We’re loving the visual for the latest funk-laced single from the Seatle-based sister duo THEEsatisfaction. dream hampton, who created the oh-so-Brooklyn visuals, explains how the magic of “QueenS” came to be.
On coming together:
I first heard THEESatisfaction on Shabazz Palaces’ “Black Up.” Shabazz are my family and I loved what my friend Kahlil Joseph had done with their visuals. When John Moore, who manages Shabazz and THEESat, sent me an advance of (group members) Cat and Stas’ album, “awE naturlaE”, I was thrilled by how vintage and right now and future it sounded. I’ve been playing it nonstop more than a year. Meeting Cat and Stas was like meeting younger versions of my 90s Brooklyn crew, they have similar values, style and an investment in sisterhood.
On the treatment:
I made a tumblr for their treatment. Of course, photographer and painter Mickalene Thomas’ work was a direct reference, but it had pics of women and girls being at ease–even joyful–in all women spaces. One of the pics was of me and my roommates Crystal and Helen from 1994, dancing in the living room of our Fort Greene apartment in our nightgowns. I remember that night like it was yesterday. Crystal put on Rufus and the three of us danced the whole CD. I’m proud to say that Helen helped provide wardrobe (for the video) from her online vintage boutique.
On the set:
It was my first ever music video and the budget was small, so having almost twenty young women on set was ambitious. I went out of my own pocket to make sure cast and crew were well fed: curry fried chicken, lobster mac and cheese, grilled salmon salad. I didn’t want anyone getting tired of the inevitable wait time on a film set and leaving. Cast and crew were about thirty deep and there were only four men on set. So the party in the video was very much what the vibe was like. I had pre and post production challenges, but the shoot day itself was magical, truly.
