With every subject there is a prevailing narrative, a collective understanding. Humans create stories to make sense of their world, whether it’s about another human, a brand, or a product. In order to change the prevailing narrative or add to it you first need to identify what it is. 

For ODB it wasn’t difficult to identify. He was regarded as an unhinged eccentric to put it nicely, a buffoon to put it bluntly. He was recognized as famous and by extension successful, but less for his artistry or technical mastery than for his outlandish behavior. He was a hypeman, the Yin to RZA’s yang. But we were convinced there was more to ODB to be unearthed.

Our narrative hook identified ODB as a trickster archetype - a figure prevalent across cultural forms, from literature and folklore to movies, music, and media. Tricksters are boundary crossers who constantly redraw the lines. In society we make distinctions - right and wrong, sacred and profane, clean and dirty, male and female, etc. In every case, the trickster collapses these concepts and blurs the distinction, creatively and mischievously reminding us that these are merely constructs.

By using the trickster archetype as a lens to view ODB’s life and career, we could tell a more complete story. One that didn’t shy away from the truth but painted a more complete picture of a man who could straddle the line between crazy and prophetic. Who was susceptible to vices but was also a husband, a father, a man of faith, and a perfectionist in the booth.

Credits - Creative Director, Producer

Awards - 2020 Clio Silver: Video 5+ min, 2021 Webby: Video - Music