Last Saturday, while the Urban Beach Week throngs crowded Miami Beach, two of the scene’s biggest rising stars were hanging on a public esplanade, just a few miles north in Hollywood. Reggaeton artist Zion and multiplatinum R&B singer Akon had come together near Harrison Street, smack in the middle of the small Broward County city’s downtown strip, to shoot a video for their feel-good summer collaboration, “The Way She Moves.” The chilled-out set might as well have been light years away from the beach madness: While it could have been could have been easily accessed by two different public streets, there were just a few polite onlookers.
The director was South Florida resident Gil Green, who's been making videos for over ten years, among them his lauded “We Takin' Over.” That video featured TI, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, and, again, Akon. (His other credits include Rick Ross' "Hustlin'," Frankie J.'s "Obsession" (featurnig Baby Bash), and plenty of other recent hits.)
The Hollywood set was constructed to replicate a typical shopping district in Zion’s native Puerto Rico. Which was fine, since Zion, like many reggaeton artists, says he considers South Florida a second home. "I love South Florida, I love the weather,” he said, “It's very similiar to Puerto Rico. It's like the Caribbean in the way it has palm trees, sun, beaches, and beautiful women." And so far, the shoot was going off without a hitch. With only a little drizzle here and there slowing down production, Green ran a tight ship on a set with a crew that operated like the proverbial well-oiled machine. Then, slowly the crowd of passersby began to mount, but Green treated them with an easy courtesy.
Zion beamed, maybe seeing the next level of stardom looming in the distance. “Everything is turning out just perfect for me right now.” – Arielle Castillo and Andre Uter
