I got a chance 2 chat with my dude Rik Cordero. We talked about videos, movies, politricks and Y he is the hottest Video Director in the game right now. You know he’s the homey… he throwing out my government….. lol! -!YG
YG: Hey Rik! Thx 4 taking time from the editing suite to meet with me. Did you catch the Giants whip ass in the Super Bowl? Who did you have your $ on?
Rik: Hey Larry how are you? Thanks for having me, you have an amazingly diverse blog. I did catch the Giants win, what a great game. Of course my faith was with my home team. This will be a great week for New Yorkers.
YG: So lets get right into it.. 2007 was a breakout year for your career as a Director. Your worked with artists from Jay-Z to Ghostface and this has made you one of the most sought after Video Directors in the game. Do you feel pressure to continue to raise the bar? Moreover, what motivates you churn out videos @ such a frenetic pace?
Rik: Honestly, I don’t really feel any pressure to raise the bar. I’m not even sure that I raised it. I think I simply adapted to this digital age of filmmaking and applied a combination of stories about real life struggles with my love for Hip Hop. Since I did a lot with the internet last year, the assumption is that I’ll receive bigger budgets and have more expensive items on screen. That’s not really where my interest lie. It exists in capturing the human condition and finding inspiration everytime I step outside. The moment I stopped thinking about success in terms of budgets and money and more about how successful I could make myself to others is when I became extremely motivated. Naturally I do have to make a living off of this so my business has to be straight. But my movement is a much bigger picture and my goal is much deeper than trying to get more money to make a Hip Hop music video. I could very well take the typical budget of a mainstream director and create quality feature films. 😉 We’ll see…
Fire Starter: Rik Cordero
This Q-U sharpshooter, producer and writer is the most-buzzed about thing on the Net in hip-hop circles since De-Haven began popping up on YouTube talking about Jay-Z. Cordero, who is 28 and originally hails from the Philippines, got his big break a couple of months ago when Jay-Z asked him to direct a Web-only trailer for his “Blue Magic” video. But by then, Cordero already had a list of credits longer than a Supernatural freestyle. He’s directed trademark gritty, up-close-and-personal clips for Ali Vegas, Joell Ortiz and, more recently, Ghostface, Styles P and Beanie Sigel. Next up, Cordero is set to film promo spots for the new season of “The Wire” and get his first full-length feature completed sometime in the New Year.
Rik is so focused! What other director do u know puts out a new video every wk. I just found out this morning that Rik has a two-page feature in this month’s Hip Hop
Connection magazine, the longest running Hip Hop magazine of the UK. This young man is on his grustle…. Understand the PASSION! Shout out 2 Young Sav… Shout out 2 LV & Sean C on the production. -!YG
This has been a good week for my folks… Shout out 2 Rik Cordero!!!! My dude Rik Cordero did an interview with Giant Magazine. The man responsible for the Blue Magic Video Trailer is definitely on his grustle. Rik is one of my favorite directors right now. Rik’s imagination is inspirational in a climate where videos lack a lot of creativity. His cinematic eye is poetry in motion & this is just the beginning. Rik is the architect of Hip Hop Masterpiece Theater… 🙂 Wait til u see his movies.. Oh Boy! Check out his reel below & u will see what I mean-!YG
