They don?t always want or need things to be spelt out for them. However, I?ve always felt that the viewing public was, in general, extremely visually literate. I think when you?re dealing in abstract imagery people are going to want to draw lines between things and make sense of it. I?m aware of the stir the video has caused and what people are saying. What are your thoughts about such talk and why do you think music fans are so quick to believe a conspiracy narrative? There?s been a lot of talk about Jay?s video containing Freemason imagery such as the horned animal head, an eagle and skull. Video ~ ?On To The Next One? Freemason Conspiracy Theory ExplainedĪfter numerous denials from both Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz, with each claiming that the video is merely an attempt at being “artistic”,? the UK Based video director, Sam Brown, has come forward himself to attempt to explain the concept: Someone even took the time to analyze the entire video and break it down for us in the video below:

Whoever they are it’s good to take chances with them, and to ignore what they’ve done before.Talk of Jay-Z’s “On to the Next One” video featuring images of satanic rituals sprung up on the net as soon as it dropped midnight on New Years. I try not to have preconceived ideas of who an artist is, or what they’re going to like.

I tend to approach all types of artists in the same way. Were there any differences between filming the more low-key likes of the Corinne Bailey Rae and James Blunt and an in-your-face artist like Jay-Z? You can connect anything if you try hard enough, and make it mean anything you want it to. None of it is owned by any one culture or belief system. There is imagery in this video that is drawn from all over the place. Conspiracy theory is another thing entirely, and seems to me to be about projecting pre-existing beliefs and desperately looking for things that confirm them. One of the great things about music videos are they can be enjoyed purely visually-it doesn’t need to mean anything or make any sense. They don’t always want or need things to be spelt out for them. However, I’ve always felt that the viewing public was, in general, extremely visually literate. I think when you’re dealing in abstract imagery people are going to want to draw lines between things and make sense of it.

I’m aware of the stir the video has caused and what people are saying. There’s been a lot of talk about Jay’s video containing Freemason imagery such as the horned animal head, an eagle and skull. But also, I wanted to make a video that appealed to hip-hop fans. It was going to be radical almost by default because the hip-hop video is an oddly conservative genre…it seems more stuck in its message than other types of music videos. Sam Brown: It was important to ignore the fact that it was a hip-hop video, and simply make a video. VIBE: When you were first approached about directing Jay-Z’s “On To The Next One” did you feel you had to shoot the video differently considering it was hip-hop? We also found an interesting interview made by Vibe, here the first Q&A: Rapper Young Jeezy also makes a cameo in the video. At approximately three minutes and thirty nine seconds into the video, there are two bullets on either side of a crucifix. In the video, Bailey appears to be perplexed, confused, and/or mad.

There is a cameo appearance by Colin Bailey, better known as Drums of Death, who is known for his skull face paint. During part of the music video,the music stops, and the audience sees producer Swizz Beatz with his back to them as he seemingly makes the symbol with his coat by raising his hands. Throughout the video, there are crucifixes, angelic symbols, a skull reminiscent of Damien Hirst‘s famous sculpture For the Love of God and often Baphomet. There are split second scenes while there are somewhat of an abundance of biblical references in it. It appears in black and white, and the people, symbols, and characters in the video seem to be wearing black and white colors to coincide with the video. Although it was uploaded on YouTube on December 31, 2009, it has been called the first music video of the decade, though its New Year’s Eve upload date contradicts that title.Īcclaimed VMA-winning director Sam Brown (Jay-Z’s “On to the Next One,” Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On”) said he created the visually stunning clip in collaboration with the singer, who was a fan of the Jigga video and sought him out. The video premiered on Januon New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly. The music video was directed by Sam Brown and was filmed in November 2009.

Jayz on to the next one video