Videos

Braydz: Braydz in Paris

• 12th Apr 2012

In the modern age of reality fame game culture Braydz is one of those rarest of things – untapped talent. This is clearly demonstrated on ‘Braydz In Paris’ where he showcases a glimpse of his dynamic flow against one of the biggest jams in hip hop of the past six months, namely ‘Ni**as In Paris’ by Jay-Z & Kanye West. What he does on this beat as one listener commented on You Tube “Could teach Kanye and Jigga a thing or 2”.

Born in Nigeria and raised in Harlesden, North West London, Emmanuel Bridi, better known as Braydz or Iron Braydz, is an established rapper within the community who simply embodies all elements of hip hop from his tips to his toes, which is why he is repeatedly asked to host some of the biggest hip hop events in the UK when the biggest names roll into town from across the pond. This has given Braydz the chance to work with and meet the likes of Nas, DJ Premier, RZA, Immortal Technique, Chuck D and many besides.

‘Braydz in Paris’ is just one of 13 phenomenal tracks from the new mixtape ‘Holla @ Braydz’, being released as a free download soon via this link – link.

The mixtape showcases Braydz’ versatility not only as an MC but also as a producer and collaborator, working on several tracks with his cousin and fellow London rapper Thai Matic. Braydz comes from an exceptionally talented family in fact, as another of his cousins is Boy From Da Corner, Dizzee Rascal! Must be something in the water, when these boys were growing up!

Alchemist, Da Internz, David Banner, Just Blaze and Clams Casino also make their power felt on ‘Holla @ Braydz’ as Braydz does what he do by jumping on their beats and delivering pure fiyaah! The video to ‘Braydz In Paris’ needed to be something special in order to match the all-conquering nature of the track so friend and up n coming video director extraordinaire Zilla FX got behind the camera for this one. As Zilla explains, “I’ve always been a fan of double time choppin’ rap, so when I heard the track, It immediately struck a chord with me. I always envisioned it being energetic and diverse; a visual bombardment in imagery, where the viewer spends time trying to come to terms with what they have seen, so there is never a dull moment. I wanted the visuals to reflect the pace of the rapping and focus on the word play at hand.”

He goes on to explain, “I had recently been researching various forms of body projection artwork, and I was excited at how interesting simple animations could transform people quite easily into dazzling objects of art. This style really allowed us to go to town with the experimentation both whilst animating and shooting on the day. Balancing reflector boards on washing rails, holding up black cloth with washing pegs, and using swirling bar stools to create a rotating effect are all part of the fun.”