How Zulu made their “Where I’m From” music video with Eric André

2023 is undoubtedly going to be a breakout 12 months for Los Angeles-based hardcore quintet, Zulu. Past the current resurgence of heavy underground music, Zulu is ready to launch their long-awaited, debut full-length album A New Tomorrow on Mar. 3 by way of Flatspot information. Now it is solely a matter of time earlier than the band’s groove-centered powerviolence and mission to advertise inclusivity and illustration inside a traditionally white-dominated scene captivates the plenty even additional. Forward of the discharge of A New Tomorrow, Zulu have dropped two fierce singles, “Fakin’ Tha Funk (You Get Did)” and, most not too long ago, “The place I’m From.” The latter boasts not solely a full of life throwback ‘90s music video — but in addition an on-screen cameo from comedic genius and resident shock artist, Eric André.

Zulu enlisted their guitarist Dez Yusuf to direct and deal with the inventive course behind the visuals. He took heavy affect from the enduring “State of affairs” music video by ‘90s hip-hop trailblazers A Tribe Referred to as Quest with a view to seize the unifying bravado and magnificence that the Zulu monitor embodies. With related retro-inspired results, the brand new music video echoes the “State of affairs” video, because it’s largely centered round a celebration in entrance of a inexperienced display among the many band’s closest buddies and tourmates — together with Pierce Jordan (Soul Glo) and Obioma Ugonna (Playytime), who each provide visitor vocals to the monitor. André, who’s an outspoken fan of heavy music, presents all the pieces you’d anticipate from the outrageous Eric André Present comic by means of a sequence of hilarious faces, gestures, and lip-synched segments. Moreover, there are transient portraits of FEVER 333 frontman and chief-songwriter Jason Aalon Butler co-signing the band between quickly altering frames. All in all, “The place I’m From” and its accompanying music video is a celebration of the band’s roots, group and collective power within the numbers

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We sat down with Zulu’s Anaiah Lei and Dez Yusuf to debate the inspiration and filming course of behind the music video for “The place I’m From,” its lyrical message, how Eric Andre’s cameo got here collectively, and the potential of additional collaborations with the A-list comic sooner or later.

Clearly, the music video for “The place I’m From” was influenced by the enduring “State of affairs” video from the legendary ‘90s hip-hop outfit A Tribe Referred to as Quest. What was it about that traditional music video that resonated with you a lot for it to be the inventive course for this visible? 

Dez Yusuf: The humorous factor is that I used to be truly going to make use of this idea for myself. I had already began engaged on it and was going to inexperienced display myself in a bunch of locations, however then it hit me like a lightning that it will make sense for [Zulu]. I all the time beloved that there are such a lot of folks within the “State of affairs” video that don’t have anything to do with the track, however are simply repping the [music], and their motion — it felt like a standard vitality that I needed to indicate. I used to be prepared to surrender [the concept] to the band, and it was positively a selfless factor to match what Anaih had written [with the lyrics] for the track.

Anaiah Lei: On prime of that, it was good timing as a result of we had been about to go on tour with the entire different bands who [are featured on the track]. There’s a lot hip-hop affect on this band as lots of people know, so I completely knew we needed to do one thing like this.

What was the vitality like within the room whereas filming these group pictures for the video? 

Yusuf: I believe it virtually felt like nobody may grasp how superior this was going to be. I used to be simply yelling at my buddies to leap round within the inexperienced room earlier than a present. I took about 50 portraits of everybody, in order that’s why you get these flashing [images]. It grew to become this actually enjoyable vitality the place it felt like a celebration. There was a ton of footage we could not even slot in with us crowd browsing and [even more] members from varied bands.

What had been you particularly attempting to convey with the track’s message? 

Lei: At first, I needed to write down a track about being Black in another area and never feeling like we had that probability to be ourselves inside that area. That is one thing that we now have gone by means of so far — feeling like we will’t be who we need to be and other people anticipating us to be one thing else. Extra so than that, I didn’t need it to simply be on the damaging facet and likewise needed to specific, “Hey, this wouldn’t occur if we didn’t create jazz music and have a hand in soul music and rock ‘n’ roll.” It went from expressing that [the scene] claiming to be inclusive is simply bogus, as a result of it was by no means like that. There’s the lyric, “It’s been exclusion for the reason that leap,” however now we now have an opportunity with plenty of bands developing which might be representing us. The second a part of the track talks about, no matter that stuff, the music, and the kinds that we now have rock. We all know precisely who we’re.

It actually appears like a celebration of who you’re, which makes it all of the extra particular. 

Yusuf: It’s. Individuals have it backwards: We’ve been right here, we’ve been round, we’ve added to this and have moved the needle ahead, and are persevering with to remind you to face our floor. It’s virtually a warcry to dismantle the tokenism of Black folks in heavy music.

Whereas there are a number of notable cameos all through the video. How did Eric André become involved?

Lei: [Eric] DM’d the band speaking about how he was a fan and needed to come back on stage, and I used to be like, “That’s superior. I might love that.” [Later on], I acquired a textual content for him and didn’t even know the way he acquired my quantity. [Laughs.] We’d casually textual content about music and no matter, however then I used to be like, “We should always simply ask him to be within the video, the worst he can say is not any.” He mentioned, “After all,” so Dez and I went over to his home to movie. After we confirmed up at his home, there was loud music taking part in and I used to be like, “This may’t be his home, proper?” [Laughs.]

Yusuf: I used to be like, “This positively is his home. It makes probably the most sense on the earth.” It was like actually loud reggae music blasting. [Laughs.]

Lei: He was having a Friendsgiving celebration and we needed to discover him since there have been so many individuals. We [eventually] discovered him sitting down and we had been like, “Tell us while you need to begin filming,” which is all the time bizarre in a state of affairs like that. [Laughs.] We discovered a quiet space on a balcony and ended up capturing all of his components actually rapidly. He danced, yelled on the digital camera, and foolish issues like that — it was a extremely joke with plenty of attention-grabbing folks on the celebration.

That’s wild. Since he talked about wanting to come back on stage with the band, do you suppose it will occur sooner somewhat than later? 

Lei: One in all today, I hope so. He positively needs to and advised me that he needed to simply come on stage and scream into the mic. So no matter he needs to do, we’ll convey him out subsequent time we now have an LA present and he’s on the town. He’s such a beautiful particular person and can be tremendous into steel and hardcore, which I used to be stunned to seek out out.