We asked the upcoming rapper signed to Benji B’s Deviation Music, who counts Virgil Abloh and legendary Chicago producer No ID as fans, to talk us through his foremost filmic influences that impact both WithTheShit as well as his wider work.
1. The Strangers
“From a visual aspect of WithTheShit, the movie The Strangers is a great reference. The video has an eerie daytime horror feel to it, somewhat reminiscent of The Strangers. Both storylines have an innocence about them with an unexpected plot twist, somewhat like the concept of the song, rather than having it be dark or “emojified” lyrically, I chose to run with a hustler’s mentality.”
2. David Lynch
“Director David Lynch was a huge influence on Cairo’s (who produced the song) sound. His movies are usually mysterious with a dark tone, but not quite horror. Mulholland Drive and Eraser Head are good examples. The sound of WithTheShit feels the way his movies usually look; just imagine if David Lynch directed Tales From the Hood with his eye.”
3. Nocturnal Animals
“On a wider range, one of the newer movies that have influenced me lately is Nocturnal Animals, directed by Tom Ford. I love the feel of that film – very bright but dark, the artistic transitioning in the scenes reminded me a lot of the transitions sonically in my music. Plus everyone was crazy fresh and the high art backdrop gives it an amazing feel that I go for.”
4. Johnny Depp
“A few actors that influence me are Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Jared Leto. I like to parallel music and movies from a songwriting standpoint in a sense that those guys really embody the characters they portray. I like to challenge myself to become apart of the music, depending on the sound of the track. I like to try things with my delivery such as accents, new flows and voice inflection the same way any great actor would. I find joy in knowing that my performance on WithTheShit sounds completely different from my performance on LYLA, which sounds different from my performance on Light the Way.”
5. Wes Anderson
“Wes Anderson is a huge influence of mine stylistically. His symmetrical style inspires every picture I take – I can’t help to think about what he would do whenever I’m squaring up to take a photo. In comparison to recording, I find myself striving for perfection, for the perfect box, perfect circle in a sense… no extra breaths, clicks or pops in my Protools sessions.”
Withtheshit is taken from Ta’s debut EP Okay, I’m Ready, which is out now.