Film Music

Kenzo’s Dawn In Luxor Video (Directed by Kahlil Joseph; Music by Shabazz Palaces)

Vee Hua 華婷婷1 min readJune 6, 2014Add comment

In this slow-moving dream world, long-time collaborators Kahlil Joseph and Shabazz Palaces focus their eyes on a number of figures inhabiting different spaces: a blue-faced boy sitting on a beach; a figure scampering across a dark room; a strong woman standing tall in the breeze. It’s a fashion video that flies in and out of synth washes and the rhymes of Shabazz Palaces, who encourage you to fly with them along metaphysical spaceways. Egyptian hieroglyphics are spliced between scenes — and combined with the veiled figures and African artifacts, one has to wonder what Joseph’s secret message is.

In this slow-moving dream world, long-time collaborators Kahlil Joseph and Shabazz Palaces focus their eyes on a number of figures inhabiting different spaces: a blue-faced boy sitting on a beach; a figure scampering across a dark room; a strong woman standing tall in the breeze. It’s a fashion video that flies in and out of synth washes and the rhymes of Shabazz Palaces, who encourage you to fly with them along metaphysical spaceways. Egyptian hieroglyphics are spliced between scenes — and combined with the veiled figures and African artifacts, one has to wonder what Joseph’s secret message is. Created for Kenzo Paris.

Written and directed by Kahlil Joseph

Starring:
Grace Mahary
Palaceer Lazaro
Tykee Dawkins
Chris “Worm” Lewis

Music by Shabazz Palaces
Cinematography by Jason McCormick
Art direction by Partel Oliva
Styled by Mobolaji Dawodu & Annabelle Baldero Lacuna
Produced by Onye Anyanwu & Alejandro De Leon
Produced by Pulse Films and What Matters Most

—

Shabazz Palaces – “They Come In Gold”

This track comes off of their upcoming record, Lese Majesty, which will be released on Sub Pop Records on July 29th, 2014.

Ω

Tagged asafrican artists and musicians audio-visual dance egyptian artists and musicians fashion hip-hop kahlil joseph kenzo music video of the week shabazz palaces spirituality

Written by

Vee Hua 華婷婷

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and artist who splits their time between Oaxaca, Mexico, and Seattle, Washington. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE, Interim Editor-in-Chief of International Examiner, and an Environmental Justice reporter at South Seattle Emerald. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences.

Their latest short film, Reckless Spirits (2022), is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy; the feature film version is slated for production in 2026. In 2025, they premiere their documentary short film, Hunt's Trading Post, set just outside of the Navajo and Ute Nations.

In 2017, Vee released the narrative short film, Searching Skies — which touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States — and co-organized The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia.

Vee has two narrative short films. Searching Skies (2017) touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States; with it, they helped co-organize The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia. Reckless Spirits (2022) is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project.

Vee is passionate about cultural space, the environment, and finding ways to covertly and overtly disrupt oppressive structures. They also regularly share observational human stories through their storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE!. They have a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota and are pursuing a certificate in Incidencias en Problemas Socioambientales at the Universidad del Medio Ambiente in Mexico.

View all articles

Subscribe