Some months ago, Hunter and I were invited to the inaugural THREE31 Entertainment party, which is a production and special events company by NYC rapper/artist Mizaiah. There we met some interesting cats and cool personalities, among them, an artist from NJ who spends a lot of time in NYC who goes by SatinLoverBoi. We hit it off fast, he was a cool guy and had a lot of interesting thoughts on music and creative culture. Fast-forward to this week and now he's dropped a new single, Shinin' which comes with a shiny new music video.
Directed, shot, and edited by Christopher Rodriguez, Shinin' is a really cool, chill video about a W night out at a billiards bar. I won't spoil the moments of the video of course, because you should definitely watch it, but I want to say what stood out to me the most was the amazing cinematography! WOW, I really liked the work done with the shots, the angles, the pans, the zooms, everything. It kept the video dynamic and gave it such an air of seriousness, even though the general vibe was really chill. I like that Satin and Christopher were able to pull off something so well made for only almost 2 minutes of time, but that goes to show not everything great has to be long (pause). It feels like a cool little moment, and I like that Satin's personality comes through not only in his delivery of his lines, but the lines themselves, the style of the video, everything. It doesn't have an air of trying to be something it isn't, and that, along with the style that Satin and Christopher came up with for the video itself, make it this cool one of a kind vibe that is truly a job well done.
I spoke with SatinLoverBoi about the video, and how it came together.
20XX: When you first put the song Shinin’ together, did you have an idea for the video in mind?
Satin: No, I actually didn’t have a clue but my friend and collaborator on the video, Chris Rodriguez sprung on the idea about shooting at our local pool hall. From there the ball kinda just kept rolling. I began thinking wardrobe, style, movements/actions, while Chris thought location, ambiance and framing.
How did the process of building out what the video would be look like?
So for starters, I think Chris and I have different strengths. I’m much more emotional in my decision making, almost impulsive; whatever draws me in I wanna do. While Chris is a much more logical, some would say rational thinker. It made our moves in instances calculated, but groovy and I enjoyed the innovativeness and overall growth from the experience.
Do you actually play a lot of pool?
Not a lot, but I know how to play. I’m decent and I genuinely thinks it’s an awesome pastime/hobby. I also love talking shit in sports, I think it’s quite thrilling.
What types of music videos do you like? Is that reflected in this video or did you want to make something completely new and your own?
So I would say that since this was a collaboration and being that I’m also shooting music videos for Gabe Nandez, a friend of mine who’s rapping outta LES (Lower East Side). Bros another genius in his own right. But in this moment what I’m doing there I’d say is a bit different. It’s not so narrative based, more lyrical assumption. But I definitely want to credit myself as a solid storyteller and move towards small budget films and then so on in the coming future. But, to answer your question, I would say the kind of music videos I like is work that’s lively, with movement. With timely cuts, beautiful composition and framing; like Little Simz’s “Gorilla” music video is awesome with that! I also love the obscureness of King Krule’s “Seaforth”. I like stuff that lets the audience create their own narrative with the pieces given in the music video.
What part of the music/music video process do you enjoy the most? Making the song, rapping it, concerting the video, making the video? Etc etc
I enjoy making the song the most probably, rapping it third, making the video second, but the experience overall is pretty empowering. Especially when you see something through and feel proud of what the end result is. It’s a great feeling and I hope those new ears that listen in this time around will find something that lasts with them. That it’ll be a whole new, but at the same time familiar experience.
