First of all, I would to thank Ballerstatus for offering me the opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas with their readers and for being innovative and revolutionary in their quest to support and shed light on the independent artist.
Me on set in The Bronx
When we released my debut, The Pastport, late last year, my team and I at AMG distribution had envisioned shooting videos to accompany all the singles on the album. We felt strongly about my message and understood the power of bringing those visuals to the fans. Nowadays, the average artist on a major is lucky if they see a second video to support their first offering. Most new artist just have one, and if that single doesn't bubble to what the label deems successful, that's it, they are pulling the plug on it. So being indie, I really have a lot more room to move: creatively and business wise.
As far as money is concerned, we didn't have a Hype Williams budget to spend, but I am a true believer that what made our favorite hip-hop videos classic: was the execution and that the video properly conveyed the artist and his message. Case in point: Wu-tang Clan's video debut, "Protect Ya Neck," not a big budget video at all, it's actually a very low budget video, but what makes it so great, is the rawness of it and the fact that it represents an honest picture of the artist and their message.
So off the bat, we were looking for a director who could think creatively outside the box and bring the essence of the song to life while still operating on an indie budget. We had the good fortune to connect with indie power house director Jay Espinal, who had just finished shooting a video for "DJ Drama presents HeadCrack Ent," which was also being distributed via AMG. So Michael Admani (owner of AMG Distribution) naturally brought up Jay when it came time to film my first video.
As far as "Coming 2 America" being my first video, it was really a no brainer. "Coming 2 America" is like my life story put to song. Aside from being my first single, it's also the song that put me on AMG's radar and has garnished me a strong following online and in the college radio circuit.
Once we had the song in mind and the right director in place, everything else was a matter of planning and executing. Jay and I both agreed that we wanted to shoot in the Bronx and capture my actual surrounding. The whole concept of "Coming 2 America" is to bring the audience into my world to clearly understand my story. Jay came up with the flags being a representation of the States and everyone who came out to support really gave the video a warm, honest, feel. We wanted to stay away from all the gimmicks and cliché things that rap videos have come to represent. I think "Coming 2 America" is one of the only videos in a long time where you see people smiling, lol. I really wanted to convey the fact that this is hip-hop! And we are not all stereotypes. Continuing on that thought, it was important to me to show the Marble Hill area of the Bronx and Kingsbridge as well, because when people think of the Bronx, they only seem to think of "the South Bronx" the X is very diverse and beautiful in its distinctive nature, so living on the west side of The Bronx since my teen years, I felt like I had to give people a different view of the borough that started it all.
ENOT, Director Jay Espinal, and Atek take a break from shooting.
If I had to pick a favorite part of the production process, I would have to say pre-production is personally what I enjoy the most. I graduated with a B.A. in Film/Video from the City College of New York. (Shout out to all my peoples on 137th & Broadway! And CUNY as a whole.) And the whole process really took me back to those sleepless nights planning my film projects and the fun of the creative process.
As for the actual production, I want to thank again everyone who was part of the project for all their efforts and their flexibility shooting in the early parts of the morning and the late parts of the evening. Being that the whole video is composed of exteriors: it was really challenging at times, getting the desired shot, while fighting against the clock for available sun light and the usual passing showers. Until you find yourself in that position you never think of how much the weather comes into play in those situations.
Being that we shot the video straight guerilla style with no permits, there was always the fear that we could get shot down at any moment during the shoot, so we moved fast between shots and as efficiently as possible. Looking back, next time we are definitely going to do the permits. We were trying to avoid the waiting and the whole paper trail that you have to follow with the permits. But now, thinking back to all the times, we could have taken a little bit longer with certain shots and the opportunity to really experiment with certain angles. Having the proper permits allows you some extra breathing room to do certain things on an active sidewalk. All in all though, everything came together very organized on set, Jay and I both run a very tight ship when it comes to being punctual and executing.
Once everything was in the can, the post-production of the video was really a waiting game. Jay Espinal is as anal when it comes to editing as he is when it comes to directing. The video was completely edited in 2 to 3 weeks, when you take into account that some motion pictures take months, even a year to edit in certain cases, this was actually a lighting fast return. As an artist though, one of the things that I cherish about recording and performing: is the fact that you get an immediate satisfaction of listening back to the track or seeing the crowd's reaction. When editing is concerned, you might not see the final product in weeks, maybe months. So when Jay finally showed us the final cut, there was a lot anticipation from all parties involved. I remember viewing the final cut and really appreciating the final product, after all the time and work invested, there was a real feeling of accomplishment viewing the video for the first time.
C Jonah, King Crayon, Atek, ENOT, and Sunny on set in The Bronx
So with that all said, I proudly introduce my debut video for my classic white label: "Coming 2 America." Thank You to AMG Distribution, Michael Admani, Director Jay Espinal, B, PB1, and everyone who played a part in the realization of this video. Look forward to many more exciting things from me this summer and in the near future. Big shout out to Ballerstatus!
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