A great music video doesn’t just bring a song to life – often, it lends the song a new one. It is the producers and directors that have honed the skill of making great video to a point of near-perfection. Today, Pop videos are the essence of great video marketing. Since the rise of Afrobeat, music videos have represented the sum of the media’s ability to capture public imagination and use it to sell something; in this case, the rawness and groove of Africa’s hip.
Thank God Omori better known as TG Omori, a 23-year-old videographer who’s behind the controversial music video of ‘Am I a Yahoo Boy’ by street-hop star Naira Marley with a feature verse from Zlatan. Following the reported arrest of Marley by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), we asked TG about the creative process and what the ripple effects meant for him.
How did you get the gig?
I woke up to a DM from Naira Marley four days before the video shoot asking “AM I A YAHOO BOY? Lol”. I replied with a laughing emoji and he asked for my WhatsApp contact. Then he sent the song asking for a video direction. The video was shot in 6hours and he had to improvise to get it done. I had this idea of getting a police truck but considering the short notice I had to film this which was between three days, I was only left with an option of hiring a bullion van and brand it to look like a police armoured tank. I had to build a car wash set and tagged it ‘No Mannaz’ and we shot it on a Sunday.
Considering the controversy behind the song and all, It wasn’t really so crazy to crack out an idea for it because basically, all the song was talking about is him trying to clear the air that he is not a fraudster.
TG Omori who had his start as a director at 15 with much influence from legendary filmmaker Tunde Kelani and stage plays in in school and church. He graduated from Pencil Film Institute at 18, making him the youngest professional filmmaker in Nigeria at the time.
About Pretty Mike’s allegation that some of his colleagues offer video vixens roles for sex.
Video directors are humans like everybody else and their individual sexual conduct depends on them. Because one director is asking you for sex for roles doesn’t mean all other directors do that. If I was the one on that table, I will probably sue Pretty Mike but thank God I have a different drive about what I want to be known for.
TG Omori’s first professional music video was ‘Respect A Woman’ by ES PLUS in 2015. He has since built an outstanding portfolio, working with top African artistes such as Kenya’s Khaligraph Jones (Gwala), and on RudeBoy’s ‘Ifai’ video, Reminisce’s ‘Oja’, YCEE’s ‘My Side’, Dj Ecool’s ‘Kilode’, among others. On his unique sense of style and fashion, TG Omori claims he’s trying to make a statement that you can be a creative director and still stay fly.
In December 2018, Trace Naija described him as the future of music video directing in Nigeria, praising him for his impact in a short time.
