Editorial

Meet the finalists: BlaQ Smith

Please sum up your music video concept with a single line, and a single picture.

‘Night and Day’ will be one of those never-been-done-before contemporary hip-hop music videos that will appeal to many, coming directly from the youth’s perspective.

Can you tell us where the inspiration for your idea came from?

The inspiration for this song is derived from the notion of working hard as an individual every night and day to get closer to your dreams. Being vain enslaves us as a society. Not everyone comes from a wealthy background, so we’re trying to reach out to those who are dedicated and passionate about their grind – no matter the setbacks and circumstances they’re faced with.

What drew you towards Cass as a collaborator?

Cass is my long-time childhood friend – my best friend actually, and we’ve been doing countless things collaboratively for many years now. So I couldn’t think of a better person to partner up with for this project. We work well together and there’s always a positive spirit in the air. Reason enjoyed watching us from a distance and finally came on board when the track came about; he couldn’t be happier to jump on this train. Cass and Reason developed their relationship on the VUZU TV show called The Hustle, and continued thereafter.

Jameson’s family motto is ’Sine Metu’ and it means ‘Without Fear’. How would you define “fearless authenticity” as an artist?

I’ve always been a guerrilla photographer and an artist, creeping behind the scenes and getting beautiful photographs. For me personally, I believe there’s a lot of change and innovation that needs to be instilled in our country’s visual language; we need to get up to par with the First World and stop recreating what they have already created. I’m fearless enough to bring some sort of change. Moments in time captured perfectly defines what I do. It’s easy to create product placement and pose everything as a facade, but I’ve always believed there’s a certain degree of rocket science involved in perfectly capturing an untamed and unposed moment in time. And that’s my fearless authentic vantage point.

What are your top 3 music videos of all time?

Hawk House – Chill Pill (Experiment 2)