The recently released track “Fotan Laiki” by Hong Kong-based otaku rapper YoungQueenz enlists the help of FOTAN LAIKI, the subject of the song herself. Widely shared upon its release, the highly unorthodox music video makes use of a raw, DIY approach that defies aesthetic expectations for typical music videos. When asked about how this collaboration came about, YoungQueenz tells us, “We performed at Clockfenflap Festival last year, and Laiki asked me if I could hook it up with free tickets because Clockfenflap is pretty damn expensive — she ended up performing on stage.”
The music video was directed and edited by YoungQueenz but done under the alias of Ozma. From start to finish, the creation process actually took a few months to complete. “We originally wanted to finish everything in a month, but we wanted more people in the video,” he says. “The people we wanted all had work or school so it was hard to set up a time when everyone was free. That’s why it took so long.” Besides Wildstyle Records’ official photographer and videographer Swing, other members of the Wildstyle crew took turns recording footage with a handheld DV camcorder; The unique look of the video can be partially credited to the deliberate use of dated equipment. From Mong Kok to Central, the music video shows YoungQueenz and his otaku squad mob through a trippy, surreal version of Hong Kong, which YoungQueenz created in post production by replacing skies and the urban backdrop of the city with galaxies, psychedelic color, and even scenes from Japanese anime.
YoungQueenz shared with us these additional fun facts on the making of the “Fotan Laiki” music video:
1. Some people might think that the security at Art Basel was one of the biggest challenges in making the video. Not the case. Even though they kept trying to stop us, we still kept doing our thing. The hard part was that only two of our friends had Art Basel VIP tickets, so the eight of us had to reuse the tickets to get everyone inside. It felt like one of those river crossing puzzles and we wasted a lot of time.
2. In the music video, there was only one frame that I knew I had to keep because it’s worth 500 HKD. It was when Noly was trying to act hip-hop and count money, but one of the bills flew away when we finished shooting. There are consequences when you try to pretend to be hip-hop.
3. There’s a story about someone putting down a pineapple in a museum. The pineapple drew huge crowds that mistook it for a work of art, commenting and taking pictures with it. When we started shooting the video in Art Basel, a lot of people got rowdy with us, thinking that it was an art performance. But when security showed up, their view quickly went from “I’m interacting with an art performance” to “This is a stupid prank.”
4. Shout out to YZ, BG8LOCC, and Jay Izaak. They’re actually in the music video. People can try and find them.
5. The Millenium Falcon is also in the video.
6. Fo Tan isn’t just Laiki’s home. It’s also where Wildstyle Records kicked off.
To find out more about Wildstyle Records and YoungQueenz, check out our previous interview here.
Soundcloud: ~/youngqueenz
YouTube: ~/WildstyleRec
Facebook: ~/youngqueenz
Instagram: @youngqueenz
Contributor: Ye Zi
