What it do IMVDB whaodies?!

I’m bringin you a new series called “Videos I <3." I’ll be discussing some of my favorite videos past and present. Y’all ready?!?! Here we go!

In order to truly understand how great this video is, I’ll need you to break out your whitest reeboks and crispiest pair of Girbauds cause this video comes straight from the 5-0-fo’.

Most people are familiar with this artist’s biggest hit, which makes all the ratchet girls go crazy:

I'm talking about, New Orleans own, Juvenile!

For some of you youngins, without Juvenile then there may not have been a Lil Wayne and before Young Money, there was Cash Money Records. Cash Money’s first major release was Juvenile’s “Ha." Pronounced “huh” and not “hah." Not only was this the first major release for Cash Money, but it was Juvenile’s first single.

During this time rap music and music videos were at its highest levels, both culturally and monetarily. Music video budgets were exorbitant. The year is 1998. Bad Boy Records and Puff Daddy were dominating the radio and airwaves. This was a time in music us older hip-hop heads call, “Jiggy." 

Rap videos during this period were polished and vibrant and over the top. It makes sense for the videos to be as polished as the music that was coming out. My favorite music video director, Hype Williams, was the driving force behind this new aesthetic in music videos and rap. Here’s an example of his stylized approach to music videos, which is one of the greatest intros to a movie EVER!

Now some of y’all are thinking, “But CB, aren’t you forgetting Master P? Why is this Juvenile video so special?”

Well, you’re right. Master P and his No Limit Records came out before Juvenile and Cash Money Records, both coming out of New Orleans. But even as Juvenile released his fist single, Master P released his breakout hit from his SIXTH album. Master P and No Limit Records went from this:

To this:

See the difference? What’s interesting is that these tracks are from two separate albums released one year apart. When I first saw Ice Cream Man on BET’s Rap City (word to Joe Clair), I was enamored with New Orleans. My first introduction to New Orleans was seeing this rapper posted up in the Calliope Projects serving up ice cream cones (hint: it’s not ice cream he’s serving). Despite seeing the Lexus’, I thought that this was such a real ass, gritty ass video.

And then I saw Juvenile’s “Ha” video.

Not only was Juvie’s flow and the beat fire, but I had never seen anything like that, let alone in a music video. Here my best friend Sheniwka (Shenikwa) and I were talking on the phone watching Hype William’s newest video for Puff Daddy, and me recording them on VHS, to seeing this and it blowing my mind! I remember thinking that most of the people were actors, but there’s nothing fake about this video.

Directed by Marc Klasfeld, it shows a gritty and much more real side of New Orleans. What I love about this video is its veritè and photojournalistic quality and the dolly moves of some of the performance are gold. Subtle, yet sweet. Klasfeld does a great job of presenting this video as a mirrored reflection of the people of New Orleans and the Magnolia Projects and the lyrics of the song. Juvie says in the chorus: 

“You know what it is, to make something out of nothing. You hand your biz and don’t be cryin and sufferin."

When we see a yellow Ferrari in the middle of the projects, Klasfeld is juxtaposing the dreams of being rich with the ugly reality of poverty. It’s one part rapper getting his shine on and one part the American dream.

One thing I see a lot in music videos today is the exploitation of “the hood," but Juvenile’s “Ha” doesn’t feel like cultural tourism. Sure, it’s exploitation on a certain level, but I don’t feel gross watching this like I do some music videos. Klasfeld presents this honestly to the people of New Orleans and to Juvenile. The Magnolia Projects ARE him, so it’s important to capture the beautiful and ugly portrayals of his city. Klasfeld says of the experience: 

"I saw people with jaundiced eyes from crack, mothers with 15 children, rats running through apartments. No pretty people at all. There was no fantasy. People in N.Y. or L.A. don't realize that this kind of reality still exists in this country. A third world reality." 

I’ve heard a lot of directors use Mark Romanek’s “99 Problems” as a reference for a girtty, veritè-style music video, which is cool, that video is awesome, but when you compare the two, "Ha" gets my vote every time.

It will be interesting to see if directors starts using "Ha" as a reference, but let’s be honest, "Ha" is too real for TV like a poltergeist (word to Taraach), and too real for most directors.

I’ll leave you with a couple pearls of wisdom from Juvie, himself.

Black, out.

Chris Black is a music video director and producer. He's got the cool of Zack Morris with Mr. Belding's haircut. He's highly intellexual and hella urban. When he's not talking about rap, he's discussing the music video form. He's got Alfalfa dreams, but Buckwheat realities. Check him out on twitter (@theblack) or peep his website (chrisblack.la).