5. Hype WilliamsOne Nation
They do what they want, as Hype Williams and as individual artists now. I was introduced to them by their weird, very short music videos they would distribute on YouTube. You would get Inga and Dean in sunglasses looking at the camera being really trippy, doing this performance, that was super fascinating. They were at the pinnacle of using the internet, working with visual media, and lived up to the ‘Hype Williams’ moniker. They created their own world and really owned it. They weren’t apologetic at all and I really respected that. This particular album is really dystopian, it’s cross-genre, it’s timeless. They set their own rules. One day they will just drop a weird mixtape, you don’t know what’s going on!
I have had the opportunity to spend time with Inga and it’s fascinating listening to her speak about herself as an artist. I have spent less time with Dean, though I have played after them both, during which they both made me panic! I played after Dean once in Serbia. He put on a sine wave, walked off stage, came into the green room, and said he needed a cigarette. I was very confused, but it was brilliant. As much as they play with people they do respect art as well. It’s playful but serious – there is a real craft going on. It is their rules and I think as artists we should have the rules and run with them. You get people saying how they’re just pranksters that we shouldn’t take seriously so people shut off from the music. I didn’t shut off from the music one bit.
