Update: After Young Thug's new music video made its way around the internet, many speculated that the entire premise was faked. But Pitchfork has just confirmed that Young Thug really didn't show up to his "Wyclef Jean" shoot. According to Pitchfork, Young Thug "gave his input and creative direction for the concept and theme."

Original story below.


Musicians in general can often be difficult to work with. They have hectic and often unpredictable schedules. These people are creatives—artists who operate at their own speed, who prefer to not be restricted by conflicting visions, ideas or agendas. It's by no means unusual that director Ryan Staake ran into some issues when it came to the production of Young Thug's new video for "Wyclef Jean."

First Young Thug sent audio of his very specific vision for the "Wyclef Jean" video, which required "cars that little kids drive" and a lot of women. But then he didn't show up in time for the shoot, which cost $100,000. Instead, a month later, Young Thug sent Staake his own footage of himself eating Cheetos in front of a plane. So, Staake had to improvise, and he managed to make the best music video of the year so far. It's a first-person account of the tribulations of filming the "Wyclef Jean" video, complete with arguments with cops, Young Thug himself refusing to get out of his car, censorship, and smashing police cars.

Had Young Thug's original vision panned out, it might have been an amusing music video. Instead, he got something better. It's a video that's perfectly worthy of the brilliant song it's accompanying. Just the title, "Wyclef Jean," is a great example of Young Thug's wry, meta-humor. This video matches his persona, his brand, and his music in a way that's both self-aware, hilarious, and endlessly viral.

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From: Esquire US