Director Jason Goldwatch on Jay Electronica's "Dimethyltripamine"

Easily hip-hop's best video shot in Nepal

I was lucky to sit down with Jason Goldwatch and discuss several of his legendary videos. Our short discussion on Jay Electronica’s “Dimethyltryptamine.”

Kevin: So you see Jay Electronica’s “Dimethyltryptamine. It's obviously a part of your “Into The Light” documentary. By the way, where can people watch “Into The Light? Do you know?

Jason Goldwatch:  They can’t. It never came out. I’m sitting right here. I'm looking at the file.

Kevin: Have you ever met a Rothschild? 

Jason: No, but I’ve been on an email chain with one. 

Kevin: So that video definitely seems like you had a like sort of a loose treatment. Did you piece that together from stuff you had shot during the documentary?

Jason: There were certain songs we picked, we knew we were gonna shoot to fill the gaps [in the documentary.] And so for the story we had songs that really affected me the most. DMT actually, I was listening to that on the flight out. We're taking the flight from Thailand into fucking Kathmandu. So it was one of the things with the fit and it worked. And, you know, again, we were in a place where we sort of slid, slid in a little bit under the radar and then paid off the right people. And then, those fires and everything in that video, the military was there with us, allowing us to set those fires, that wasn't something that existed.

They were like “you can do whatever you want.” I was like, “What do you mean, whatever I want?” And they were like, “bro, you have to pay for it.” So I’m like “can we light fires in the street?” Like we have small ones. It was feeling out what we could do. And then how to work it in. We knew we're gonna have laser eyes, that thing was already talked about. So sort of about making sure there’s enough light for our designer to get in there. And also making sure people were allowed into the frame. We sort of blocked off the streets. Like I said, it was a rough idea that couldn't fail. Get into the situation and figure out how to make the best and take advantage of what the universe is giving to you that I think ordinarily most people don't notice or let in. 

Kevin: Right, like you start to understand the fact that any shoot with Jay Electronica in Nepal is going to be visually interesting.

Jason: And just the heartstrings, like he's got the greatest heart. So pure and our hearts are so golden and our crew was so great. When we went to that house for the DMT video, which we did a whole card scene, that happened that night. We just were shooting and someone stuck their head out the window and Jay started talking to them and he's a fucking great dude. And they connected and they led us into the ground floor. A kid was there and we had playing cards, drinking with them and cigarettes, and that became most of the performance. Again, just shutting the fuck up enough just to listen for a second. That's how we got into the house. Being open. And, you know, and we were obviously good people and then they really let us in, you know? 

Jason: They thought he was Obama when we were there.

Kevin: That's amazing.

Jason: He’s so beautiful and so well dressed and his skin was so perfect and he had a whole crew and a  fucking camera dude and photography and the shit was funny.

 

Kevin: You can expand on this. If you want. It's just an observation. You have this great element in the video of, you know, the videos shot. You know, visually it's dark . Then you have you have the headlights in the car, the candles, cigarettes, the fires, the laser eyes, the headlights.

Jason: No, I make shit to watch it forever bro. That sounds really arrogant. Obviously a fire and “ Into The Light” and playing with darkness. and investigating the darkness and being lit in the darkness, all that shit. Of course, yes. 1000 plays of that shit when we're there working with it and sort of pushing it. We’d walk around and alley and there’d be some dog eating some shit. Like “yes!” Like, it was very much just trying to be the open wizards that we are, we’re the most comfortable in a place that was just so not regular, you know, and maintaining sort of a sense of grounding in some level to be able to…. it's easy when you travel. You call it fresh eyes. You know, my photographer friends they arrive somewhere and have fresh eyes and you see shit people take for granted and you can shoot it, and it’s interesting. It’s sort of what we took advantage of was just being tourists, eternal tourists and sort of constantly just being wowed. And I'm just trying to capture that.