Beat Studies

We are in an era where innovation is a must when it comes to making a music videos. For one to stand out amongst the thousands that inundate the internet, it must have an certain edge to it that can capture the attention of our easily distracted minds. The folks at Studio 8, an Atlanta based production team, have found that edge. It is a combination of technical savvy and artistic expression that mixes into a delicious cocktail of creativity. For many, the music video for 4-ize’s “Classic Example” will be their first taste of what this talented team can concoct.

From the opening song on “Illuminated Animals”, which shook the underground upon its release late 2009, this music video also features the smooth rhyme styling of Senor Kaos. Punchline was also featured on the original track, but was noticeably absent from the music video. He was unable to make it to Atlanta on the day there were shooting. Without further delay, let’s watch…

The cold and rainy January night seemed to be the perfect setting to debut this chilling yet humerous video. The venue was Aural Flex at 595 North and as I walked in the speakers were already filling the room as DJs Kemit and Rasta Root worked their magic. I had a chance to talk with Ilir Imeraj and Director Mike Moore of Studio 8 shortly before the premiere viewing.

Mike said, “Though I had a vision for this project, it was a collaborate effort, you know, a little bit of 4-ize, a little bit of Ilir, we all kinda came together on it.” I then asked him what was his concept going into production. “I was on my Tarantino vibe man”, he said “you know what I’m sayin’?, I was watching the movie ‘Hostel’, and we saw this room. As soon as I saw it I was like damn dude, I wanna do something crazy. Of course working with an artist like 4-ize, it’s so easy for him to bring things to life because he thinks outside the box, so as soon as we saw the room, we started playing off of ideas and we came up with the concept of the video. Capturing a wack MC and bringing him into this dungeon, you know, and torturing him. So we just started building off that idea.”

Ilir added, “When you set up something, you have this vision, and it might not always go exactly the way you want it to, but overall, we captured what we wanted. We were looking for that dark metaphor of killing somebody.” I would say they achieved that. Mike then said, “That was just the inspiration, of course we put our own twist on it. There’s a lot of wack MCs out here man, a lot of cats that need to be tied up and tortured because they ain’t doin’ nuthin’ to respect the game, so we come in here for real hip-hop music and ed do respect the game, so anybody out there that don’t…who knows what’s gonna’ happen to ya.”

The surge continues as quality starts to over shine quantity on this hip hop music tip. Let’s keep putting out the best product we can and surely ATL will set a fresh pace for a new decade.

Tags: 4-Ize, Classic Example, DJ Kemit, DJ Rasta Root, mike moore, Senor Kaos, Studio 8

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