Rekindled freestyle is a single from AD in which I was given the freedom to direct. Aside from just directing this video I do work with AD in building his brand and his image and part of this video was about reinforcing that.
After hearing the song I immediately thought to make something similar to Nemzzz’s - 8am in Manny
A natural, authentic, one-take video in a relatable environment.
As much as the does look very natural it was entirely orchestrated. From walking out the store with a drink, to the path AD takes and where he pauses. Petrol stations are very common shooting locations throughout UK rap music and I think they are a symbol of having ‘something to get off your chest’. I think a lot of petrol station videos they signal to the audience what kind of song you’re about to hear and I wanted the video to give the feeling of ‘I need to lock in and listen closely’.
I think the situation is also very relatable for teenagers and young adults in London, chilling with your friends, rapping etc. I think everyone wearing black, tracksuits, black cars, someone on a bike creates that stereotypical look of gang members but once you hear the music you see that AD is not that kind of person which is exactly the narrative we wanted to push. There a lot of young adults in London that get miss-profiled because they do not get the chance to show their character and I wanted AD to a symbol for that.
