Video: Well$ – “Django”
Shot in Cape Town, The FADER Debuts “Django” Video from 19-Year Old Rapper Well$, whose MTSYD: The Revenge of the African Booty Scratcher Mixtape will be Released May 19th
05.05.2014
Critical Praise for Well$:
“Well$’s work always hits hard, and is overwhelmingly personal.” – Complex
“WELL$ flows atop the audio grit with some clever rhymes contained by a confident delivery…[the track] leaves us with high expectations…” – Potholes in My Blog
“Charlotte-based rapper Well$ is redefining swag one music video at a time.” – OkayAfrica
“Sludgy riffs, dusty drums… it’s a discernible throwback to that ’90s New York aesthetic.” – MissInfo.tv
“Watching him rhyme while sitting on the couch next to his grandmother is not only a beautiful sight, but also shows how easily he has this rap thing down.” – Noisey/Vice
The Video:
“We wanted to show a deal go down between a government army and a rebel militia,” says 19-year old rapper Well$, who’s decked-out in army fatigues in his South Africa-filmed music video for “Django,” which premieres via The FADER. The video was shot in two locations: at a friend’s house in Cape Town and at a YMCA in Klein Constantia, another South African city on the outskirts of Cape Town that sits near the base/middle of Table Mountain known for its wineries. For Well$, whose parents are both from Congo, this trip to South Africa marked his very first time stepping foot in Africa. Inspired by his new surroundings, Well$ found himself in awe of the location shoot for this video. He explains, “This YMCA wasn’t your normal gym. We filmed a good portion of the video in a field on their property in the middle of the woods and there were animals watching us film for the entire two-day shoot. A baboon was out there chillin with us!”
Surrounded by AK-47-wielding uniformed members of both armies, two enslaved men are pitted to fight against each other to the death as everyone else places bets and watches for their side to win. Inspired by both Django and Lord of War, Well$ explains that fight scene was actually not supposed to be to the death, but felt like it would make the video more realistic, “’cause in life you may not get that saving grace.”
“Django” is the fifth single from Well$’ MTSYD: The Revenge of the African Booty Scratcher mixtape, which will be released for free download on May 19 via Immaculate Taste. Last week, HipHopDX revealed the mixtape’s cover art and tracklist. Speaking on the mixtape’s title, Well$ said, “It’s crazy, cause the ‘African booty scratcher’ came about when I was watching Boyz n The Hood. Watching that kid get made fun of made me think of my childhood and how bad I wanna shit on people from back then via my music. I wanted to make MTSYD undeniable.”
Watch “Django”: http://youtu.be/IxQH4VD9pSY
Check out The FADER premiere of “Django”: http://www.thefader.com/2014/05/05/conglose-rapper-well-gets-gritty-in-new-video-django/
Tracklisting for MTSYD: The Revenge of the African Booty Scratcher:
1. “Temporary Forevers” / “xxMONOLOGUExx” Prod. Eric G & PGMW (Co-prod. THE BL∆CK HE∆RTS CLUB)
2. “Savoir-Faire” Prod. THE BL∆CK HE∆RTS CLUB
3. “Lil’ Tommy” Prod. Shurik’n (Co-prod. THE BL∆CK HE∆RTS CLUB)
4. “Black Swan” – Prod. DJ Shlohmo
5. “Cercle Vicieux (Vicious Circle)” feat. Makeda Iroquois Prod. Massology
6. “TNGHT” / “AFTRMDNGHT” Prod. DJ Dahi
7. “GastonTwo09ine” feat. Johnny Polygon / “Dreams Of An Insomniac” Prod. Noah Yisreal (Co-prod. THE BL∆CK HE∆RTS CLUB & Austin Celaya) & Atu
8. “Major Paine (Daddy’s Little Girl)” Prod. Austin Celaya & THE BL∆CK HE∆RTS CLUB)
9. “Assiatou’s Interlude” feat. Obi Asiama Prod. Juke Ellington
10. “A$$WATER (Circa ’94)” feat. SisterMarie Warner / “Leroy Shingu’s Interlude” Prod. Ruddy P & PRKR
11. “Faux Gold” feat. Mibbs Prod. JKid
12. “Django” Prod. Wonya
13. “Bienaime’s Interlude” Prod. Ryan Hemingsworth
14. “Revenge of the African Booty Scratcher” Prod. Larry Achiampong
15. “Holy $ins” / “The Inauguration” Prod. PGMW & John Beats
Complex premieres “Dreams Of An Insomniac”: http://www.complex.com/music/2014/04/wells-dreams-of-an-insomniac-premiere
The Huffington Post premieres “Lil’ Tommy”: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/02/wells-lil-tommy_n_5079338.html
Noisey premieres “Savoir-Faire” video: http://noisey.vice.com/blog/well-savoir-faire-premiere
HipHopDX premieres “Black Swan”: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/singles/id.26277/title.Well%24-Black+Swan
Well$ Background:
Like most kids in his native town of Charlotte, North Carolina, Leroy Shingu had a head filled with hip-hop dreams growing up, even trying his hand at freestyling when he was all of nine years old. But a trying background starkly different from the blissful suburban reality of his peers would compel the rapper better known as Well$ to turn that childhood fantasy into a promising career as a rapper. Quietly released in 2012, $ay La V, Well$’ debut EP rose steadily on the Bandcamp charts to peak at number 5 and eventually become the most downloaded album in the Charlotte area. This remarkable ascent as well as the video for the song “State of Ecstasy The Interlude Part 1″ hauled Well$ out of virtual anonymity, and shoved him onto high profile stage performances with artists such as G Eazy, Chris Webby, Johnny Polygon, and one of his idols, Pac Div.
Links:
bandcamp | twitter | facebook | youtube | soundcloud
“Dreams Of An Insomniac”: https://soundcloud.com/wells-music/dreams-of-an-insomniac
“Lil’ Tommy”: https://soundcloud.com/wells-music/lil-tommy/
“Savoir-Faire”: http://youtu.be/bVVggr8eheY
“Black Swan”: https://soundcloud.com/wells-music/black-swan
“State of Ecstasy Pt. 2”: https://soundcloud.com/wells-music/state-of-ecstasy-pt-2
“State of Ecstasy Pt. 1”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smsGIANkDfA
Bio, pics, and more here: http://www.audibletreats.com/wells/