EXCLUSIVE: Penélope Cruz stars in Puerto Rican rapper Residente's '313' music video

Puerto Rican rapper Residente is nearing his 46th birthday and the concept of “time” is more present than ever.

In his music video for “313,” exclusively released with TODAY.com on Feb. 20, the Grammy-award winner navigates the passing of time and how lives are transformed as the clock ticks away.

“It’s not that I’m super old but, you know, I’m not in my 20s,” Residente, 45, tells TODAY.com. “So I feel time.”

“313” is a part of Residente’s second solo album, “Las Letras Ya No Importan,” which translates to “the lyrics don’t matter anymore.”

Directed by Residente, whose real name is René Pérez Joglar, the artist stars in the music video alongside Oscar winner Penélope Cruz. “313” also includes vocals and an appearance by Spanish singer Silvia Pérez Cruz.

Cruz narrates the beginning of the track in Spanish, explaining what life and time represent. The actor then embodies "life" in the video, with the group of dancers, playing a key role in the storyline. The music video is very ethereal, capturing the essence of time in our lives.

“I see Penélope as life and the ballet dancers as time,” Residente says. “The idea was that Penélope controlled time and me, in a way, and (by) the end of the video I start to control my own time and my life.”

Residente's role at the end, as he starts to disappear, is also him accepting that time is fleeting.

The video was shot in Spain in the fall, with temperatures dropping to low levels. “It was super cold and I know Penélope doesn’t like the cold, and she did it because she’s a good friend,” Residente says.

Cruz had a day to shoot her scenes. Her wardrobe included a flowy, off-the-shoulder, blue gown. The actor also narrates another song on the album titled “8.”

As for the song's title, “313” represents a number Residente has been seeing far more often since the death of a friend.

“These past years I lost a lot of people that I loved, brothers, friends,” he says, sharing that part of the inspiration for this song and video “was a friend of mine who was a violin player and died (about) a year ago.”

“Since her death, that number started to appear to me — and I don’t believe ... in these types of things, you know, but it was very real. '313' was in my face every time and I was like, ‘Why is this happening?’” he says.

Looking back at his messages with his friend, he noticed that her last message to him was at 3:13 in the morning — and so was his last message to her.

“I started to follow my instinct and the number,” he says, adding that Cruz was also drawn to the project because of the story.

“Penélope's (involvement) was... also because of the number," he says.

“313” is included in the album “Las Letras Ya No Importan,” which will be released on Thursday, Feb. 22.

“Las Letras Ya No Importan” was set to be released in 2023.

In December of last year, Residente posted a video on Instagram explaining he had made the decision to postpone the release of his album.

“I decided to postpone the release of my album along with several videos that were supposed to be released this year because it is impossible for me to do so in the face of all the macabre genocide that is slowly destroying Palestine,” he wrote at the time.

Residente tells TODAY.com, since then, he added a song to the album called “Bajo los Escombros” featuring Amal Murkus, which translates to “Under the Rubble.” For that track, he worked with Palestinian musicians.

“During the bombing, one of the musicians was able to record and send all of the music,” he says. “And we incorporated that in the song.”

Today, Residente continues to call for a ceasefire on his social platforms. “Even though I put my album out, I haven’t stopped publishing and talking about what’s happening there, at least in my social media every day.”

Residente’s creative endeavors have always expanded beyond pen and paper. While he's known for his songwriting, he's also an actor, producer and filmmaker.

“I’m using time as a reference to not only enjoy life, but to do the things that I really want to do. That’s why I’m kind of making a transition to film,” he says.

Residente made his film acting debut with “In the Summers,” which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and took home the grand jury prize.

Aside from directing some of his own music videos, in recent years he’s also been writing scripts for the big screen.

“I’m writing a script now that is almost done with Alex Dinelaris, who wrote ‘Birdman,’” he says. “We’re finishing this script that is gonna be my first movie.”

The reason for him to go beyond just music ties back to the meaning of “313”: time.

“I don’t wanna live with that pressure of time,” he says, explaining that he wants to stay present. “I really wanna do a lot of things before (my) time ends.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com