So this video is a homage to the classic HBO documentary “Hookers at the Point” which premiered in 1996. Candid and raw, director and producer Brent Owens profiled street prostitution on the streets of Hunt’s Point in the South Bronx. It was praised for showing the reality of the profession which was far from glamorous.

We shot this music video back in 2012 and wanted to capture the same grit and documentary-style authenticity as the HBO film. Powered by a hypnotic instrumental produced by Party Supplies, Action offers up a shocking first hand account from the stunted lives of streetwalkers: Cyndi, a prostitute addicted to crack, Silk, a violent, misogynistic pimp and Ramón, a former athlete turned junkie.

In this opening shot, we used an 80’s Benz to simulate a famous scene from the documentary. Cyndi, played by the amazingly talented Dory Greenberg really went all out in her portrayal of this character. From her drug addiction to mental breakdowns to seducing johns to her dependence on her pimp named Silk, played by Action, Dory committed fully to the performance.

A vast majority of these shots were lifted directly from Action’s lyrics but the way they unfold throughout the music video give it a very narrative feel - as if we are seeing the self destruction of each character over the course of a single night. The costumes obviously played a big role in creating an early 90’s aesthetic as well as the industrial setting which we filmed in Flushing, Queens rather than in the Bronx. Hunt’s Point is still a prostitution destination but not as active as it once was in the 90’s.

The gritty look was achieved by filming on the Canon 5D with Zeiss CP.2 cinema lenses, along with homemade streak filters for the lens flares. The Bokeh that’s visible from the various street lamps gives it a very vintage, lived in feel.

Silk the pimp is brought to life by Action Bronson in a number of ways - mainly in his lyrics, mannerisms and fashion. He pitches his voice much higher and spits lyrics that really dive into the complex relationships between pimps and prostitutes. In just a few verses he’s able to mix love, dependence, loyalty, money, intimidation, threats, violence and sex in a brutally honest way. In entertainment, Pimps are typically portrayed as flashy dressers who use extortion to stand out among their impoverished surroundings. While that’s true in this video, I’d argue that we weren’t glamorizing the lifestyle like you’d often see in hip hop during the early aught’s, but rather we were showing the harrowing effects of destitution. Action’s depiction of a pimp without any empathy, combined with Dory’s performance as a codependent prostitute is truly brilliant.

As the instrumental continues to loop, we are already drawn deeply into this world and I think most viewers don’t really know whether to laugh or cry at this point - which is probably the best time to introduce the character of Ramon played by producer extraordinaire Party Supplies. Party Supplies is actually a really gifted actor because of how subtle he portrays Ramon. The decision people make to pay for sex repulses a large part of our population but for the character of Ramon, he simply believes that in a free society, people should be allowed to make choices for themselves as long as they aren’t hurting anyone else. The contradiction here is that Ramon is hurting himself. The vices that he uses - drug and sex addiction - are ways to create instant gratification - to distract him from a life that he sees as a dead end - driving a truck for what is most likely minimum wage and living alone in a small apartment. The bright side is that in the last line where he refers to himself as “still a hitter”, we can assume that he had some kind of success in his previous years that he’s trying to reclaim.

Silk uses deprivation to create dependency and motivates Cyndi by either compensating her with material goods or denying her any rewards. We can assume Silk set up a host of rules, quotas and performance incentives that Cyndi didn't meet - which is why he dumps the contents of her purse onto the street - he's looking for money that she most likely spent on drugs. We can assume that Silk prefers Cyndi does not use hard drugs, but still tolerates it because she is a high performing employee. Thank you guys for reading this anatomy of a scene and if you’d like to watch the rest of Hookers at the Point, watch the video above.

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