Without galvanizing sentiments about WWII and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, let's just, for the sake of music, assume that "kamikaze" is a bomb of sorts mired in gloomy suicidal thoughts. Okay. Today we have the newly released One Crown Productions video for HYPE's track "Kamikaze" and it's everything you want in a southern hip-hop song.
With a twist.
Gone is the usual glamour of hip-hop in which the bling is idolized and the women look like CGI dreams come true. There's no Gucci here, no Escalade with accessories that cost three times my year's salary. No, this song goes down in a trailer park and if you're not jonesing for an ice-cold Steel Reserve afterwards, then you're not having as much fun as the flag-waving puro in the beginning.
Julian Yuri Rodriguez returns behind the lens after successfully bringing out the animal in local punkers Pool Party's "Raised by Wolves" video and as he states, "I shot the video in the trailer park and then spent the next two nights there editing it." Talk about total artistic immersion.
And here's what's interesting about the video's treatment, macho posturing aside, the color palette is on point, giving it a frayed, used-up look that is enforced by the "real" girls dancing, out of desperation or boredom. The microcosm of family life is enhanced by an older drunken male figure, the glimmer of hope of young children and the confusion of the caught in the middle young adults.
Hmm... South Florida trailer parks... You know they're there but they're well hidden. When we think trailer parks here, we think Midwestern tornado devastation alley. No, they're around these parts as well, and they are real. This video/song does a good job of highlighting their local reality with an honest eye.
It also fits the mood of the song perfectly, there's something to be said about matching and pairing things correctly and this is one good fucking fit. HYPE's been a busy producer too and D.O.'s got his first mix tape up for download. Local hip-hop's been on the up and up lately and you'd be a fool to pass it up.
Personal favorite moment: panda transition to polar bear. Awesome.
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