Why J Hus Loves to Play the Villain in ‘Masculine’ Ft. Burna Boy
From the streets of London to Lagos, this collaboration between UK rapper J Hus and afrobeats artist Burna Boy is a celebration of the duo’s collaboration. In the first music video featuring both musical artists, the black-and-white style features a ‘day in the life’ visualisation of ‘Masculine’, one of the tracks on J Hus’ latest album.
Filmed across Burna Boy’s sold-out London show where he brought the rapper out, as well as other gigs Hus has performed at, the lively atmosphere behind the scenes is conveyed through the music video by Biscuit Filmworks director Nathan Miller.
Having worked with Hus before and understanding his artistic vision, the spot was originally filmed in colour before the black-and-white placeholder was shown to the wider team and approved. This is the first monochrome music video for the UK rapper and it contributes to the feeling that the events unfolding on screen were captured during the period of one evening.
Talking about the process of capturing, editing and finalising the music video, Nathan speaks to LBB’s Nisna Mahtani.
LBB> What was your creative vision for ‘Masculine’ by J Hus ft. Burna Boy?
Nathan> The creative vision was vibes! I was asked to film the vid in a ‘day in the life’ style, very unpredictable, going with the flow but ensuring that we captured the best moments.
LB> The first time you heard the track, tell us what was going through your mind and how you wanted to tackle the music video?
Nathan> I was excited when I first heard the track; the artists are so established that I knew it’d rack up views in an instant. Honestly, my mind went everywhere with concepts, but as Burna Boy was travelling, I had to park the ideas. I leant into what was initially asked, capturing the best moments on the day of Burna’s London show, J Hus being a special guest and the festivities that followed.
LBB> Talk us through the choice of making it black and white and the impact that brings to the spot.
Nathan> Well, it was actually supposed to be in colour! I must shout out my friend Ryley Konechny, who did a great job on the coloured grade. I made the video black and white as a placeholder. Some people like to throw on a LUT [look-up table], but I tend to steer to black and white. When the team saw both versions, they just preferred the black-and-white look. Hus hadn’t had a black-and-white video and everyone agreed it worked. Not to mention, the party scenes were from various nights - losing the specific colours made it seem like it was all at the same party.
LBB> You filmed a lot of it at Burna Boy’s sold-out show at London Stadium. I was there and witnessed the energy, but for those who weren’t, how did you translate the vibe of that night into the video during the shooting process?
Nathan> I just had to be really attentive to what was happening, rolling whenever I could without overdoing it and sprinting around to get the right shot. It’s something I’ve grown used to, doing a lot of unscripted work. You don’t know what’s around the corner; you just have to anticipate and hope you’re at the right place at the right time. Thankfully, when it’s all taking place during something as great as a live show, there are loads of moments to get it right.
LBB> What did you shoot on for this music video and how did it contribute to the aesthetic of the finished product?
Nathan> I shot on an old reliable - my Canon C70. It’s a great camera for documentary work, ergonomics, quality, it’s great all around. For lenses, we used a set of Zeiss Super Speeds. As mentioned, this video was captured in a docu-style, I carried it out as I would have a doc shoot.
LBB> For those who don’t know, this is the first music video J Hus and Burna Boy have done together, though they have collaborated on many tracks. With this in mind, how did you want to convey the collaboration between the UK-based rapper and Nigeria-based afrobeats artist?
Nathan> To be honest, I wasn’t aware until the comments in the video said so! I just wanted it to feel natural, and it did, even capturing that performance with Hus and Burna in the dressing room I had the camera rolling, they spoke a bit, and then Burna said let’s turn the song on and just like that it was on. I didn’t cut the entire time Burna was in the room; it was all organic and natural.
LBB> We’ve spoken before about your short film ‘God Bless You, My Son’ as well as how you’ve worked with J Hus in the past. With that in mind, what did you want to convey about your own style of filmmaking within this spot?
Nathan> I just saw it as an opportunity to show people what I can do with a camera. I love working with crew and all the intricacies that come with a scheduled shoot but at the core, I’ve gotten to this position with a camera in my hands. Again, I knew it’d be seen, I saw it as a great opportunity to exhibit what I can do.
LBB> As a filmmaker, what is one thing you’re always keen to bring to the pieces you shoot?
Nathan> Authenticity.
LBB> You both shot and edited the spot. When it then came to the edit, which were the trickiest scenes to incorporate and how did you match the pace of the song to the visuals?
Nathan> Thankfully, there were so many good takes throughout the day I was spoilt for choice. It wasn’t tricky; it was more about finding the takes that stood out most. In earlier versions, there was a longer intro with Hus and Burna talking backstage that eventually got cut. Whilst editing, we realised we needed a climax, so we shot a few upcoming parties, trial and error, but we got there.
LBB> There are a few slow-mo shots and cuts that really bring everything together, how did you create a balance between these and more natural singing scenes and panned shots?
Nathan> I just edit to what feels right. I love slow motion. It lets us stay in those exciting moments longer. It was very much trial and error, I didn’t want it to feel too slow, so I just did a lot of iterations.
LBB> How do you know when a piece of work is finished? Is it a gut feeling, a matter of process or something else?
Nathan> I usually know it’s there once I’ve gotten an edit that I can watch back over and over again. Things may feel off after the 10th watch, so it’s worth revisiting. Eventually, once you’ve ironed it over - you should be done. In theory, you can continually chisel a body of work, but it’s also really important to leave things when they’re feeling good. There have been times in the past when version two was excellent, and then I nit-pick and sleep on it, only to revert back to version two.
LBB> Of course, we have to ask about anything upcoming that we should be keeping an eye out for. Is there anything in the works at the moment that you can tell us about?
Nathan> A few projects are underway, but too early to announce; when it’s time I’ll definitely be in touch!
