VIDEO
"Blondie’s “Rapture”
Imagine telling the hottest, cutest, pop icon on the planet to make a record about you. I was kinda joking, but also dead serious. “Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody’s fly”, she sang. That name drop on “Rapture” became my international calling card and the s**t would soon hit the fan, and hard! Chris Stein and Debbie Harry from Blondie were among my first supporters and patrons. The cultural exchange we set up created bridges that we both used to venture into new creative worlds.
Classic music videos directed by Fab...
Queen Latifah "Ladies First"
Aside from being an artist I was instrumental in getting signed to Tommy boy records, I directed her first two music videos. “Dance For Me” and “Ladies first”. I love both of these videos but “Ladies First” was a film making triumph for me because although the song says nothing about the apartheid struggles at the time in South Africa, I was able to execute a concept that placed her as one of the leaders of that struggle and raise awareness among rap fans about those issues.
Check out behind the scene
Shabba Ranks – “Mr. Lover Man”
This was the 2nd video I directed for the Grammy winning Shabba Ranks after my first for him, “Trailer Load Of Girls”. Having grown up in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn around all types of West Indian people I was familiar with a lot of W.I. culture. This video was a first at the time where we saw a black artist from another culture and country doing it all in a totally different style then what was typically seen on MTV or BET by black acts. I saw an opportunity to make something special for Mr Loverman right in his back yard, Jamaica. This is the ‘mature’ version with a little nudity so if your under 18, don’t watch!
NAS – “One Love”
When I first listened to the “Illmatic” album by the then rap prodigy NAS, I knew it was going into the pantheon of greatest rap albums of all time. So when Nas expressed interest in me directing the video for his song, “One Love”, I was ready to get busy! Along with the way he sampled a scene from my film, “Wild Style” for the albums intro skit, I felt he knew I understood what he wanted and needed at that time video wise. Up to that point I felt his first couple of video’s had lackluster performances as the first directors seemed so in awe of his talent, they were not able to direct him to perform to a level on par with his amazing songs. I fixed that problem as you’ll see with, “One Love”.
Snoop Dogg - "Who Am I (What's My Name)?"
I directed his first music vid, “Whats My Name” & turned him & the Dog Pound into dogs. I was proud to introduce him to the world on YO! MTV Raps.
Gang Starr - Family and Loyalty
"Gang Starr Enlist J. Cole for First New Song in 16 Years ...
Directed by Fab 5 Freddy, the clip was mostly shot in the heart of Harlem. Preemo shows his family ties to the streets through the gift of diamonds. The video flips back to vintage shots of Guru, as his 19-year-old son, Keith Casim, is also shown throughout as an integral part of bringing the visual to life. Cole’s final feature finds him rhyming through a laptop in an open basketball gym after working on his lethal jumper."
Recent Docs
Executive Produced by
Fab
Nam June Paik : Moons The Oldest TV
See the world through the eyes of Nam June Paik, the father of video art and coiner of the term “electronic superhighway.”
YO! MTV RAPS
When We Wanted Our
‘Yo! MTV Raps’
For many years, hip-hop was the sound of New York City. But in the ’80s, it started to become the sound of young America at large. A big reason for that spread was the highly influential show Yo! MTV Raps. The show debuted on the erstwhile Music Television in 1988, airing hip-hop videos and interviews with rappers and showcasing its cool hosts. It quickly became a surprise national hit.
“People thought it was a passing fad,” says original host Fab 5 Freddy. “Nobody was thinking it would be around for 50 years.”
