NYU rapper collaborates with alum on video

It was almost a year ago on a chilly October evening when Tisch alumna Andrea Wong first saw rap artist Genesis "Be" Briggs, an NYU junior and Reynolds Scholar, perform at the Bowery Poetry Club.

"I had come to see [fellow NYU rapper] Nyle, and I was really amazed by Genesis' performance when she took the stage," Wong said, who has directed numerous theater productions and whose film work has been screened at the Cannes Film Festival. After the show, Wong introduced herself to Genesis, and the two instantly struck a chord.

"Right away, we talked about doing a music video for 'I Don't Discriminate,' " Wong said, referring to one of the songs Genesis performed that night.

The satirical "I Don't Discriminate" tells the story of a woman who has sexual relationships with a number of men, all with different ethnic backgrounds and unique physical characteristics. Although it has become one of Genesis' more popular songs, "I Don't Discriminate" was not even supposed to initially appear on her new album.

"I thought people might not get the irony and would be offended," Genesis said, who has released three studio albums. "But whenever I perform it, it gets a really good response. So we decided to make a video."

Cut to May 2009, nearly seven months later, and pre-production for the "I Don't Discriminate" music video was underway. Wong assembled a film crew, selected actors and dancers, and secured a $3,000 budget from Open Sky Artworks for the shoot. During pre-production, Wong rehearsed the performers, designed the shots, and chose locations for filming.

Throughout the video's development, Wong and Genesis acted as a team and collaborated on every detail. "Andrea is very attentive to what I want and what I'm trying to convey," Genesis said. "It's great when you work with someone who knows exactly what your message is." She added that Wong not only understood her vision, but that she was passionate about the song's intentions and feelings.

The actual shooting took place over a rainy weekend in late June, inside and around an apartment complex in Brooklyn. Altogether, about 15 people worked on the production, from the actors and dancers to the make-up artists and director of photography.

The cast and crew principally included people Wong met while at NYU. Head stylist Shaelon Smith befriended Wong as a student at FIT, while production manager Mei-Ling Acevedo met Wong through her theater work. Many of the shoot's production assistants are current NYU students who volunteered.

Over the two 12-hour days, Wong filmed from many different angles and shot back-up B-roll dance footage to splice with the video's story. She coordinated everything from the lighting to prop placement, ensuring that the production perfectly realized the duo's shared vision.

"It isn't easy to keep track of everything and do it within a very rigid time frame," Wong said. "But it's important to keep level-headed, because everyone is working hard."

When the shoot wrapped, everyone was pleased and anxious to see the results. But Wong still needed to edit the footage, cutting together shots and inserting special effects. This part of the process, also called post-production, can take weeks or even months, and Wong worked especially hard to ensure the finished product was perfect.

"My job is not only to introduce Genesis Be's music to the world, but more importantly, to show that she's the best female rapper alive," Wong said.

The completed video will finally be released this month. Genesis Be plans to release her fourth album soon after.

Daniel Levinsohn is a senior staff writer.