Illuminati 2G

We’d like to bring you a new look with this exclusive interview feature today. We spoke to McKinley, the best up and coming music video director in the game. His videos and work has appeared on BET, AllHipHop, WorldStarHipHop, VladTV and more, including local television stations from Las Vegas to Florida. Check out his MySpace at www.myspace.com/dennismckinley

Enjoy…

Justin: How was life like growing up in Detroit?

McKinley: Life was good. Detroit is a blue collar town. You have to work hard for everything which is good. We are pretty talented in Detroit, we have some legends. Motown, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder.

Justin: Eminem, Proof, Royce Da 5’9 and many more. The list goes on and on. What about music video directing intrigued you as a child?

McKinley: To be honest, when I saw that Michael Jackson “Thriller”, that kind of sparked it right there. There weren’t any REAL videos until that one came out. Me going through that and as a kid going through when NWA came out, it was those two era’s. The Michael Jackson “Thriller” video and when NWA came out with violence in their videos. Seeing it on TV and experiencing it are two different things.

Justin: So was “Thriller” the first video that caught your attention?

McKinley: Definitely Michael Jackson “Thriller.”

Justin: What about this business overall made you want to get into it?

McKinley: To be honest with you, I have always been a fan because I’m a fan of music first. So many artists need opportunity for visual so I saw that opportunity and in school it was only my minor. It went from there. Not every artist has an opportunity like $20-30,000 to do a video. I saw an opportunity for me to do videos lower than what the industry or production companies have been doing. That’s what really inspired me to get into this business.

Justin: So what was your major in school?

McKinley:  I majored in economics actually.

Justin: Tell us about your favorite styles, techniques or themes when shooting a video?

McKinley:  I would just consider myself a raw music video director. I like to shoot real things and hate to shoot green screen. I have to show false images. It’s very popular to shoot guys in Bentley’s and stuff like that but if that’s not their life, let’s not shoot that. I would just say I’m a real director. I like to shoot stuff that people see everyday and not the stuff a rapper just wants you to believe.

Justin: We’re going to get into that. What is the typical schedule like for McKinley on the day of a video shoot?

McKinley: It’s usually a three day process. Usually the day before is when you have locations together and it’s really hectic; your making sure you have the right people together and a lot of things. We also take care of the minor things like food. The day of the video I’m usually up around 4AM making sure I have all my shots together and I’m on point with what we’re looking to shoot for the video. My day usually doesn’t end until probably 5AM that night. It’s usually a 24 hour process when we hit the set.

Justin: You don’t like to shoot green screen, instead opting for real images. Do you think that’s what it is about your music videos that set you aside from the rest?

McKinley:  I think so. I think that the music industry as a whole has gone to a place where everything is pop culture. I think really, I want to get back to the old way of doing Hip-Hop videos real raw with the hood and the pain and suffering. Also the good part to which includes money but I just think pop culture has just ruined the realness of music and I want to bring back the old stuff to the videos.

Justin: So it does bother you to see all rap videos looking the same with the money, women and cars heavily focused on?

McKinley:  Yeah, definitely. Don’t get me wrong because that’s definitely part of the culture but that’s not just everything. Everybody doesn’t live like this. I know videos to a certain degree and people will argue it’s a fantasy and one of my favorite artists is Plies and he came out with the “Bust it Baby” song and movement which show cased regular girls and it was a success because most people live like that.

Justin: So if it was up to you, we’d still have the fantasy stuff but there would be more of a balance?

McKinley:  No doubt. I think balance is good. I’m in from when I started to right now to bring the realness back to not just music but videos as well.

Justin: Tell us about the “We Hustle, We Grind” video with Universal recording artist Tan-D?

McKinley:  First of all, I like Tan-D because he is real. He is from a small town called Hopkinsville that probably most people never heard of in their life. Everything that Tan-D was talking about is how we live. This guy is real. We went out to his neighborhood and we ran through the city in three days shooting the video and we shot real life. That was like his family, his friends and how they live every day. That was a real video and that’s what I like about that video.

Justin: What other videos are you working on at this time?

McKinley:  I just shot the Willie the Kid video from the Gangsta Grillz “No Fly Zone” project. Willie the Kid has a situation with DJ Drama and we just shot the first video that is coming out any day now. We’re going to Miami in two weeks to shoot the video for J-Rich who is putting the business together as an independent artist. We have some other things coming up. We have some surprises and we’re talking to everybody right now about going to shoot videos. We’ve shot videos in Kentucky, Michigan, Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Atlanta – we’ve been everywhere so look for more good things coming up.

Justin: With that said which if those places were your favorite?

McKinley:  That’s a tough question to ask because one thing I do appreciate is the uniqueness of every city. No matter where we are, every city has a common bond and common theme. I just love to work with a lot of different people and with that common theme. Everybody knows that hard work pays off. You have to grow because if you don’t grind, you don’t shine. Everybody in these cities know how to be successful in business right now.

Justin: What’s your least favorite part about directing music videos?

McKinley:  I do have a least favorite part about the business that I don’t like. It’s definitely the politics which is terrible. A lot of artists don’t have anything to do with that but one thing I tell artists when they approach me about needing videos is that they better be ready to work and that is for sure. A lot of guys, especially because I do a lot of indie videos, they may have another shot a video before and don’t realize it takes 20 hours to shoot a video. It may take 15 shots to get that one perfect shot. If I could tell an artist one thing I would say get ready to work.

Justin: What’s next up for McKinley?

McKinley:  I have a big project that I am going to announce right now with you. This is the information; we’re doing an official movie about Young Boys Incorporated. We’re shooting that next year in Detroit. The Young Boys are about the true story of Butch Jones who back in the day was making more money than the General Motors corporation selling heroin. Butch Jones is currently locked up right now in Florida and he has about 5 years left on his sentence. We’re going to do the official movie and we’re talking to some major stars to play in the movie. Look out for that next year.

Justin: That’s a very big announcement right there. Have you spoken to any companies about distributing the project?

McKinley:  We have. Butch Jones has been trying to get this movie done for about ten years. The good thing about this movie is that we’re going in fresh; everybody in Hollywood already knew about the movie and they just didn’t have anybody ready to step up and get it done. Me being from Detroit, I’m making this my personal business to get this movie done. A lot of the guys out there know about BMF but they have to know about Young Boys Incorporated because without the Young Boys, there definitely wouldn’t have been a BMF.

Justin:  That’s a major announcement and we appreciate it. We’re definitely going to keep a tap on it and get as many updates as possible. Thanks a whole lot for your time and words McKinley. Do you have any last statements before I let you go?

McKinley:  All the artists out there if they can get my contact information, we do videos more cost effective than anyone in the business right now. Get at me before my people try to put the tax on (laughs). Check me out on MySpace at www.myspace.com/dennismckinley.