Adam Howard of the Howard Music studio recently teamed up with Rob Malpage from Frieze Films to create a slamming urban Hip Hop track for a TV ad featuring SAMA award winning rapper AKA and So You Think You Can Dance? finalist Kabelo.
The lively TVC for 8ta (with post-production looked after by Ministry of Illusion) plays out in a surreal inner city dreamscape and features everything from trumpets and trapeze to neon bicycles and pink hardhats. The track starts with the familiar sound of an SMS and quickly evolves into an all-out urban street party lead by AKA’s smooth raps and, of course, Howard’s fly rhythms, blasting trumpet lines and phat beats.
Howard breaks it down: “I worked closely with Rob Malpage (director and DOP from Frieze Films) on music videos produced for Die Antwoord and Vusi Mahlesela – Rob really knows his stuff! We were both adamant that we wanted to treat the commercial as a music video and decided to first compose the track and then edit to the music.
“It was great to work with AKA again. We actually go back a few years. I first met Kiernan (AKA’s real name) when I was working on the Bala Brothers’ first album, B3, when he was 17! I co-produced a few tracks on that album with Zwai and Loyiso Bala, and Loyiso said we had to get this “amazing’ young rapper in the studio. He featured on a classic Caiphus Semenya track that we re-recorded – Ziph’inkomo – and I knew then, Kiernan had a great future ahead of him.’
To watch the ad, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PU4jkFSKhs .
