Spike Lee Was My Hero: The Juggernaut Video - Driz Lo (Directed by Kil & Panama Rand)

It's been 2 years since I shot my last video for the bul Jay Rugga but after my dude Tony came up to the DMV to get some footage of me & Nay for his documentary and I saw all his equipment and the footage he caught...I got the bug to start shooting again. It just so happened that we just let Driz Lo's new single "The Juggernaut" go, so I felt like no better time then the present to make it happen. The only thing was, I didn't wanna shoot the regular "rap video." You know, the around the way, sitting in front of the bodega with you & your crew type video. And that's absolutely no knock on those kind of videos cause I've shot those myself but I just wanted to do something bigger and deffer. So between reading this book on the making of Tarentino's "Pulp Fiction" and listening to a RACK of Gangrene (if ya'll never heard Alchemist & Oh No's albums together kill yourself) on repeat, I came up with an ill treatment for the video. Now, anybody who gets behind the camera knows that one of the hardest things to do is bringing the vision that's in your head to fruition. But I can honestly say that I pulled it off perfectly with this jawn but let me know what ya'll think...

Sidebar Vintage...Everyday People

There's not a lot of REAL dope stuff on tap any more. Everything to me is just aiight. Music, kicks, clothes...you name it, and bet money it'll just be aiight. There was a time many, many, many moons ago when you would walk into your local record store (Sound of fill in the blank...Germantown, Market, etc. in Philly and Beat Street when I rested in Brooklyn) and unless you sold drugs then there was no way that you'd be able to cop every new 12" and album that you wanted. Same when it came to kicks, I'd go into Sneaky Pete's or stop down on Ogontz and could only dream of saying "I'll take everything on the wall in a size 9." Nowadays unless it's a pair of retro J's or a pair of uptowns you couldn't give me 80% of kicks in whatever sneaker store you go to. And it's the exact same thing with gear. And that's where Sidebar Vintage comes into play. About 6 months ago me & my man Ev decided to start designing tee shirts and let the line grow. And after months of planning and designing, I'm proud to say that we're finally launching site and the sale of first 2 shirts...the Vinyl Junkies and the Illawakening tees. So come through the new website and support! Best believe we mos def appreciate it! www.sidebarvintage.com

Spike Lee Was My Hero: Losing My Religion...The 1st Draft

One thing that damn near no one knew about me til a minute ago is I ALWAYS wanted to be a director. I remember the 1st time I got that jones, it was back in '87, I was dolo at the movie theater down 16th & Market (back in the day when you could get robbed down 16th & Market) and I saw Spike Lee's "School Daze." I had snuck and watched Spike's 1st flick "She's Gotta Have It" numerous times (I was only 11 when it 1st dropped so moms didn't want me peeping all the sex scenes) but it didn't have the same effect that "School Daze" had on me. "School Daze" not only sparked my interest in film making but it also sparked my interest in attending a HBCU. The thing that really got me was the way Spike was able to influence me the same way hip hop did. I've always told anyone who would listen, that I believe that Spike Lee was just as important to late 80's, early 90's hip hop as NWA and Public Enemy were. Spike was able to use his camera the same MC's used their mics to talk about the social issues that were going on in our communities and that’s what I wanted to do...influence folk. The only problem was, a 13 year old getting loot to buy a camera and make movies seemed even crazier then a 13 year old finding a studio to make beats and record vocals. (remember this is ’87 LOOOOONG before Fruity Loops & Garage Band! Hell, a TR 808 drum machine was $3,000! And that was a lil more then what my weekly allowance would pay for.  Nowadays you buy a $350 ipad mini & you got a studio!) But thanks to my peoples Marv and Cool DJ Frank I met my dude Hollis who rested out West Philly who had a home studio that he let us use for next to nuthin' so that whole finding a studio to make beats actually came to fruition. And with that chance meeting with Hollis, my film making dreams went right out the window, cause from that point on I was a producer and nuthin’ else. 

Buy The Album When I Drop It: The Vet Mixtape - Viral Audio

"Well, they say nobody knows me, I respond the greatest move slowly and keep it on the low key" - Viral Audio

I've known Tay since the 90's high school back in Philly but it wasn't til about two years ago that we linked back up through facebook and she was telling me that cats back in Philly were frontin' on her on the music tip. And if ya'll know anything about me, ya'll should know I HATE cats frontin' on folk for no reason. So after hearing that, me and Tay started rocking together on a song here and there and the chemistry she had with my beats were so dope we just decided to go all in a project. Her debut solo album "The Vet" is about 50% done but we wanted to drop a 'lil sumthin' so here's a sampler of some of the heat we're about to have on tap for ya'll.

The Promo: K Fanat's Renaissance Musician Video - Directed by Kil

Aiight...now this jawn right here is REAL special to me. Not just because K is my dude or because I produced the track but because I directed the video! Now, that may not sound amazing to you but it's amazing to me because I don't know how to direct videos! But when you're like me and you live by my motto of "one monkey don't stop no show" and cats front on you for shooting videos or wanna charge you like they're Hype Williams (and they're not), you'll learn how to shoot videos yourself too. So throughout this process of producing 9 albums that'll be dropping this year (yup, 9 albums) I've gone from just being a producer, to being an engineer, a web designer, a photographer, a promoter and now a videographer. And the dope thing about wearing all of these hats is now that I know how to do it, I don't have to come outta pocket to pay anybody else to do it for me. It's like once you learn how to change your car's oil, I'm sure you're never going back to Midas and paying $35 to get someone else to do it. And you'll probably be kicking yourself for all those years you were paying $35 to get it done! And that's how I feel right about now. And outta everything that I've done with my music, my writings and me and Roz's marriage work, this video right here, this is the thing I'm the most proud of myself for. And that's because I can make beats, write and talk about marriage with my eyes closed but like I said I came into shooting this video with absolutely NO idea of what I was doing. And to be honest, I think the jawn came out pretty dope, what ya'll think?