Inspired by heist movies, Shaw Brothers, and hip-hop, "Work Talent" is a look at hard-working artists who create because they have to.
Golden Age Society (AKA producer Malicious Lee and lyricist Do D.A.T.) have been like family to me, and when they approached me to collaborate on a music video, I jumped at the chance. Malicious Lee had one condition: "You direct it." They gave me some inspiration to work from like the 1995 Hughes Brothers film Dead Presidents. I peppered in references to some of my favorite things like Hot Fuzz, Shaw Brothers' kung-fu flicks, and a nod to Paul Thomas Anderson's music video for Fiona Apple's "Paper Bag".
Cinematographer Jesse Dana and I came up with the concept, where we broke the video into three visual styles: dark & cinematic (inspired by Dead Presidents), hyper and saturated (my Shaw Brothers homage, complete with crash zoom), and then clean & crisp (more of a session video vibe). Colorist Ayumi Ashley took that a step further and integrated film grain and texture into each section.
Inspirato (from left to right): Toei opening film logo, scene from Dead Presidents, Fiona Apple's "Paper Bag", the "junk" scene from Hot Fuzz.
