Shan Phearon exercises his love of the medium, doffing a fanboy cap along the way, with his super-slick monochrome affair for Jordy, featuring Louis Rei - paying homage to that indispensible part of hip hop vids in the MTV age: the 'Video Vixens'. The video for Too Much is a deconstructed, minimalist concept, paying homage to 2000's-era B&W aesthetics - with nods to videos for Puff Daddy, Q-Tip, Nas and Mariah - in a thoughtful manner. It will have viewers of a certain age nostalgic for the videos from their youth - but there's also a contemporary spin. Shot by DoP Courtney Bennett, it boasts a nostalgic, monochromatic style and plenty of visual energy, and comes as a healthy palate cleanse after the intensity of Phearon's recent work for U2 and Jazmin Bean. And also gives the Video Vixens - the girls who featured regularly in those classic promos - some overdue kudos and respect."Soulful activity this one, with Day 1 film friends," says Phearon of the experience working with Bennett and others on making the video. "[We were] Re-exploring cultural ideas we grew up on, through the shifting lenses of our later years.He adds that for the video he cast girls that often appear in the videos of the grassroots British rap scene today, and immortalised them on pristine 35mm. Shan: "I guess it's not a music video with just Video Vixens in them. It's a music video about them. An open-minded honouring of an influential sect."
Rob Ulitski - 26th Sept 2023