"About the photos used in the Jonah Schwartz collaboration products (first half)"
This is Aoyagi.
The heat of midsummer has finally subsided, and we are now seeing more and more cool nights.
Looking back, August was a busy month with us releasing collaborative products every weekend, but it was also filled with lots of fun and joy.
During this busy yet fulfilling August, one collaboration that particularly stood out in my mind was "APPLEBUM x Jonah Schwartz."
Within the company, we call it Jonah Collabo.
I've forgotten how Jonah and I first met (lol), but more than 15 years ago we often went skateboarding around Yoyogi Park and Harajuku.
Being able to release a collaborative product with him is an amazing joy that cannot be expressed in words.
When Jonah came to Japan for his photo exhibition at Kinetics (Harajuku), we interviewed him about the stories and behind-the-scenes of the photographs that he incorporated into his products.
This time, I would like to write about the contents of that interview.
Now, let's get to the main topic.
Please start with the "DST" All Print T-shirt that Jonah is wearing in the photo above.
Blue: Where was this photo taken?
JONAH: This photo was taken in a club in New York!
The members of Dipset all got together for the first time in a long time to shoot the music video for Cam'ron & A-Trak's "Dipsh*ts."
"Just Blaze" was there too.
JONAH: I didn't shoot the music video, but I used to work with Damon Dash and Cam'ron a lot at the time, and we were hanging out together that day!
Ao: That's right! It sounds like a lot of fun, but it also seems pretty hard. (laughs)
The photo below is the opening scene of the music video for "Deeper" by Freddie Gibbs and Madlib.
Ao: I love this PV so much I've watched it many times!
JONAH: That's right, this is a music video that recreates a story from the past.
Lots of guns (lol)
Ao: By the way, is it real?
JONAH: Yeah yeah! Real real real!
All: (Laughing)
JONAH: This photo...
Blue: "Reakwon!"
JONAH: Yeah! He's a great rapper!
Ao: Definitely! It was during "BlacRoc".
JONAH: That's right, this was the first time I met "Reakwon"!
It's a scene where I'm thinking up lyrics, but I didn't write them down.
Blue: Wow.
JONAH: Once I get into the studio, I listen to the beats, then I go alone in the vocal booth and just think about the lyrics.
Jim Jones doesn't write down his lyrics either, but we'll talk about that next time when we talk about Jim Jones long T-shirts!
JONAH: Next up is "Prodigy!"
This photo is a scene from the music video shoot for the song "Pretty Thug" from the album "HNIC 3," which Prodigy started working on shortly after being released from prison.
The music video samples the movie "King of New York (1990)"!
They rented a real prison on Long Island and filmed there!
Ao: It was filmed in a real prison!
JONAH: That's right.
I had just gotten out of prison for "Prodigy," so it felt weird to film in prison again. (Laughs)
"Why do I have to go back to prison when I just got out?" said "Prodigy." (laughs)
I took a lot of photos, but this one is the one that left the biggest impression on me.
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Well, this is going to be a very intense story, so I'll end the first half here for now.
By the way, "BlacRoc," which came up when we were talking about the "Reakwon" photo, is an album and project released in 2009, produced in collaboration with "The Black Keys" and hip-hop artists.
The photos of Mos Def and Jim Jones, which will be introduced in the second half of this article, are also scenes from BlacRoc's recording studio.
Please look forward to the second half!
Click here for "APPLEBUM × Jonah Schwartz" collaboration products
The article in the "second half" Here
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[Jonah Schwartz]
A filmmaker born in Manhattan, NY, and currently living in Brooklyn.
He stayed in Japan for three years from 2003, and after returning to Japan, he began his career on American TV shows.
After that, he traveled frequently between Japan and the US, and returned to Japan again as a cameraman for a documentary film about the Japanese artist "ANARCHY" under the direction of Sam Cole.
Next, he participated in the production of "Come Again" by NITRO MICROPHONE UNDERGROUND, directed by 13th Witness.
After returning to New York, he met Damon Dash through a friend, who discovered his talent and had him produce the promotional video for Jim Jones' album "Pray for Reighn."
Since then, he has released a number of video contents together with "Damon Dash."
He is a central figure in filming and production for the experimental project "BLACROC," which explores new possibilities for music and video.
"BLACROC" is a historic album project that compiles recording and live footage with music from a variety of featured artists.
The participating artists include BLACK KEYS, as well as a number of other impressive names such as MOS DEF, RZA, and JIM JONES, and many are well known.
He has expanded this experimental project and is now the director of the web project "CREATIVE CONTROL," which brings together music and lifestyle content, and travels the world working on it.
It was inevitable that he would be in charge of producing the music video for "CURREN$Y," which was the main content of the project.
"CREATIVE CONTROL" features footage of "SKI BETAZ," "COOL KIDS," "SIZZLA," "RAEKWON," and others from a unique perspective.
Since then, he has also produced music videos for the collaborative song "I REP" by DABO, KRAVA, and ANARCHY, as well as the music video for "THE R" by RYUZO, earning him the trust of musicians in Japan.
Currently based in Brooklyn, he continues to produce music videos, mainly in the United States and Japan.
https://www.jonahschwartz.me/
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