Director Of 'Fade' On Teyana Taylor: 'She's A Superwoman'
Last night's MTV Video Music Awards was a night for women, specifically black women. Beyonc offered arguably one of, if not the best, performance the VMAs have ever had, while Rihanna brought the party to the Madison Square Garden with several sets throughout the night's event.
But let's not also forget Teyana Taylor, who made an appearance via Kanye West's recently released video for "Fade." While other outlets were making pieces about why Taylor may look familiar or who she is (she's been in the game for a minute, ya'll), most of us were simply basking in the greatness that the recording artist and actress is.
The video features Taylor doing a dance routine reminiscent ofFlashdance, displaying a post baby body doing specific Jamaican dancehall dances with absolute ease. By the end of it all she has transformed into a lioness, posing alongside her fianc (and Cleveland Cavaliers player) Iman Shumpert and an infant.
In an interview with Pitchfork, "Fade" director Jae Blaze discussed how the music video came about.
A veteran choreographer and artistic director, Blaze has worked with Rihanna, Will Smith and many others, but describes with Taylor as "absolute black magic."
"The one word I can use for Teyana Taylor right now is 'superwoman,'" says Blaze. She explains how she had Taylor do certain sequences multiple times to create the video that West envisioned forThe Life Of Pablotrack.
"When he came in, he told us, 'I like this particular move, but I want to take it to the next level.Show me what you can do on top of this move.'"
And as for that final scene?
"I think the vision behind that was how amazing Teyana is, and how she's been on the rise, and how she's working, and you are now seeing her blossom into this fierce lioness, this fierce cat. She has worked her way into that, and she's in a great position right now in her life. She has her family. She's being held down by her amazing husband. She has a beautiful daughter. You know, the lioness always protects her baby. I think it really is about her coming into her fierceness. And that's where she is in her life right now. She is blossoming."
"Fade" is currently a Tidal exclusive but you can see the full clip below.