Cocaine, ninjas, guns, pimps, outragously enormous fake boobs. Yes, this video from newcomer director John Stalberg, Jr. for this Lady Tigra track remixed by Mr. Hahn of Linkin Park is everything you could want and everything you would never see on an TV network with a standards department. Stalberg fits in lots of smart touches and sly jokes in this glorious homage to Blaxploitation pictures, which was actually the director's first video and was made while Stalberg was casting his feature, Zero Dark Thirty. And — this is nearly as exciting as the video itself, actually — The Lady Tigra is one of the original members of L'Trimm, one of the greatest hip-hop one hit wonders of all time, responsible for the classic jam "Cars That Go Boom."
John Stalberg, director: "The original idea of Tigra in the Indian jungle was getting expensive, so I jokingly said that if we didn’t have enough money, the video might end up looking like a Blaxploitation film. We kept going with the joke — The boom in the frame, shots played in reverse, jump cuts, bad splices, coke, ninjas, butterfly knives, bad acting,poorly dubbed lines — you name it. I pitched it to Lady Tigra and she flipped out… Turns out she’s a big Blaxploitation fan like me. We threw in a bit of Foxy Brown, Dolemite, Shaft, and even some random films like Bare Knuckles for their bizarre qualities, tinny sound design elements and general insanity.
This video was a blast to shoot. I decided to play the part of the dope pusher 'Cervenka' in the video because I knew I’d be okay in the role and I could guarantee I’d show up… which — even thought this was my first video — I know isn’t something you can count on in the crazy world of music videos.
I hope you all enjoy it. Breakdancing ninjas. I thought people might like that. I do." --> watch "Bass On The Bottom"
The Lady Tigra "Bass On The Bottom" (High Score)
John Stalberg, Jr., director | Justin Si Diener, producer | Merge @ Crossroads, production co | Labuda Management, rep | Andrew Sachs, DP | Wyatt Jones, editor
