What it do IMVDB whaodies?!
Im bringin you a new series called Videos I <3." Ill be discussing some of my favorite videos past and present. Yall ready?!?! Here we go!
In order to truly understand how great this video is, Ill 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 artists 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 Moneys first major release was Juveniles Ha." Pronounced huh and not hah." Not only was this the first major release for Cash Money, but it was Juveniles 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. Heres an example of his stylized approach to music videos, which is one of the greatest intros to a movie EVER!
Now some of yall are thinking, But CB, arent you forgetting Master P? Why is this Juvenile video so special?
Well, youre 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? Whats interesting is that these tracks are from two separate albums released one year apart. When I first saw Ice Cream Man on BETs 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: its not ice cream hes serving). Despite seeing the Lexus, I thought that this was such a real ass, gritty ass video.
And then I saw Juveniles Ha video.
Not only was Juvies 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 Williams 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 theres 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 dont 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. Its 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 Juveniles Ha doesnt feel like cultural tourism. Sure, its exploitation on a certain level, but I dont 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 its 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."
Ive heard a lot of directors use Mark Romaneks 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 lets be honest, "Ha" is too real for TV like a poltergeist (word to Taraach), and too real for most directors.
Ill leave you with a couple pearls of wisdom from Juvie, himself.
Black, out.
