Dr. Teeth: Director On The Come Up

Dr. Teeth seemed to be the go to video director in 2005 out of thin air. Once Mike Jones' "Still Tippin'" became a certified smash hit across the country, Dr. Teeth's name became attached to some of the hottest videos of last year, including Paul Wall's "Sittin' Sideways" and Mike Jones' "Back Then," among others. But for those not familiar with the rising producer, he has been putting in work in various places like BET and CBS, working behind-the-scenes for years.

Now, as his resume becomes even more thorough in 2006 with Notorious B.I.G.'s latest "Spit Your Game," Dr. Teeth seems like a seasoned veteran. BallerStatus spoke with the humble video director about his background, where he got his crazy name, how he is handling success and where he plans to go from here.

With a wide cheesing smile, Dr. Teeth is on the come up.

BallerStatus.com: Over the past year, you've really built a name for yourself as one of the rising video directors in the industry. Can you break down some of the stuff you were doing before becoming a recognized name over the past year?

Dr. Teeth: I was working at BET, three years prior to me breaking out last year. I had left BET and I started directing music videos. And I would direct anybody I could get my hands on that possibly had a record out.

In the South, I think my first four videos in a row came from an artist and independent labels in Atlanta. The next year, I got to do more videos and one of them was an artist named Devin The Dude that was on Rap-A-Lot. Each project that I would get, I would bust my ass to make it better the next one, so I could use that project to get another. And at the same time, I was going back to the labels and showing 'em what I was doing with the relationships that I had through working with BET.

In 2004, I had done a video for an artist that had the single in the top 10 on the radio here in Houston. It was a song called "Hooker Hooker." I had directed that video and it was a big hit for him in Houston, so he was using it as a promotional tool to sell his records. Mike Jones saw that video and fell in love with it, so he had told me that whenever he got his deal, he wanted me to direct his video. So, he hadn't got a deal yet, but he took me to Swisha House, and we sat down. They had three songs they were looking to do a video for, so they showed me them, and wanted to know which one I felt was the best song to do a video for. I chose "Still Tippin'," and now it's history. What a lot of people didn't know is that video played for a year before it really took off. So, from there, I was able to do "Back Then," which did really well for Mike and that in turn drew the attention of the other labels and I started getting more work.

BallerStatus.com: Now, your break really came from Southern artists in Houston, so are you from Houston or the South?

Dr. Teeth: Well, I'm originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. Texas is really my second home. Through my work at BET and working under Craig Henry (Craig Mack "Flava In Ya Ear"), I really learned to respect cultures and dissect the four elements of hip-hop. So, when we went to do "Still Tippin'," I approached by using the four elements of hip-hop and respecting the culture, by putting those elements in that people in Houston would recognize -- the candy paint, Screw music and swangin'.

Swisha House is not the first record label to get a deal in Houston, but they are the first to get a deal and stay true to their music and culture. That's all by G-Dash, the CEO of Swisha House, staying in sync with the direction they wanted to go with and not being swayed by where the major label wanted to go with their direction. He allowed me to really mold their vision for them. G-Dash is very adamant of not losing who Swisha House is, or who the artist is that represents the music that they are putting out. He's a big credit to their success.

If you really pay attention to my videos, a lot of things I do, I won't go out and find the most beautiful model I can find. Instead, I'll use the ghetto chick; the girl that the dudes in the hood look at as their dime. Just telling that story of the cars swangin' and Michael Watts right in the middle of the bottom with a section thick ghetto girl, cats wasn't really doing that. All that was poetry, because what people do with the Houston culture is, they are about candy painted Lacs, they bang Screw music, they swang and they hit strip clubs. With that, that's a part of their culture. So when the people in Houston saw ["Still Tippin'"], they embraced it. It really struck a nerve with them, and when the people outside of Houston saw it and saw how they do it out there, it drew more interest. It intrigued the people outside the local scene.

BallerStatus.com: Now, Dr. Teeth is quite a unique name. How did you get pegged with that moniker? Do you rock an iced-out grill or something?

Dr. Teeth: [laughs] No, I don't. The name Dr. Teeth came from when I used to play basketball in high school. We were in practice one day and I was coming down the court, I did a Dr. J move and dunked on this guy, right? So I'm running down the court and everybody in the gym and my teammates were like, "Ooooh, Oooh, Dr. J!" This other kid yelled out, "No, Dr. Teeth," because I had the biggest smile on my face. Instead of running down yelling "Arggh!!," I was cheesing my ass off. That was something they called me from high school.

When I went to BET -- I'm really big on branding, if you look at my videos I never put myself in it, I just put my name -- I was trying to think of something to brand myself -- a catchy, rememberable name. And I thought Dr. Teeth because anytime someone hears that, they think "What the hell is that?" It's ended up working. This was also way before the grills and "Still Tippin'," but it kind of falls in sync because any time someone goes to meet me, they think I'm gonna have the iced out grill and all that, but I don't.

BallerStatus.com: You mentioned how you started with BET, but I also read you worked with CBS. Talk about how you transitioned from working at a big network to being an editor to actually directing.

Dr. Teeth: When I went to Texas University, I really went there looking for the next thing to do. I went there with the intention to not graduate 'cause I never went there to graduate. I went there as the next thing to do. I found out from high school that I had produced a child and a year later, I had that child with me, raising him. I was the single parent, taking my baby to school on my hip. So having my baby, it made me re-access my direction and I had gotten into the cameras. I started getting interested in directing and at Texas Southern, they didn't have a lot of fancy equipment; they only had a little editing bay. But, I was so interested in it, I would beat the lab instructor to the lab to use the equipment and really learned in the basics of how to edit.

I started shooting and editing stuff for the university, and the local networks saw some of my work and they all handed me their cards. I called CBS and they offered me a job as an editor in the sports department. From there, that's where I learned most of my training. I used to shoot a lot of the college basketball games and there was no pressure on making sure everything was perfect because when I brought the footage back, they would teach me and really groom me on how to get my craft together. It taught me the correct way of shooting, of editing, etc. All the things I didn't learn in school, I learned at CBS.

From there, I walked right into BET. The skills I learned at the university and the freedom and stuff I learned at CBS, I was able to apply that to my job at BET. [That also applied] when I started working for myself, directing videos.

BallerStatus.com: Being that you are sought after director now, how does it feel to get requested by big name artists today, when just a year ago, they wouldn't have known your name?

Dr. Teeth: It just blows me away. If I'm in the airport, people will be like, "Yo, Dr. Teeth," and I'll just start giggling. It's funny because this time last year, not too many people knew who Dr. Teeth was. Now, if I'm walking around...and I don't think I'm some celebrity or anything, but when people do recognize me, it just blows me away. For people to really know who I am from seeing my work or seeing me on MTV's "Making The Video" is just crazy.

BallerStatus.com: Well, it's good to see you make it 'cause it's inspirational. Just from reading your bio and your accomplishments, I see that you have really put in work and deserve to be where you are at. It's good to see.

Dr. Teeth: Thank you. The funny this is when I came out, my mission was to really get signed by a production company, and no company would sign me. And rightfully so, because I hadn't done anything that they could market or make money from. So, what we ended up doing was starting our own company, and up until April (2005) -- and mind you I had "Still Tippin'" out, "Back Then" out -- no company still wouldn't touch me. We just went ahead and had to dedicate and build a filming company on our own. As soon as we did that, in July (2005), I had companies bangin' down the door. I had top companies wanting to sign me, but we just focused in on making our own company and seeing what we can do.

I'm just blessed. I feel like God has really put me in a position to really do these things on my own, so it's just really crazy.

BallerStatus.com: What are some of the things that set you apart from the rest of the big name directors like Dave Meyers or a Hype Williams?

Dr. Teeth: First of all, I'm a huge, huge music video fan. I'm a huge fan of Hype Williams and also of Little X. Since you asked me and I shouldn't really say this, but I feel like I'm a pup to them, in their world. I kind of think of myself as a rookie and I'm just now getting into the NBA. These guys are veterans, you know like Michael Jordan and Dr. J to me. I feel like I've made the all-star team.

I use their talent as a measuring stick for what I do. Each video that I do, I compare to them by their talent level. If with each video I do, the talent level doesn't improve by 150%, then I know I'm doing something wrong. If you take my videos I've done and string them together and watch them from beginning to end, you will see a big growth between each one of them. I learn from my mistakes and learn how to do it better next time.

BallerStatus.com: Do you use any special techniques or things you do that give your visuals that Dr. Teeth feel to it?

Dr. Teeth: I'm a storyteller, I'm a truth teller. So, when I approach a video or a song, I look for the elements of truth in it that people would recognize, which other directors may not touch. I grew up in the hood and I seen two sides of life because of it. So, because of what I've seen, I try to show the stuff the normal video don't usually show. I like telling a story and I try to make my video -- to the best of my ability -- have soul.

BallerStatus.com: What's your overall goal, as far as directing is concerned?

Dr. Teeth: A lot of people ask me if I'm gonna do a movie, but really, my goal was to direct music videos. I'm doing that, so now, my goal is for my name to be right next to Hype Williams' name or Benny Boom's name or Little X's name. When it comes to finding the best in directing and making music videos, I want to be recognized as the best. That's the ultimate goal.

I'm not really interested in doing a movie, but I will decide when opportunity comes around.

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