Was listening to my joint today and this pic came to mind. Haven’t seen it in a minute.
“Look at my outfit, I got all the basics/
White shirt, black tie, Mr. Smith from the Matrix/”
- J.A.M.E.S. WATTS, “Two Minute Warm-Up Part 4″
Compliments of Jameel Morrison.
Today I had a conversation with someone (not a stranger, mind you) who had seen my music videos for the first time at some point last week. He told me that he was impressed with the quality & composition of the videos, but that he was concerned with some of the imagery in “1996″, particularly the scene where I flashed a faux pistol in front of the camera.
I went on to explain that it was something that should have probably been edited for mass consumption, as I felt it was somewhat relevant to have the gun in the video; at the same time I didn’t believe that censoring that scene would have been the worst thing in the world either, as I know that my audience is partially made up of young people who are influenced by such imagery.
That, however, wasn’t the end of this issue during my day today.
Honestly, I wrestled with my feelings about the scene, and the video on the whole for the last couple of hours; I thought about WHY the gun was even in the video, and it made logical sense, but I felt very exposed and vulnerable in the knowledge that something that I once saw as insignificant could have affected someone in a negative way. It also made me realize, firsthand, the power that artists have through the messages we put out in our work. As I write this, I’m on the fence about it all.
