Kendrick Lamar’s “King Kunta” visual has been one of 2015’s most discussed music videos in Hip Hop. Its influence from West Coast videos past is prevalent but recreated to make something new.
Complex recently spoke with the video’s director, Director X about certain scenes from it. One detail that is prevalent from start to end is the video’s aspect ratio. X explained why they went with an atypical ratio.
“It’s a new age man,” he said. “Instagram and all that, we’re in a new age of aspect ratios and you’ve gotta embrace that. So we played with aspect ratios, new filters, everything. So we wanted to play to that this time around. It’s exciting to me to see people sharing clips of the video on social media and it’s in that aspect ratio. [It was my idea] to shoot in that format. That’s something I’m definitely going to be playing around with on all of my videos going forward.”
Director X also explained who some of the people in the video are including the girls in the backseat of Kendrick’s car as well as most of the people in the background.
“The guys are all friends,” he explained. “The girls [in the backseat were] cast, but with the neighborhood in mind. It’s a hood video. We wanted girls who looked like they belong, girls that look good but not straight-up models, real girls. And as you saw those girls are definitely thick, definitely have a few moves.”
Kendrick Lamar released his To Pimp A Butterfly album last month. Read the full Director X piece here.
View the “King Kunta” video below:
I didn’t like the video. Felt very amateurish to me. HipHopDX doesn’t usually praise music video directors, so when they do it should be given where it’s due. Very obvious that Kendrick Lamar put him here. Action Bronson’s last 4 videos are absolutely amazing. I’d be more interested in reading about those directors instead.
That video was embarrassing. It couldn’t have been more cliched. Standing in front of cars, with girls in booty shorts dancing in front of him? It really undermined the potential of the song.
If that’s all that you got from the video then you really weren’t paying attention at all…
Then the hold world is childish.
It’s suppose to represent the reality of the hood. kendrick’s just embracing, if not empowering his hometown, compton, where the hood is very much about cars and women just as much as it is about black on black violence and funk vibrations (just few of the many themes expressed in kendrick’s TPAB)
but u aint feelin it thats aight too
Dope video! Westcoast stand up!
I like the video but now that I notice the ratio, I’m not a big fan of it. This video does have a country grammar feel to it tho so I fucks with it.
Fuck you’re totally right. I’ma listen to Country Grammar now
Director X is Lil X if I’m correct and Lil X is the next ninja in charge right after Hype Williams for shooting some of most widely known videos during the hip hop big budget era.
Which is why HHDX maybe did a story on him…
Don’t forget Paul Hunter. Seemed like every music video I watched as a kid on BET was either directed by Hype, Gray, X or Hunter.