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Shane Eagle – YellowVerse
Watch it on YouTube
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Shane Eagle rose to the heights of local hip-hop last year with his critically acclaimed debut album, Yellow. The lyrically driven artist has a new offering in the form of a short film, or visual treatment as some say, called YellowVerse.
By the looks of things, this video must’ve cost a pretty penny, and the imagery looks like a fantasy or alternate world where Eagle is a hero of rap, armed with a sword. The 15-minute YellowVerse is a well-made offering accompanied by some of the music on Yellow. Eagle takes us on a journey through the cosmos of his creativity as the smooth MC emits the songs Empty Highways, On My Own, Mihi, The Moon and Intro.
I dig how he has included short credits at the beginning, giving those involved some shine and this adds to the old-school feel of the opening title sequence. The first scene is as simple as it gets. Eagle raps Empty Highways, walking down a road with the moon shining in the dark background. Next our hoodie- and tracksuit-clad hero of hip-hop runs from a dragon through a mountainous wetland. The brother seeks refuge next to a tree where the leaves around his feet start floating off the ground, much like Goku charging up to the super Shane, I mean saiyan level in Dragon Ball Z. At which point On My Own drops as our boy sparks one. I must commend whoever scouted the locations for this shoot as well as the effects incorporated, giving the film its textured feel. The shots in between scenes consist of stirring, expansive and cinematic camera work.
Channelling Bruce Lee, Eagle sheds the hoodie for some yellow track pants and Nike Airs as he stands on a cliff surveying the Super Earth. The video is split into segments which give an indication as to which part of the YellowVerse we’ve been transported to. Eagle’s flow can get a bit Drake-like, which I could do with less of, but the kid is one of the nicest doing it right now. His verses don’t just make use of rhyming words, actual things are said.
YellowVerse is mad trippy and, despite some of the planets and comets looking a little synthetic, this is solid work and a refreshing way to package a look back at Yellow.
The best two segments are near the end. Drake influence or not, Eagle provides lyrics and a style that I could get only from him. I don’t really ask for much.
