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• 1 media/giphy.gif 2021-04-28T16:52:09-07:00 The Premise 13 plain 2021-04-29T20:07:38-07:00

  For a multitude of  decades, Hype Williams of Queens, New York has been influencing the Hip Hop industry. As a regular nominee of the VMA, BET, and Grammy Awards, Hype’s legacy flies under a radar. As a producer and director of music videos, linked to Hip Hop’s most influential artists, this mogul has undoubtedly impacted this genre of the music industry.
  With a lifetime spent honing his craft, Hype Williams’ touch can be felt in Hip Hop music from 1990 to present day 2021. Williams has worked with nearly all of Hip Hop's most noteworthy artists, such as Nas, the Wu-Tang Clan, L.L. Cool J, and the Notorious B.I.G, but has also dabbled in all types of music, directing videos for Jessica Simpson, Stella Soleil, Aaliyah, and the list goes on and on. He has been tasked with crafting the image of popular Black artistry for mass consumption while still maintaining an independently unique framework from which he creates. In collaboration with Hip Hop artists, like Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes, it would not be a stretch to assert that Hype utilized the concept of afrofuturism before academia strung the words together. It was through his unparalleled use of fisheye lens and manipulation of camera angles, cutting, and moving to create distinctive videos that have become essential to Black culture with creativity to be emulated.

  Through analysis of data related to the music videos he directed, the impact he has had can be more specifically identified and defined, the HYPE Williams Effect. The scope of research for this project begins with the collection of a number of different variables, such as featured artists, producers, record labels, copyrights, song lyrics, certifications, and more. It is through the amalgamation of data related to Williams’ music videos, that the Hype Williams Effect aims to provide a comprehensive demonstrative aid to convey the impact of his influence and the interconnectedness of Black art and American culture. As this project develops, a number of other data points continue to get added to the collection already existent. Questions generating this research surrounding Hype Williams’ career will ideally result in solid understanding of his influence.