*~āThere is no good or evil, only power.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā – Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone (1997)~*
My interviews usually only last 20 minutes. Itās the perfect length! We are recording in filmmaker Samantha Wakefieldās apartment; rapper Lamon Manuel has work in a half hour. At the 21 minute mark, however, an awkward silence intrudes at the prospect of our talk ending. The three of us have covered the ins-and-outs of Lamon and Samanthaās working relationship, and itās certainly been a very fun time, but something is amiss. I finally ask if thereās something else either of them wants to say.
SW: No, Iām just so appreciative to be able to find someone to work with on this level.
I donāt know if thatās why weāve worked so well together, [because] you needed someone like that in your life but I feel like I probably did.
LM: Ā I definitely did. Working with Sam is the first time Iāve given real creative control over something I do to another person⦠Thatās never happened for me. And Iāve worked with people in different forms, whether through a rap group, or, you know, trying to work on videos with other people, but like really giving it over to someone and following through like āAlright, cool, I trust you…ā I donāt have that relationship with anybody else. Iām super thankful for having that with Sam.
āSkies,ā featuring fellow Tomorrow Kings member SKECH185, is the first in an ongoing series of companion pieces to Lamonās upcoming debut solo album Music To Feel Like Shit To. Manuel worked on production of the video prior to meeting Wakefield, but didnāt feel happy with its direction. āIt was too much guided by an ownership relationship. One of the original treatments for the āSkiesā video was for SKECH and I to be present and for there to be women fighting each other representing us in some ways. Or we would just be watching⦠ I just felt like that was real fucking weird.ā
Samantha became involved after Lamon saw her at one of his shows and later asked if she would like to play the central character in a string of music videos he was planning. Yes, she said, but sheād be willing to direct as well. āI feel like from the time we started working on that video, till the time it came out our friendship grew a ton,ā Wakefield recalls. āIt paved the way.ā
The work that has come since is uniformly dark and challenging, with Sam and Lamās connection the light at the end of the tunnel. The pairās initial collaboration, and my favorite to-date, is a video in Wakefieldās The Window Series. Itās just Samantha watching Lamon (through her lens) and Lamon speaking as honestly as he can about things that hurt him. The simple presentation allows for its principle’s presence to overpower the listener like a quiet fart.
Our interview takes place October 25, 2015, only days after the 1 year anniversary of Wakefield choking Lamon for the first time during one of his shows. āEach time I try to choke a little harder. Before I would use one hand, and lately I try to make sure I use two,ā Sam explains. āIām just trying to do my part, for you,ā she says, looking over at Lamon. āBut itās always intense. It always feels intense.ā
Control, and loss of it, is a heavy theme in Manuelās work. Itās safe to assume that the protagonist of āSkiesā goes where she goes to in an attempt to re-assert it and that the leads in āShitā¦ā (played by Lamon and Samantha) have lost it. At the same time, the real Samantha and Lamon continue to push forward, surrendering to each other as artists and homies. āIt feels like weāre not afraid to venture somewhere if we come up with an idea.ā