Archive 2004.03: September 2004 - December 2004 | back to 2004 Archived News

(December 31, 2004 - January 17, 2005)  2004 YEAR REVIEW
2004 was a busy year for Little X.  X directed about 17  videos this year, including notable ones for Usher featuring Ludacris & Lil' Jon (Yeah!, the biggest single of 2004), Nelly & Christina Aguilera (Tilt Ya Head Back), John Mayer (Clarity), and a pair of videos for new Canadian R&B singer Keshia Chante (Bad Boy & Does He Love Me).  My favorites this year include the videos Not For All The Love In The World by The Thrills, Trick Me by Kelis, and Ghetto by Akon.  My least favorites were Tilt Ya Head Back by Nelly & Christina Aguilera and U Saved Me by R. Kelly.  In addition to those videos, he also directed a handful of commercials for Reebok, Guinness (beer), and a pair of great clips for JC Penney.  X's most ambitious project of 2004 was probably the mini-movie, Rhythm City Volume 1, for Usher.  At an estimated cost of $2.2million, the 20 minute short film included 4 musical tracks, a host of celebrity cameos, and lots of dancing.  No word on upcoming projects for Little X, but much luck to him in 2005.

(December 22, 2004)  USHER SHORT FILM TO PREMIERE NEW YEARS EVE ON FOX
It was announced earlier this month that Little X has shot a 20-minute mini-movie for Usher, to be aired on Fox on New Years Eve.  Some sources list the short film as being called "Rhythm City Volume 1: Money, Power, Respect", while others list it simply as being called "Caught Up").  The project is already being called the "Thriller" of our generation (in reference to Michael Jackson's ground-breaking extended music video/mini-movie back in the early 1980's).  Songs to be featured in the film include Caught Up, Seduction, Red Light, and Take Your Hand.  MuchMusic has reported that Little X shot the project during a 5-day shoot in Los Angeles, beginning December 2, at a cost of $2.2million.  It is also reported that the film features cameos by P. Diddy, Naomi Campbell, and even Ryan Seacrest, among others.  The short film will premiere on December 31, during Fox's annual New Years Eve programming New Years Eve: Live from Times Square with Ryan Seacrest.  It will also air later on MTV and BET.
This is, by far, X's biggest project ever.  He has previously directed 4 videos for Usher: U Got It Bad, U Don't Have To Call, U-Turn, & this year's smash hit Yeah!.
click here for article at MuchMusic.com | click here for article at FMQB
(thanks to JB for the info)

(November 25, 2004)  AKON VIDEO | VIDEO CLIPS ADDED TO HSIPRODUCTIONS.COM WEBSITE
The Little X-directed video for Akon, entitled Ghetto, premiered earlier this month on BET and MTV.  The video shows the singer walking through several poor neighbourhoods across the United States, including New Jersey, New Mexico, Arizona; and shows the people living in these types of neighbourhoods.  Great video; reminiscent of X's Color of Love video for Boyz II Men.
view the video in streaming format at Launch.com

HSI Productions has finally updated the Little X page on their hsiproductions.com website, with new video clips:

Commercials:
- Reebok "We Got Our Five"
- Guiness "Prento"
- Youth AIDS PSA "Stomp"

Music Videos:
- Melanie Durrant "Where I'm Going"
- Nelly & Christina Aguilera "Tilt Ya Head"
- Lloyd Banks "Karma"
- The Thrills "Not For All The Love In The World"
- Kelis "Trick Me"
- Beenie Man "King Of The Dancehall"

-Dojo clip - clip of extended fight sequence from the R. Kelly video Thoia Thoing

(November 18, 2004)  MARIO VIDEO PREMIERES | UPCOMING FABOLOUS VIDEO | X'S BIRTHDAY | THE THRILLS CD
The Little X-directed video Let Me Love You by Mario premiered earlier this month on BET.  Some shots of Mario singing in front of a huge mural of a dragon.  Other interior shots with a "sun" and graffiti on the walls may be the same interior used in X's video for Daniel Bedingfield's Gotta Get Thru This.

There is an unconfirmed report that Little X has shot a video for the upcoming Fabolous track Tit 4 Tat.
(thanks to El. for the info))

On October 27, Little X co-held a birthday bash with Kenny Burns at the club NA in New York City.  Celebrity guests at the event included fellow director Benny Boom, Geraldo Rivera, Farnsworth Bentley, R. Kelly, Tyson Beckford, Cedric The Entertainer, Irv Gotti, Glenn Lewis, Amerie, T.I., Lil' Jon, & Melyssa Ford.
(thanks to jrcrave & GV for the info)
click here to view images from wireimages.com

The Thrills have recently released their single Not For All The Love In The World in Europe.  The Enhanced CD single (CD2) includes the Little X-directed video for the track.

(November 4, 2004)  UMAC AWARDS | LLOYD BANKS VIDEO OUT
The UMAC (Urban Music Association of Canada) Canadian Urban Music Awards were handed out on October 21 and as mentioned, Little X received a Special Achievement Award for his "excellence as a video director and his positive representation of Canada's urban music scene on an international level."  Not sure if any of you caught it on television, but CBC apparently aired the awards late at night sometime last week.  I'll post info if I hear of any plans to re-air the show.

The Little X-directed video for Lloyd Banks' Karma is now airing.

(October 15, 2004)  NELLY/CHRISTINA VIDEO PREMIERES | VOTE FOR THE THRILLS ON MTV.COM
WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE | UPCOMING VIDEOS FOR MARIO AND LLOYD BANKS
As I mentioned before Little X had shot a new video for the Nelly & Christina Aguilera track Tilt Ya Head Back at the end of August in Miami, right after the pair performed the song on the MTV Video Music Awards.  The video premiered in early October, and mirrors their 1920's-inspired MTV VMA performance.  In it, Nelly plays a gangster who falls for a movie starlet (played by Christina Aguilera).  Little X makes a cameo in the video as the guy with the cigar, sitting next to the projector.
(thanks to Anthony E. & Kevin L. for the info)

The Little X-shot video Not For All The Love In The World by The Thrills is up against two other videos for MTV Viewers Pick.  The winner of the weeklong voting process gets their video added to MTV rotation.
Click here to vote (you can also view the full streaming video here)

Little X is interviewed in an article about black music video directors, which appeared in the Washington Post on August 15.
click here to read "Cut To The Directors" by Tommy Nguyen (Washington Post; August 15, 2004; p.N01)
(thanks to jrcrave for the info)

Music Video Wire (mvwire.com) reports on a few new Little X projects.  He has shot a "vividly colorful" video for Mario's upcoming track Let Me Love You.  In late-September, he also shot a video for Lloyd Banks' upcoming single Karma.

(September 29, 2004)  NEW KANYE WEST & THE THRILLS VIDEOS | MTV VIDEO AWARDS | NELLY/CHRISTINA VIDEO
MORE KESHIA CHANTE VIDEOSHOOT PICS | UMAC AWARDS NOMINATIONS | SEAN PAUL DVD

After a month-long break, I am back to report a whole whack-load of Little X news.

The new Little X-directed Kanye West & The Thrills videos have premiered.  Kanye West appeared on BET 106 & Park this past Monday (September 27) to premiere his new video Workout Plan (which he co-directed with X).  The video, which was shot in mid-August in Los Angeles, is in the form of a "workout plan" infomercial (reminiscent of a clip from X's previous video for Redman's "I'll Be Dat").  The video has shots of girls and kids running through a giant maze, girls 'working out', and hilarious "before & after" shots of girls who have gone through Kanye's "workout plan".  Anna Nicole Smith, Farnsworth Bentley, and Tracee Ellis Ross (from the cable sitcom Girlfriends) make cameos in the video.

The Thrills video Not For All The Love In The World (the second single off their new album Let's Bottle Bohemia) was officially added to MTV2's Subterranean playlist this week.  The video has the band performing in a room (with a back-up orchestra), with walls lined with Christmas lights.  Another scene shows several pairs of dancers doing a modern dance to the song, against a  backdrop of the Christmas lights.  The video is very subtle, but beautifully shot; and suits the mood of the song.  While the video is not yet available on the band's official website TheThrills.com, it can be viewed in streaming video format at Launch.com.
(As a sidenote, I'm a HUGE fan of The Thrills, and highly recommend their new album Let's Bottle Bohemia to anyone who likes mellow Brit rock) :o)

The MTV Video Music Awards took place one month ago (August 29), and of the 5 nominations for Little X-directed videos, Usher's Yeah! won 2 of its 4 nominations for Best Male Video and Best Dance Video.

There is an unconfirmed report that Little X was down in Miami for the MTV Video Music Awards at the end of August, and while there he shot the new video for the Nelly & Christina Aguilera video Tilt Ya Head Back (which they also performed at the awards show).  I'm treating this as a rumor, and will report on any news I receive in the coming weeks.

I came across more photos from the Keshia Chante video-shoot for Does He Love Me (back in July in Brampton, Ontario).  The website for Team 24k (a local Toronto-area group of suped-up import car enthusiasts) has posted 6 pages of photos (141 images in total!) from the shoot.  They supplied many of the vehicles featured in the video.
click here to view photo gallery
(thanks to jrcrave for the info)

The UMAC (Urban Music Association of Canada) has announced the nominees for the 2004 Canadian Urban Music Awards and Little X has been nominated for 2 videos.  His videos for Melanie Durrant's Where I'm Going and Keshia Chante's Bad Boy have been nominated in the music video category.  X is also set to receive a Special Achievement Award for his "innovative cinematic style and proud representation of Canada on the international music scene".  The awards will be aired across Canada sometime this Fall on CBC.
click here visit the UMAC website for full list of nominees
click here for Little X Special Achievement Award Recipient bio
click here to view press release
(thanks to jrcrave for the info!)

Sean Paul has recently released a DVD compilation of his videos entitled Duttyology.  The DVD features all his videos off of Dutty Rock (including the Little X-directed Gimme The Light, Get Busy, I'm Still In Love), and other special features.  The DVD comes in Clean and Explicit versions.

Last, but not least, I have come across a photo of Little X from his Karibana Krunkfest bash in Toronto this past August, during Caribana.  click to view photo
(thanks to jrcrave for the info)