Clipse & Kanye Make a 'Big Deal' in Brooklyn
The Clipse decided that a narrowly shaped apartment complex in Brooklyn was the proper venue to shoot the video for “Kinda Like a Big Deal” featuring Kanye West, the first single off the Virginia rap duo’s third album Till the Casket Drops. But Hannah and her roommate Z, both third-year college students at Brooklyn College, had no idea the stairwell inches away from their front door would be packed with celebs and video production gadgets, as the ladies prepared for a girls-night-in dinner party. They had no choice but to open up their home to Kanye and friends.
As Malice, one half of the Clipse, finished his solo shots, Kanye strolled down the confined hallway fashionably late by an hour and a half. His Air Yeezys were spotted on a handful of people, affirming their spot as the hottest sneaks in the building. “Man, I don’t even have a pair,” yelled the Clipse’s other half Pusha T. “I’m still waiting for Mr. West to hook me up.” Kanye replied with a subtle shrug, as if he knew even he couldn’t get his hands on a free pair—though he did have a Louis bag full of kicks, including the pair he designed for the luxury brand. Whispers of the $1,200 price tag received some dumbfounded stares, but immediately grabbed the spotlight when he pulled them out.
Kid Cudi, Cory Gunz, and Albert Daniels (Brooklyn from ATL) all stopped through to pay their respects and possibly sneak in a cameo in the Kaws-directed video. Chin and DJ Khalil, the masterminds behind the beat, said their inspiration came from the classic movie Apocalypse Now. “As soon as the beat was finished, I instantaneously thought Clipse,” said Chin. “When they added Kanye, it just put more icing on an already dope cake.”
–Bilal Morris
Photo credit: Cassidy “Sparrow” Maldonado/staging-rapup.kinsta.cloud