the EYE of
NEW YORK
Cliché Magazine had the chance to speak with director Fred Focus about how he got started , the coolest experiences in his career , and how he ’ s showing what New York is all about .
Cliché : Who is Fred Focus ? Fred Focus : I ’ m a director , a man of many talents , mainly visually . I ’ m from Washington Heights , a little bit passed Harlem . Us and Harlem are like brother and sisters . I ’ ve been shooting videos for a couple of years . It ’ s really been getting me to a place where I knew I ’ d be ; I just didn ’ t know how I was going to get there . But , we ’ re doing it now .
Fred Focus came about a couple years back . I was going to go with Flash Focus and me and my cousin were just going back and forth and we ’ re like , ‘ Well if you can make fun of it , then let ’ s not go with it .’ So , we just started cracking jokes on the name and it was too many jokes , so he was like , ‘ Yea , Flash Focus is not the wave .’ Then we just kind of came up with Fred Focus and we just ran with it . We were like , ‘ Fred Focus kind of sounds like Ford Focus , but that ’ s not that much of a bad car .’
Hip-hop influenced me in ways that I can ’ t even fathom . I came here from the Caribbean when I was a little boy , and my English was always a little off , so hip-hop was really a big reason as to how my English got to where it is now . Hip-hop was a way that we could all gather around and just talk about things .
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony . That was like the first hip-hop group that I really started paying attention to . Then it grew on to Tupac . I was heavy on the west coast for some reason . I don ’ t know why . Maybe it was like the 90s and they had the mantle at the time , but those were the music videos I was watching , and I remember back then just feeling like that ’ s something that I can do .
I started actually songwriting . I was writing a lot of music for different artists , and I was always very involved creatively with the music stuff . Then it kind of graduated on to photography . I had bought a camera from my boy , and I had to pay it off because I only put up half up front , so I got a gig at the club and I was working the clubs maybe two , three days a week getting $ 100 a night and in the beginning that was a descent income . I was able to upgrade my cameras . I think I started with a Canon T2i ; that was my first camera .
I was a full time front desk guy in a place in the Bronx . I was just doing front desk work , cleaning the lobby , and then editing pictures and then video on my overnight shift . So my supervisor at the time used to be on me about editing at work . He wrote me up a couple of times , but I didn ’ t give a fuck . I was editing like a madman . I had to learn this . It was one of those things like an obsessive-compulsive shit that I had ; I was like , ‘ I ’ ve got to learn how to edit this video , and I ’ ve got to be able to put what ’ s in my mind on film .’
Who have you worked with ? I ’ ve worked with different companies . I ’ m pretty fresh , so I ’ ve been told . I ’ ve got brands that send me stuff and things like that . Ethik would be one of them . They ’ re really dope . They ’ re downtown . I ’ ve worked on different content series with Coca-Cola , mainly Sprite . I ’ ve also worked with Reebok on some really cool stuff . And then we ’ ve got the record labels : Def Jam , Mass Appeal , Atlantic , Interscope . The list goes on , and now Sony Records . We ’ re doing a lot of different cool stuff with Sony Orchard . I ’ ve done a lot of videos for a lot of different people .
The main thing is honestly being a person of your word , and especially for young entrepreneurs , to be very clear on what we offer and to put your 10,000 hours in before you start talking .
Who are your biggest influences ? Some of my biggest influences in hip-hop that I actually got to work with , my first one being Murda Mook . I shot a music video for Murda Mook called “ Let Em Go ” and this was after the whole SMACK DVD freestyle era . We were heavy into that . Like SMACK DVD was a big fucking deal . This was probably within my first or second year shooting video . I got in touch with Murda Mook . He was just embarking on his actual song-making career , cause he ’ s a legendary freestyler . So he sent me “ Let Em Go .” We did a whole music video in which people got kidnapped . It was terrible , but it was a hell of an experience .
What lead you to work with Dave East ? By the time I met Dave East , I had already started making a name for myself locally around the city , and I was working with a lot of hot underground artists . I had heard of Dave , but we had never met . He was in the eastside of Harlem , I was in Washington Heights . So we ’ re more connected with the westside of Harlem , but regardless , we had finally met through my bro Wayno--he ’ s a mastermind . We got together and he just basically broke down to me what he wanted to do and he asked me what I wanted to do . My whole thing was I know this is going to be a hell of a journey , but ultimately , I want to be respected as a director and help shift the culture , just show what New York is about . At the time , New York wasn ’ t making any noise . We didn ’ t have a voice yet , and I was determined to help bring that attention back to our city , and evidently we did .
I met Dave before there was any buzz . Equally , we weren ’ t at that level yet , and we both needed to get there . We were both very serious about it . So , you put those energies together in a room , and then you get Def Jam and all type of situations going on for yourself . I ’ m really proud of us bringing the attention back to New York .
Who is your favorite director ? My favorite director , and my biggest influence , is going to have to be Spike Lee . I love everything about Spike . His content that he covers , he touches on stories and situations that are real to New Yorkers . He ’ s always been doing that . The dynamics , culturally , down to the way he dresses . He was always a Jordan guy . He ’ s designed his own Jordan sneakers . He ’ s always been fresh . He did commercials . He was a very branded director , and I think that his whole
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