Music Video Directors React to Young Thug's "Wyclef Jean" Debacle

We can't stop thinking about Young Thug's amazing new video for "Wyclef Jean."

After a disastrous shoot in which Thug showed up 10 hours late and refused to leave his car, director Ryan Staake flipped the script and turned the hopeless ordeal into one of the most creative videos we've ever seen. When we interviewed Staake, he mentioned that "this one's for the directors," and explained that shoots like this might not be as uncommon as we think. 

Intrigued, we reached out to several high-profile music video directors to hear their reactions to the situation.

John Colombo was originally hired to direct the "Wyclef Jean" video (as well as several other videos for 'Jeffery') until logistical problems interfered. His voice is heard alongside Thug's in the audio included in the final video.

Why didn't you go through with the project after initially being slated to work on it?

The day that Jeffery dropped, I got a call [from Thug's manager] saying, "I need you to do eight videos for Thug's album," similar to what I pulled off for him with Keyshia Cole in 2014. It required an immediate meeting that day at the studio with Thug. We linked up and sat there for about an hour or so discussing all of the videos for the album. It was recorded for me to sift through later, because it was a lot to digest and in some instances "translate." You should hear the recording from the "Harambe" concept. It's insane.  

They needed me to shoot the "Digits" video featuring Meek Mill "tomorrow!" So with less than 12 hours to whip a video together on a small budget, we were shooting. The shoot went okay. The footage came out sick and he was only a couple hours late and pretty easy to work with. I genuinely like him. The problems came in two forms: Meek not being available to come to set and a huge fuck up with the payment. The payment fumble was enough for me to say "fuck this" to the rest of the videos. I will say that it wasn't Thug's fault at all, though. The problem stemmed from management.

What was your reaction when you finally saw the video?

I already knew about the concept being used and Thug not showing up to set because I was in contact with some of the crew that day (it's a small LA community). I just imagined they scrapped the project after that, which is usually the case.

My reaction to actually seeing the video was probably a lot different then everyone else that's seen it. You hear two voices in this video: Young Thug and me! I was actually blown the fuck away that the audio had been sent to another director for reference (which is a huge fuckin' no no!)

I was in awe of the steel balls Ryan Staake must have for pushing that through and getting the label to bite down on that shit.

I was on set that night with CeeLo Green working on the Gnarly Davidson project and my phone starts blowing up—directors, crew, friends, commissioners from other labels... a slew of people that recognized my voice. Initially, I was pissed about the unauthorized sharing of intellectual properties (part of me still feels violated). But by the time I saw the whole thing, I was in awe of the steel balls Ryan Staake must have for pushing that through and getting the label to bite down on that shit. It had to have been a hard sell. It shit on the artist and the label in a sense. It was more of a humorous exposé on the fuckery that goes on daily! 

Have you had similar experiences to this?

I've directed hundreds of music videos and I've been really lucky, but I've also had my fair share of shit shows: getting shut down by cops, artists passing out and puking on themselves from excessive drug use, getting shot at for filming in rival territories, epileptic seizures from strobe lights, theft, fires, held against my will and forced to direct a video, domestic abuse on set. All kinds of crazy shit happens beyond an artist showing up late (laughs) but the show must go on! I think Ryan made filmmaker lemonade out of the giant pile of lemons he got that day and managed to get it out there for all of us directors.

I'd like to thank Ryan for being a standup guy. We had some Twitter laughs and he added me to the credits on his Vimeo page which I think we all got a kick out of. I'm extremely happy I didn't try to go ahead with this video because I would have been insanely pissed, as I'm sure Ryan was but I would not have tried to create what he did... He made something really special out of it. So through a serious of unfortunate events we all get to enjoy what he created.

Tom Gould is a New York City director known for his work with Action Bronson, Joey Badass, and more.

I thought it was genius. I heard Thugga hadn't turned up for the shoot a few months back and I was disappointed for Ryan. So when I saw the video I was so hyped! To be able to flip the situation like that and expose such truth within the industry is pretty amazing. Plus it was funny as hell!

I’ve never been in a situation where the artist doesn't show up at all, but I have definitely dealt with talent being hours late—it's sadly part of the business. What I can relate to is what Ryan had mentioned about it becoming the directors problem to deal with. You are forced to improvise and change the game plan on the spot as the pressure is on you to deliver no matter what. In this case it turned out to be something incredible, but that’s all credit to how Ryan reacted and treated the curve ball thrown.

John Merizalde is a director known for his work with Jon Waltz, Lewis Del Mar, Cozz, and more.

This whole situation has been pretty funny. I'm friends with Ryan and his brother Kevin—and I've done videos with them in the past. 

Kevin was the Executive Producer on this Young Thug video and actually crashed at my place in LA while they were filming. I remember pretty vividly after they wrapped: He got home late at night and proceeded to spill everything over some beers. Sounded like a nightmare, but honestly I've heard of things like this happening a few times before with other directors. Ironically Kevin and I joked before shooting about this exact scenario, or the other number of other things that could go wrong. Subconsciously I think they were prepared (laughs).

it was pretty cathartic to see someone address issues like this in such a direct way. Generally we're too afraid to speak up. A lot of the comedy derives from how close it hits to home for a lot of directors.

A week or two after they wrapped I saw the rough cut for this video and thought it was one of the funniest, most meta music video I'd seen. I think it was intended as a joke as first, and no one thought there was any way this would ever be released. Pretty crazy the label actually went along with it. It's surprisingly close to their original cut as well.

Having worked in the music video industry for a bit, it was pretty cathartic to see someone address issues like this in such a direct way. Generally we're too afraid to speak up. A lot of the comedy derives from how close it hits to home for a lot of directors. Everyone I know in the industry who's seen this immediately identifies with it. 

I've never had this exact experience, but I've definitely dealt with late artists—I think everyone has. There's a million things that can go wrong when making a video. The main thing that directors can relate to is having their vision/treatment altered or shattered on the day of shooting. It happens way more than people realize. The music industry has a way of teaching you really quickly that there are no rules and nothing really matters. Like Ryan says, the best trait you can have as a director is the ability to improvise and roll with the punches, which he did excellently here.

This video was great but let's not milk this to death. I hope labels/brands/agencies don't see this as a big viral marketing opportunity. This could get old real quick. :)

Sam Pilling is a director at Pulse Films, known for his work with The Weeknd, J. Cole, Usher, Run The Jewels, and more.

I thought it was hilarious! I must admit, I actually thought it was an orchestrated idea, rather than being a reaction to what actually happened. Mad props to Ryan for turning the disaster into something so funny!

I can definitely relate [to the situation]! Thankfully most of the artists I’ve worked with have been über professional, arrived on time and been an absolute pleasure to work with. But I did have one incident recently where we were rushed to shoot due to the availability of all the artists involved. But then one of the artists was too ill and we had to add another day.

Other than that there was one incident where an artist wouldn’t stop swigging champagne instead of performing, but that’s another story…