Earlier this week, Keri Hilson released the super-charged video to her latest single, “The Way You Love Me”, which spread like wildfire across the internet within minutes of going viral. The sexed up video attracted over 8 million views on the popular website World Star Hip Hop, receiving mixed reaction from fans and critics alike.
I caught up with renowned choreographer and creative director LaurieAnn Gibson yesterday, whose making her directorial debut with the much talked about video. She explained the concept of the new video, how the video collaboration came about as well as her thoughts on black women snatching back their power and sexuality.
Necole Bitchie: Keri Hilson’s new video is going crazy on the internet. Everyone is talking about it. For people who may not have seen the video yet, could you tell us a little bit about the concept of the video?
LaurieAnn: We didn’t expect the dirty version to leak. It is a story about a love affair. Keri is a bounty hunter and the person that she has to bring in is her love, her baby daddy, Columbus Short, who’s an actor who started out as a dancer. So she has like this ultimate decision to make that I feel like a lot of black women are faced with; Is he the right guy? Is he good enough? I love him. Listen, we are up against a lot of odds, we gotta support our black man against those odds. Do I turn him in? Do I honor my love and risk it all? So that’s basically what the concept of the video is. There’s a ‘to be continued’ so it’s going to be interesting. I’m actually going to take you back to the beginning of when they first met so it will make sense when it’s finished.
Necole Bitchie : I can imagine that you were under a lot of pressure especially for this video to be your directorial debut
LaurieAnn: Well the thing is I’ve been choreographing and then creative directing with a lot of Lady Gaga stuff. You know as a choreographer you basically direct movement so you’re in the trenches learning about directing for years. When Keri was like, “Lauri Ann, Polow has this record…I’m not sure about it”. I said “Keri, let me direct a lifestyle video. The thing is, the beat is so driving and it doesn’t have to necessarily be the full part of you. It can be a character or another side. How can we pull a record that Polow loves and not offend your fans?” I suggested we make a mini movie. So that’s how it started out and it was really innocent and because it was my directorial debut I didn’t have a lot of money. The label was looking at me with one eye open. A lot of people don’t understand that Keri’s really capable and really talented and a lot of the other females may not see her as a competitor. But legitimately she has a voice, she has an opinion…she has a passion. So I was like “Keri, if I could let you feel this comfortable you need to fight for your spot, fight for your right to go after what you really want.” So we just started and that’s how the collaborations started.
Necole Bitchie: My first thought when I saw the video was “men are going to love this, women are going to hate on it”. I looked on twitter and the men were going crazy, the women not so much. I have never seen Keri dance that hard though. Do you feel like this video can propel her into “a competing state” and open people’s eyes to “Keri has arrived”?
LaurieAnn: Absolutely Necole because I think the bar and the level is set. You have to risk it all in order to be number one and you know how we feel about Beyonce, she works non-stop. She’s in it giving you options, performing at a level that’s not comfortable. The thing is, Keri can go there, so it’s like she’s making them feel uncomfortable. It’s a risk she had to take. As a black woman it is a little bit uncomfortable but what we are saying is we get to this place sexually where we want to feel like we’re that sexy, we’re that fly and why not? I mean white girls get behind us, I mean I love you Kim Kardashian but enough! Black girls are fly, you know what I’m saying? We’re beat, we’re the reason for the season and we need to embrace it! It’s a little uncomfortable because they kindly, politely put us in our position. Black women stand up and take back what their tying to snatch from us behind closed doors.
Necole Bitchie: You brought up an interesting point because as black women, sometimes we are boxed in when it comes to our sexuality. We get backlash for suggestive photos or showing our bodies in a way that is totally acceptable when women of other races do it. It’s “sexy” when they do it. It’s “raunchy” when we do it. For example, I know it’s someone that you work with a lot too, Lady Gaga has all these amazing pictures that show off her body and it’s looked at as art but if those type of photos were done by an urban artist, they would get backlash.
LaurieAnn: You’re right Necole, your absolutely right. I find an excitement about what I’ve done with Gaga from finding her three and a half years ago without anybody. It’s also bitter sweet because it wasn’t a black girl. I’m not mad, I’m just saying but you’re absolutely right there’s complete facts to that and even with Kim Kardashian, we’re not judging you but had a black woman done a sex tape we would’ve been finished for life.
Necole Bitchie: There wouldn’t be any endorsements…
LaurieAnn: Sell a shoe? Please! Just saying this is reality and instead of beating us down it’s a celebratory thing. It’s a yes Keri, okay we get it, it’s a record that Polow gave you and we had to interpret it. So we did it in the form of film and creativity. But she looks amazing, she’s strong, she chooses her man..it’s to be continued. Give her the time to let it unfold, to embrace this level and see what she comes with before you count her out so quickly.
Necole Bitchie: When you were presenting your ideas to Keri for this video, were there reservations on her end?
LaurieAnn: She did have reservations; it was a mixture of both. She loved the freedom and the protection that I gave her as the director. I was like “you’re screaming to prove you are a competitor in the ring…that Keri can sing, dance and act”. I didn’t make the record. I’m just delivering the record. There’s no way around, “Love me, Love me, it’s the way you love me, thug me.” I didn’t want to make it mine. So creatively I wanted to elevate you and challenge you to really break the front wall. I was like we gotta get Ricky on there, Faith came in, Dawn, Jojo..it was really a loving set and everyone had fun. She was a little bit like “Yikes!” I was like “You have the ability, so you want to be fearless and in your face on this. Promote the idea there should be no judgment and really stand for something or fall for anything.”
Necole Bitchie: Most artists get to a certain point in their career were they have to take risks. Sometimes they have to shut out all of the noise…what critics are going to say and just go for it. That’s when most artists reach their full potential.
LaurieAnn: She listens to the record company, she listens to the kids..she listens and sometimes they let her down. It wasn’t so literally, it was a break out on many levels.
And we’re not saying that this is for her younger fans by no way! Trust me I wish the dirty version didn’t get leaked because for my brand as well it’s a little uncomfortable. But it is based on the dance, it’s no one bumping and grinding, no one slapping her butt, she’s dancing to her full potential. Beyonce does a lot of sexual hip rolls so it’s just unexpected but it’s not without a particular artistic approach. For my young black girls, it is a video, it is a stretch. She is acting…she doesn’t stray from going to school…stay committed…believe in your dreams…trust God..be loyal. These are things that we live by. These are things I live by but there’s the other human side that’s like “We are the baddest bitches in the game.”
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