Archived News: 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | Current

(December 31, 2006 - February 22, 2007)  THE GAME VIDEO PREMIERES | NEW VIDEO FOR CANADIAN RAPPER BELLY
NEW VIDEO CLIPS ON HSIPRODUCTIONS.COM | XM COMMERCIAL | DIDDY'S FIGHT AGAINST COUNTERFEITERS
NEWS FEATURE ON CTV NEWS | CANADIAN HIP-HOP SUMMIT VIDEO CLIPS | 2006 YEAR-END REVIEW
The Little X-directed video for The Game's Let's Ride premiered in late-October/early-November.
click here to view the video
(thanks to Adrian P & Luke P for the info)

X also shot a new video for upcoming Canadian rapper Belly, for his track Pressure (featuring Ginuwine).  Along with Ginuwine, other people making cameos in the video include Hulk Hogan, Brooke Hogan, Mad Linx, and DJ Drama.Little X | News (Archive: 2006)  Although the article lists X as the sole director, I believe he co-directed it with RT!, as it is credited to RT! at the beginning of the video.
click here for an article at ballerstatus.net, which includes images from the video shoot

HSI Productions re-launched its website with a new layout a few months ago.
The Little X Commercials section now includes full Quicktime video clips for the following commercials:

• Bacardi "Muddle It"
• Nintendo "Control"
• Smirnoff "Tea Partay"

The Little X Music Videos section includes full Quicktime video clips for the following music videos:

• The Game "Let's Ride"
• Beenie Man "Girls"
• Korn "Coming Undone"
• Christina Aguilera feat. Nelly "Tilt Ya Head Back"
• Sean Paul "Temperature"
• Nelly Furtado "Promiscuous"
• Sean Paul "Gimme The Light"
• Ying Yang Twins "Wait (The Whisper Song"
• Kanye West "Workout Plan"
• The Thrills "Not For All The Love In The World"

I had posted behind-the-scenes images from X's commercial shoot for the new XM Satellite Radio commercials in Toronto back in October.  The two commercial clips, entitled "Neighbourhood" and "Radio" are now available in streaming format at X's official littlexonline.com website.  Also posted are his recent commercials for Bacardi "Muddle It", the Smirnoff Raw Tea "Tea Partay", and a pair of commercials for Mercedes Benz.

Click here to read an article about Little X joining Sean "Diddy" Combs' fight against (apparel) anti-counterfeiting in Canada.  The campaign is aimed at fighting those who are selling counterfeit versions of clothing lines such as his own Sean Jean brand.

(Canadian television network) CTV News aired a feature story on Little X back on November 29 during their 11pm news broadcast.  The feature, entitled "Success Story: Tom Walters with Little X" is posted on the CTV.ca website here
Success Story: Tom Walters with Little X (originally aired November 29, 2006)
(thanks to Emily M for the info)

Here's a short video clip of highlights from the First Canadian Hip-Hop Summit On Financial Empowerment in Toronto: Get Your Money Right, which Little X took part of, in Toronto on October 28.

link to video on YouTube
(thanks to jrcrave for the link)

And finally: the 2006 Year-End-Review.
Little X directed about 10 videos in 2006, including noteable ones for Ne-Yo, Beenie Man, E-40, Sean Paul, The Game, and tried his hand at directing another video for a rock act (a CGI-heavy clip for Korn's Coming Undone).  He also directed a handful of videos for Canadian R&B singers Melanie Durant, Keshia Chante, and the extremely popular video for Nelly Furtado's Promiscuous (featuring Timbaland).  My personal favorites this year include the Nelly Furtado video and Girls (Beenie Man/Akon).  My least favorites were U & Dat (E-40 feat. Kandi Girl & T-Pain) and the unreleased video for Cassie's Me & U.

While X has been keeping up with his video work, he's also getting a steady flow of commercial work.  He's directed several commercial clips over the past year including a pair of spots for XM Radio, 2 for Mercedes Benz, and ones for Bacardi, Sony, and Verizon.  Perhaps the most popular one was a commercial for Smirnoff Raw Ice Tea entitled "Tea Partay".  The clip was released exclusively online, and became an instant (viral) hit through the video-sharing site YouTube.

So what does 2007 have in store for Little X?  Well, back in March 2006, it was announced that X was working on his first feature film, an urban horror movie called Razorwire.  Several sources (including imdb.com) list it as coming out in 2007, so I'm sure he'll be busy with that all year; along with the usual video & commercial work.

(October 25, 2006)  X TO PARTICIPATE IN TORONTO HIP-HOP SUMMIT
Little X will be participating in the The First Canadian Hip-Hop Summit On Financial Empowerment in Toronto: Get Your Money Right this weekend.  The day-long summit takes place on Saturday (October 28) at 11:30am at the Ryerson Theatre in downtown Toronto, and features other celebrities such as Dr. Ben Chavis, Russell Simmons, Trina, Remy Ma, Killer Mike, Chingo Bling, Spinderella, Gipp, Hi-Tek, MC Lyte, Saucrates, Chris Brown, and Lil' Mo.  Click here to visit the official website for more info.  This event is free and open to the public, but tickets must be reserved (on the website) or through several participating community organizations across the GTA.
(thanks to JB for the info)

(October 20, 2006)  UPCOMING XM & QUAKER COMMERCIALS | BET HIP-HOP AWARDS NOM
KESHIA CHANTE & XZIBIT VIDEOS PREMIERE | UPCOMING VIDEO FOR THE GAME
Tonnes of Little X news from the past 2 months.

X is currently in Toronto shooting a pair of commercials.  He was in Toronto yesterday shooting a new commercial for XM Radio.  I stumbled upon the shoot while walking home from work yesterday afternoon.  The street-side shoot occured at a restaurant/club on Simcoe Street, just north of King Street (north of Roy Thompson Hall).  They were shooting an outdoor scene featuring three girls seated at a table on the outdoor patio (despite the chilly Autumn weather and single-digit temperature outside!).  Another scene was an interior shot from inside a car.  X is also set to shoot another commercial for Quaker (cereal) in the coming days.

Last week, BET announced its nominees for the inaugural BET Hip-Hop Awards.  The awards feature a category called the Element Award: Director of the Year.  Little X is nominated in this category along with Benny Boom, Dr. Teeth, Hype Williams, and Sanaa Hamri.  X is nominated for his body of work (from the past year) including:

- Girls - Beenie Man feat. Akon
- Temperature - Sean Paul
- U And Dat - E-40 feat. T-Pain & Kandi
- (When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me - Sean Paul feat. Keyshia Cole
- Wild 2 Nite - Shaggy feat. Olivia

No Little X-directed videos were nominated in the Hip-Hop Video of the Year category.  The awards are set to air on BET on November 15.
click here for press release, including a full list of nominees

New Little X videos for Keshia Chante and Xzibit have premiered.  The Keshia Chante video Been Gone has been playing for the past few weeks.  The video was shot in late-August, on location at Fletcher Meadow High School in Brampton (suburb of Toronto), and features Keshia walking/dancing/singing through the halls of the school.  Like in the movie "Fame".  The video ends with Keshia performing on stage in some sort of school production/show.
click here to watch the video, behind-the-scenes footage, and photos from the shoot, at keshiachante.com

The Xzibit video, Concentrate, also made its premiere recently.  The video was co-directed by X and another Toronto-area director, RT!.  It was shot on a soundstage made to look like a dojo (Asian martial-arts school).  X makes a cameo in the video.
(thanks to Anthony E. and jrcrave for the info)

X has also apparently shot a video for The Game, for the track Let's Ride.
(thanks to Luke B. for the info)

(August 30, 2006)  SMIRNOFF RAW TEA "TEA PARTAY" ONLINE COMMERCIAL | X SHOOTS NEW KESHIA CHANTE VID
Little X has shot a new online commercial for Smirnoff Raw Tea, which has become an online favorite in the past month.  X (credited under his real name Julien Christian Lutz) shot the clip, entitled Tea Partay, which has received well over 1 million views ever since it premiered August 2 on YouTube.  The 2:15min. clip features a trio of prep-school type white guys rapping about how to throw a 'tea party', with reference to the "Hampton"-type lifestyle.  The clip parodies the most common rap video clichés, from the slow-mo drive-by scenes, to the trio rapping with women dancing around  them.  An instant classic!

click here to watch or download the clip (in Windows Media or Quicktime formats) at teapartay.com
click here to read article at adweek.com

Little X was in Toronto last week (August 22-24) to shoot a new video for Keshia Chante; presumably for her new single Been Gone.
(thanks to JB for the info)

(August 1, 2006)  LITTLE X VIDEOS SCORE 5 MTV VIDEO AWARDS NOMINATIONS | X's KARIBANA PARTY INFO
Little X's videos have scored a total of 5 nominations for the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards.  The nominations were announced yesterday (July 31) and include 3 nominations for the Nelly Furtado (feat. Timbaland) video Promiscuous (for Best Female Video, Best Dance Video & Best Pop Video), as well as a pair of nominations for Sean Paul's video Temperature (for Best Dance Video and Best Choreography in a Video).  The awards will be handed out during a live broadcast from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on August 31.
click here to view nominees @ MTV Video Music Awards website (Flash site)
click here to view list of nominations at Stereogum (simple text)

It's about that time of the year again: CARIBANA IN TORONTO!  As in previous years, Little X & Maxamus Entertainment will be hosting their 5th annual Karibana party.  This year's event, Get Derrty, will be hosted by Little X and feature rapper Nelly as its feature guest (along with model Melyssa Ford).  It will be held on Sunday, August 6 @ The Docks.  Tickets are $40 and are available for presale at Ticketmaster.
click here for e-vite and more info

(July 5, 2006)  ***LITTLE X CHAT ON BET.COM THIS AFTERNOON 2pm***
I know its really really last minute, but BET.com is holding an online chat with Little X this afternoon (Wednesday, July 5) at 2pm EST.  Click here for more info: Chat With Music Video Director Little X!
(thanks to jrcrave for the info)

(June 23, 2006)  NEW SEAN PAUL F. KEYSHIA COLE VIDEO
Little X has directed a new video for Sean Paul feat. Keyshia Cole, for the single Give It Up To Me (from the upcoming movie Step Up).  The video is about a street-smart juvenile delinquent who meets a young ballerina at dance school.  Think Save The Last Dance, but with the roles reversed, and both lead actors are white. ;o)  The video features Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole singing in a dance studio (with a sign reading "Sean Paul Rehearsal" taped to the door), featuring people doing ballet, hiphop, and reggae dancing around them.  A very simple video, but great track.  The lead actor from the movie (Channing Tatum) and lead actresses (Jenna Dewan and Drew Sidora) make cameos in the video.  The video premiered this past Tuesday (June 20) on BET's Access Granted.
(thanks to jrcrave for the info)

(June 19, 2006)  BEENIE MAN/AKON VIDEO PREMIERES
Apparently the new Little X-shot video for Beenie Man/Akon, Girls, has premiered.
watch the video at his official website

(June 5, 2006)  NEW E-40 VIDEO PREMIERES | X'S MYSPACE PAGE (?)
The new Little X-directed video for E-40's U & Dat (feat. Kandi Girl & T-Pain) premiered recently.
The video has been posted on AOL Music.

Seems like Little X has a page up on MySpace.  Check it out here.
(thanks to jrcrave for the info)

(May 17, 2006)  NELLY FURTADO VIDEO PREMIERES | BEENIE MAN VIDEO BEHIND-THE-SCENES PHOTOS



The Little X-directed video for Nelly Furtado's Promiscuous Girl premiered recently on MTV and MuchMusic (it is this week's TheBigOne on the Canadian channel).  The video features a 'sexier' Nelly Furtado trading flirtations with producer Timbaland; shots of Nelly performing against yellow, red, green, and blue backgrounds; a shot of people dancing in a club; and cameo by Justin Timberlake.  The video can be streamed online at AOL Music and MTV.com.
click here to read an article about the video at MTV.com

AllHipHop.com has posted three great behind-the-scenes photos from the videoshoot for Beenie Man's video Sexy Girls .  Click here, here, and here for the photos.
(thanks to JB for the info)

(May 5, 2006)  UPCOMING BEENIE MAN VIDEO
X shot a new video for Beenie Man for the track Sexy Girls (featuring Akon) last week in New York City.
(thanks to JB for the info)

(April 19, 2006)  LITTLE X ON MTV CANADA'S MTV LIVE
I only found out midday (last) Thursday that Little X was appearing on MTV Canada's MTV Live (our version of Total Request Live), and since I work just a few blocks away from the MTV Canada studios in downtown Toronto ;o) I got myself on the guestlist and attended the taping (even though they were obviously desperate for audience members, as the studio was pretty empty, heheh.  For those of you who don't know, the current incarnation of MTV Canada was only launched a few weeks ago, with their studios taking over the old CTV building (the old Masonic Temple building) at the corner of Yonge & Davenport in downtown Toronto.  X appeared on the show along with Melanie Durrant and Jdiggz to promote (a) Melanie Durrant's new single & (X-directed video) Pop (which she performed with Jdiggs in the show's opening) and (b) X's weekend bash Men In Suits, Women In Dresses 3 (which took place this past Saturday at the York Event Theatre in mid-town Toronto).  The interview segment lasted no more than 20 minutes, with them talking about the Pop video shoot (shot over 3 very cold days in Toronto (?)), going through some of X's previous video work and what it was like working with people like P Diddy, why he brings production back to Toronto, and answered a few audience questions.  At the end of the show (after an interview segment with Canadian rocker Sam Roberts), X came back on camera wearing a suit, and gave the guys tips on proper styling techniques ;o)
(thanks to jrcrave for giving me the heads-up on X's MTV Live appearance!)
watch the entire Little X/Melanie Durrant/Jdiggz MTV Live segment at MTV Overdrive (MTV.ca) in streaming video

PS: if anyone has pics from the MTV Live taping or the Men In Suits bash, please email me

(April 4, 2006)  NEW VIDEOS FOR NE-YO & E-40 | X SPEAKS AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY
Little X shot the new Ne-Yo video When You're Mad, which is scheduled to premiere on BET's Access Granted tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 5 @ 7:30pm).  X also shot a new video for E-40 feat. T-Pain for the track U and Dat.  Pics from that video shoot are posted here @ the Street Fury webpage.
(thanks to jrcrave, elttil, & MH for the info)

X participated in a panel discussion last Thursday at Howard University, as part of a symposium entitled Hip-Hop and Higher Education.  The goal of the day-long symposium was to discuss the culture of hip-hop and help to infuse it with academics.
click here to read article about the Hip-Hop and Higher Education symposium
(thanks to jrcrave for the info)

(March 27, 2006)  ***LITTLE X MOVIE PROJECT ANNOUNCED: RAZORWIRE***
An article on HollywoodReporter.com, posted this past Friday, announced that Little X has signed on to direct a new urban horror movie called Razorwire.  The synopsis is as follows: "The script centers on a group of small-time drug dealers who discover that vampires, who also happen to be cops, have been feeding on the disadvantaged people in the ghetto. When the vampire cops start framing them for the murders, the dealers go to war with their new immortal enemies."

To my knowledge, it's the first movie that X has been attached to.  The movie will be produced through Kisha Imani Cameron's Completion Films.  The script was written by newcomer Rob Davis.  I'll post more info as I receive it!

(March 27, 2006)  NEW MELANIE DURRANT AND KORN VIDEOS PREMIERE | MEN IN SUITS 3 INFO
Little X has shot a new video for Melanie Durrant, for her new single Pop.  The video premiered on Canadian MuchMusic earlier this month.  The Little X-directed Korn video Coming Undone premiered in mid-March.  The video is pretty much all shot against a green-screen (CGI backgrounds).  It features the band performing in a desert setting, only to have the clear blue sky start to crack and fall down, revealing an night setting.  Soon, the night sky also starts to crack, revealing an all-white background.  The video ends with the band "coming undone" (ie: their bodies start to unravel and float away; a pretty cool effect).  You can view the video at the official Korn website.
(thanks to Cihan and Hannah for the info)

And finally, there is new info on the upcoming (annual) Little X party Men In Suits/Women In Dresses 3, held every year in Toronto.  This year's shindig is once again at the York Event Theatre (Eglinton, east of Yonge) on Saturday, April 15.
click here for e-vite with more info

(March 8, 2006)  CASSIE VIDEO SCRAPPED
For whatever reason, the Little X-shot video for Me & U, by upcoming R&B singer Cassie, has been scrapped and another director has been commissioned to re-shoot the video.  Tony Duran (best known for his fashion photography) will shoot another video for the track (his first music video ever); it's looking like X's version of the video will never see the light of day...
click here for more info
(thanks to Cihan for the info)

(Feburary 22, 2006)  X SHOOTS KORN (!) | UPDATES: NELLY FURTADO & RAY J.
Reliable sources have informed me that Little X shot a new video for rockers Korn (!) in Los Angeles earlier this month, for their upcoming single Coming Undone.
(thanks to K and LH for the info)

UPDATE: plans to shoot the Nelly Furtado videos Promiscuous Girl and No Hay Igual (mentioned in yesterday's post) and the Ray J. video What I Need (mentioned last month) have not been finalized yet.

(Feburary 21, 2006)  X TO SHOOT 2 VIDEOS FOR NELLY FURTADO
According to Nelly Furtado's official website nellyfurtado.com, Little X is scheduled to direct videos for two new tracks off her upcoming album Loose.  The two videos are for Promiscuous Girl and No Hay Igual.  Both are to be released at the same time, and both will be shot sometime this week.
(thanks to elttil for the info)

(January 29, 2006)  X SHOOTS CASSIE VIDEO
According to ns4life.com, Cassie was up in Toronto this weekend (Friday & yesterday) shooting her new video Me & U with director Little X.
click here for a video clip featuring Ryan describing their trek up to Canada ;o)
(thanks to Christian D for the info)

(January 23, 2006)  X MAY SHOOT VIDEO FOR CASSIE & RAY J
Little X "may" shoot a video for upcoming artist Cassie, for her track Me & U.
click here for more info
(thanks to CD and jrcrave for the info)

Ray J also wants to shoot another video with Little X.  He's been in talks with Little X to shoot his next video, What I Need, in Toronto in the next few weeks.
click here to read article at MTV.com

(December 31, 2005 - January 11, 2006)  2005 YEAR-END REVIEW
2005 was another good year for Little X, as he continued to be one of the most sought after and prolific hiphop video directors out there.  He directed no less than 13 videos last year, including such highly-rotated clips for Rihanna (Pon De Replay), Ludacris (Pimpin' All Over The World), and Usher (Caught Up).  The year started off with the premiere and release of the Usher mini-movie Rhythm City: Volume One, which spawned the music video for Caught Up.  He also directed a bunch of commercials for companies such as Burger King, Miller Beer & Nintendo.  My favorites this year include his videos Pimpin' All Over The World (Ludacris) and Temperature (Sean Paul).  My least favorite was One Wish (Ray J).  I haven't heard what X has in store for 2006, but it's safe to say that he'll continue doing what he does best: videos; and possibly directing his first feature film?

Archived News: 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | Current