Hype Williams: Legendary Video Director Reflects on Working with Beyoncé, Tupac, Missy Elliott and Many Others #RBMNYC

Red Bull Music Festival New York 2018
Hype Williams: A Conversation on Visual Music
 
Legendary Video Director Reflects on Working with Beyoncé, Tupac, Missy Elliott and Many Others
 
Discusses the Future of Music Videos Including 
Childish Gambino’s “This Is America”
Event Recap: May 10, 2018 @ AMC Empire 25
Photos From the Intimate Conversation

Hype Williams at AMC Empire 25 for Red Bull Music Festival in New York 
on May 10th, 2018.
 
Legendary music video director Hype Williams sat down with hip hop journalist Jeff “Chairman” Mao at AMC Empire 25 as part of Red Bull Music Festival New York. The Queens native discussed his impressive career and Billboard was there to collect some of the highlights, including:
  • How Jada Pinkett Smith wrote the treatment for the Mad Max-inspired Tupac/Dre “California Love” video.
  • How Beyonce is his favorite artist to work with and that “Drunk In Love” took only 3(!) hours to film.
  • Meeting Timbaland, Missy Elliot and Ginuwine while they worked craft services for a Jodeci video.
  • And stories about the infamous Nas video for “Hate Me Now”, including how it was a “watered down” version of the original that took out some of Diddy’s spectacular antics.
  • “What you see is the watered-down version of what we did. This video was the equivalent of what Childish Gambino just did,” Williams said. “The first edit of this video at this time had to be the greatest thing anyone has ever seen. Because of who Puff was and where he was going, he needed a release so he had no restraints filming this video. The things that he did and the things we filmed him doing were so radical when edited to this music, I couldn’t even describe it, but at this time, the greatest thing we’ve ever seen was Puff as a special effect, something that I feel is happening with Childish.”
Full video of the conversation will be available shortly, but in the meantime re-visit some of Hype’s most iconic videos including ones for Biggie, Missy Elliott, Dr. Dre, Kanye & Tupac via Red Bull Music’s Best Of Hype Williams Playlist 
Hype Williams at AMC Empire 25 f
or Red Bull Music Festival in New York on May 10th, 2018. 
Photo Credit: Maria Jose Govea / Red Bull Sound Content Pool

Hype Williams and Jeff “Chairman” Mao
Photo Credit: Maria Jose Govea / Red Bull Sound Content Pool
 

Photo Credit: Maria Jose Govea / Red Bull Sound Content Pool

Mase’s “Feel So Good” Music Video, Directed by Hype Williams

at AMC Empire 25 for Red Bull Music Festival in New York on May 10th, 2018.
Photo Credit: Maria Jose Govea / Red Bull Sound Content Pool

Beyonce featuring Jay Z’s “Drunk in Love” Music Video Directed by Hype Williams
at AMC Empire 25 for Red Bull Music Festival in New York on May 10th, 2018.
Photo Credit: Maria Jose Govea / Red Bull Sound Content Pool
Tonight, May 11th, Red Bull Music Festival New York and Pioneer Works presents the live reimagining of Brion Gysin and William Burroughs’ seminal experiential invention, the Dream Machine. Described by Gysin as “the world’s first work of art designed to be viewed with eyes closed,” the dream machine brought about vivid hallucinations of brilliant color through the repeat exposure of high-intensity flicker light. In this immersive concert installation, multi-instrumentalist/composer Dave Harrington, musical director and chanteuse Sophia Brous and designers Wild Dogs International come together to create an extended live meditation on the landmark invention, combining high-intensity strobe, immersive lighting and ceiling projection and a live dream soundtrack performed by an exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime gathering of music luminaries. Performers include the legendary Moroccan Sufi trance ensemble The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar, industrial pioneer Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, British cellist and electronic producer Oliver Coates, harpist Zeena Parkins, drummer Greg Fox, bassist Trevor Dunn and more very special guests to be announced. An unrepeatable event, best experienced lying down with eyes closed.
Early Show
7:00pm – Doors
7:30pm – Performance

Late Show
10:00pm – Doors
10:30pm – Performance

About Red Bull Music
Red Bull Music unites 20 years of initiatives in music. It is a program that celebrates music, its culture and the transformative minds behind it. With multiple festivals, music education workshops, collaborations with artists and thousands of initiatives, Red Bull Music supports artists and local music communities around the world.
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