I am Jabari (Tumblr)

bcuhashtag:

In a 140-characters or less, who are you? 

I’m a filmmaker and media personality who loves music and was lucky enough to blend two hobbies into a profession.

How did you get to your current position?

I began doing interviews with artists while I was in school at Howard University and putting them online. As they got more and more popular I began to take it very seriously and get better equipment, focus more on pre-production, and then I got hired to do digital video at Capitol Records in 2009. I left there a few months ago to focus on my debut feature documentary on Tinie Tempah. 

Who are your current influences? 

I love Morgan Spurlock, I think he’s a great documentarian. Quddus Philippe is one of my role models who has a great interviewing style and makes everyone feel comfortable around him.

Where do you find creative inspiration? 

The internet. I’m always looking at who is doing what in terms of video across the web. I get inspired by looking at Vimeo Staff Picks and seeing cool web-series pop up everyday. 

What does Hip-Hop mean to you? 

Hip-Hop is about being united through music and lifestyle. There are so many things that I connect to people on just off the backs of hip-hop. I’ve never seen something bring so many people together or take me across the world like it has. I will be a hip-hop head to the day I die. 

In your opinion, in 2012, what role does Hip-Hop play in culture?

Hip-Hop shapes culture now. Marketers use hip-hop to sell you cleaning products and people in third world countries use hip-hop to escape their reality. It is everything right now, but we have to make sure that we cherish it because when something is as widespread as hip-hop is, people begin to devalue it and that is scary. 

How does hip-hop overseas compare to the genre here in the states? 

I’ve heard hip-hop from many countries but on my most recent trip to England I listened to a lot of the artists over there. I think British hip-hop has a lot more emphasis on lyrics rather than the melody or the beat. A lot of those rappers are “rappers rappers” and really care about the art of spitting to impress a crowd. 

What lead you to do this documentary with Tinie Tempah? 

While at Capitol I was documenting Tinie for over a year and I began to see how unique his story was. A British rapper whose success in England was unheard of (no other British rapper has sold the amount of singles that Tinie has) and he is the first British rapper to sell 1 million singles in America so I knew he was on to something big. When I found out he had sold out an arena tour in England I knew we had to document that journey. 

How would you describe Tinie to someone whose never heard him before?

A very curious person who takes notice of everything. He is very conscious of what’s going on around him and he just puts all of his experiences into his music. 

What is it about him that drives fans crazy?

I think fans think that he is one of them. He really makes people feel like he is not a superstar and cares about the fans. He’s just a stand up guy all around. 

What was the hardest part of the film to direct?

The hardest part was getting up off the tour bus at 10AM after a party that ended at 4AM almost everyday. We would have to wake up before everybody to get the equipment set up and start shooting. My body was aching. 

What’s your favorite track?

The intro to Tinie’s album “Disc-Overy” is my favorite track because it just let’s you know how hard he will go for his career. It’s the song I play when things get a little difficult for me and I need to get into beast mode. 

Who is the next upcoming artist you would love to work with?

I’d love to shoot a documentary on Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) that showed his dual career (rapper/actor). I think he has an interesting story that people don’t know of outside of his songs. It would be really cool to tell the story visually. 

If you could leave the world one thought, what would it be and why? 

Always be ready so you don’t have to get ready. 

Check out Tinie Tempah’s new video directed by Jabari:

http://youtu.be/fH3rUSVzugk