now. I can’t wait to bring them into this whole new world of music.
Any additional news or highlights you’d like to share with PAPER readers?
Nope. Love you guys.
Photography: Shan Shi