“At the Helm” is technically a Hieroglyphics 3rd Eye Vision video, yet it exclusively features Del the Funky Homosapien as a solo artist. It’s not a coincidence that this choice for a video would pull double duty, promoting both 3rd Eye Vision and gearing up Del’s Both Sides of the Brain as the next release on the fledgling Hieroglyphics Imperium record label, marking the first solo artist release since the group went independent.
I spoke with the video’s director, Jacob Rosenberg on February 27th, 1999 and shared the interview on Hieroglyphics.com in RealAudio, a defunct audio format that enabled audio streaming at a time when many people accessed the internet through slow dial-up modems.
For your convenience, we have converted the interview into a more modern format, and made it available for the first time in 25 years.
Listen to the original conversation, or read below:
“Here we go”
Jacob: Talk to me.
Stinke: Yo, what’s up, dog?
Jacob: You tell me!
Stinke: So, you shot the video for [Del the Funky Homosapien’s] “At the Helm” in San Francisco?
Jacob: It was shot one day in Palo Alto, California, which is my hometown. And then we shot one day in Los Angeles and one day in San Francisco.
Stinke: The whole Hiero crew was there?
Jacob: The whole crew was there only on the San Francisco shooting day.
Conceptualize
Stinke: What was the video’s concept?
Jacob: We ran through a bunch of concepts, and some earlier concepts that we were really excited about didn’t go through, which can happen.
So we ended up with a concept that was a little more cinematic; it will be letter-boxed.
The concept that we went with was a sort of a “Day in the life of Del,” where Del, assuming he lives out in the wilderness area, hitchhikes from out of town into town. Then, he meets up with the crew inside the studio, drops some vocals and so forth, and then goes into jail to see his friend who is in jail. Because if you listen to the second verse, he’s pretty much dissing someone in particular, but obviously we didn’t want to use that person in the video. So we felt it appropriate to have this guy incarcerated, and Del sees his friend in jail.
They’re locations that have never been seen in a Hiero video before, so we were like, let’s go with this.
Stinke: Who played the part of the dude in jail?
Jacob: Lee, Domino’s friend, Lee the Pimp.
Stinke: Lee the Pimp, big player!
Jacob: Super Lee.
Technically Speaking
Stinke: What format did you shoot it in?
Jacob: We shot it in 16 [millimeter] film. And because 16 is not traditionally a letter-boxed format—usually Super 16 is letterboxed—because when you zoom off the negative to get the correct aspect ratio of the [Super 16] negative, it actually crops differently than the size of a TV screen. Whereas 16 mm is pretty close to being the exact frame of a television tube.
I tried to shoot as much of the video as I could when I was looking through the viewfinder, to compensate for the letter-boxing.
We actually transferred it all to video last night. Some of the shots are definitely looking very cinematic.
It will have another raw feeling to it. We fly by the seat of our pants, but at the same time, I think there’s some good stuff.
Stinke: So, as of today, February 27th [1999], it’s been filmed, transferred to film?
Jacob: Shot, transferred to video, & it will be edited.
I will have a rough cut within a week, and I will have a final cut within two weeks. It will be distributed to all of the video networks within three weeks, I think.
Working with Hieroglyphics
Stinke: Having worked with Hiero before on the “You Never Knew” video, and then doing this video, “At the Helm,” has it been easier? Have you and Hiero established a working rapport? Ya’ll have been friends for a while now…
Jacob: [Producer Alex Tse and I] have a great rapport with the crew because they know we’re so down for them. It’s easy for us to articulate our ideas with them, communicate with them, and they’ve worked with us before, so obviously they’re comfortable with us.
It’s cool.
It was a much difference experience than [“You Never Knew”] in Hawaii.
In Hawaii, we had the whole crew. Alex and I would wake up at 5:30 am every day. Then we had to wake up the rest of the crew, and we wouldn’t leave until 10 am.
So, on a shoot like [At the Helm], we had our hours pushed back a little. On the Palo Alto day, we shot from 11 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon because we only had to get the first chorus stuff done.
And then the LA day, we had a full day in the jail. And of course, we had to wait for people getting there and so forth. That’s just a part of people going out of town and feeling like they still want to be comfortable, which is understandable.
Alex Tse
Stinke: You mentioned Alex, he’s back on the role, right?
Jacob: Yeah, I prefer to always work with Alex because he gets the job done. And Alex likes working with Hiero as well; he likes Hiero’s music. It works well. Alex handles all of the legwork
Stinke: For those that don’t know Alex, he’s the man behind the scenes, straight manipulating everything. He got the video for “You Never Knew” on Yo! MTV Raps, on BET—he straight hooked it up.
Jacob: And he did that because he didn’t stop calling people, he didn’t stop hounding people.
We’re not tooting our own horn, but when was the last time you saw an independent video play on Yo! MTV Raps? At least twice.
He really has a big push, which is why we feel good about this video. He has already established some contact with people on these different video networks.
And obviously, people on the Hiero Hoopla message board, particularly, are very indifferent to MTV and real media exposure. Which I don’t understand because playing a video is playing a video, and music is there for people to appreciate.
I don’t think the more video play we get is selling out to mainstream. Every single guy in Hieroglyphics would love it if their video played on MTV, fucking, 100 times.
Stinke: That’s the next step; we’re working on it.
Jacob: That’s the goal, sort of.
3030
Jacob: With this video, it focuses on Del for the whole video, except for the middle chorus, where he’s in the studio with the crew.
Stinke: Were they in the studio downstairs from the [Hiero office in downtown Oakland]?
Jacob: No, we actually shot at the new studio where Del recorded his new album, Both Sides of the Brain.
Stinke: That’s not Hyde Street Studios, is it?
Jacob: No, it’s a new studio [called 3030] that the crew has never really used.
Domino’s really into getting a new experience and feeling going on, so that’s why he hooked Del up with this new studio, through [longtime Hiero engineer] Matt Kelley. Matt THE MAN Kelley.
I shot, like, four hours of footage of Del in that studio.
Learn more about 3030 Studios
3030 Studios was based out of San Francisco, CA and was also the studio that inspired the namesake of Del’s conceptual album and group with Dan the Automator: Deltron 3030.
In his “Making of Both Sides of the Brain” feature, originally published on Hieroglyphics.com in April of 2000, Jacob wrote:
“The studio was quite a refreshing change for Del when he undertook the task of getting his next album, Both Sides of the Brain, together.
3030 Studios, engineered and discovered for Domino by Matt Kelley, is in an entirely different neighborhood and proposes an entirely different setting than the previous Hiero studio, Hyde Street.
It’s not that Hyde Street was bad; it was a matter that Domino felt strongly about, providing a new environment for Del to create his new album.”
Both Sides of the Brain
Stinke: Your relationship with Del on a professional and friendship level has probably exposed you to some of the new material he’s recorded.
Jacob: Some of it?
Stinke: Or probably all of it — most of it, if not…
Jacob: Yeah, I got a nice little tape.
Stinke: So, how’s it soundin’?! Tell us.
Jacob: It’s tight!
I think Del’s whole thing right now is that he hasn’t been able to make an album that he can call his own. That he can have complete ownership of, and say, “I wanted this here, I wanted that here, I wanted to rap with this MC, I wanted these beats, I wanted this song to be about this…”
And I think when you listen to his album, you’ll hear…First of all, lyrically, I think Del is as tight as ever. He is definitely switching it up here and there; he has some songs that I think people are going to trip out on and stuff. But the thing that everyone should remember when they hear it is, Del made all of the decisions about what goes on this album.
So when fools go, “I don’t really feel that beat, that doesn’t sound like that’s Del’s style.” No, this is Del’s style. Because he made a conscious effort to really do that.
It’s sounding really tight. I don’t want to expose too much information; he was in New York recording with some people.
Stinke: Regarding the New York thing, by the time this interview launches, we’re gonna have the news on that dropping as well.
Jacob: Right, so, Del did a track with El-P, which is cool.
Another thing with Del, he wasn’t all super juiced about, “Oh, I want to have every guest vocalist, yadda, yadda, yadda.” Because at the same time, it’s his album, and so many albums have “Featuring,” “Featuring,” “Featuring.” It’s like: “Featuring Del, man!” We’ve been fiending for a Del album.
*Stinke and Jacob go off on a tangent about a recurring inside joke that Jacob secretly films pornographic movies as a side business*
Y2K
Jacob: We’re trying to blow up this summer.
Stinke: It’s the last year! Things are coming to an end!
Jacob: You never know, man…
But, Casual is working on his shit. The Prose, as of today, are in the studio.
I’ve been talking to Jay-Biz. I’ve heard some of his stuff that he’s been working on personally for a DJ album, and that’s really sick. And we’ve been talking about doing some videos for that.
The future’s exciting.
For me, I think Hiero as a group should go back to where they were before they made 3rd Eye Vision. They’ve been in this big group mode for a long time, and obviously, everyone is individuals in the crew and wants their own shit to come out. So I think now is a good time for change.
So hopefully, Deltron Z…
Stinke: Deltron Z!
Jacob: Get a phat video, hopefully, in a couple of months.
Dreamcast
Stinke: Del got Dreamcast, right?
Jacob: Dreamcast is fucking ill.
Stinke: I’muh have to wreck him.
Jacob: Oh, you have it?
Stinke: Oh yea, I got it.
Jacob: Did you get Sonic?
Stinke: No, I don’t have Sonic.
Jacob: That’s where ya slippin’! You know the whole re: with it?
Stinke: Yeah, my boy got it.
Jacob: It’s just too ill for me that you can be one character and then flip it with another character, and fuck with the same environment.
Del got Sega Rally.
Stinke: Yeah, that’s what I got. Sega Rally, I got Virtua Fighter 3, and I got the new—the new-new-new—Power Stone, which is by Capcom. I’m sure Del will get it soon, if he hasn’t already.
That’s the game I’muh crush you with. That’s why I asked you if you were coming to New York, cause I’m gonna crush you in that game.
Online Hip-Hop Awards
Jacob: See, that New York thing? People putting a little too much weight on that.
Stinke: Why?
Jacob: It’s an online hip-hop awards…
Stinke: It’s an online hip-hop awards, but it’s a good thing. It’s never been done before, and it’s being held at a venue. It’s gonna be cybercast. It’s a good valiant effort.
e-Beef
Jacob: Alex [Tse] was at Del’s house all day yesterday.
Alex and Del got into a nice little argument on the set of the film, and Del came down to LA like, “Where’s Alex? I’m about to beat him in Street Fighter.”
When you get into an argument with Del, take it to the sticks.
Stinke: He wrecked me in Tobal 2. He straight wrecked me, I thought I had skills too!
Jacob: I’ve come up to bat a couple of times. I’ve played him maybe 20 times in Tobal 2, and I beat him like 3 or 4 times. But then, you know, he beat me.
Stinke: I think he and I are rather equal on the Street Fighter regard.
Jacob: I’m pretty sure he’s gonna disagree with that.
Stinke: You know, competition. If he disagrees, I’ll just have to step up and crush him real quick.
But I mean, Tobal, he is the undisputed champ. He just straight up wrecked me.
Jacob: A-Plus “Plea” is big on Tobal as well.
Stinke: I don’t think I’ve played Plea in anything.
Jacob: Because in Hawaii…Am I thinking of the right game? Tobal has the wooden man?
Stinke: Nah, that’s Tekken!
Jacob: There you go, I’m not big on fighting games. I think Bushido Blade is ill. And Tenchu and Metal Gear Solid is pretty tight.
See, I’m fuckin’ right now with Madden ’99 and NHL ’99 for Nintendo64.
Stinke: Ah, sleepers…I’m on that Star Wars—that Rogue Squadron is clean.
Let’s Take it to the Stage, Sucka!
Jacob: So, talk to me about the [Hiero Hoopla] message board. I think we gotta have a little quote about the fucking Board.
Context: A lot of shit-talking and anonymous criticism would happen on the Hiero Hoopla community message board, and Jacob was never one to avoid confronting it.
– Stinke
Stinke: I’m running out of [interview recording] tape, though, so let’s just say goodbye for now, and I’ll talk to you about the Board.
Jacob: Alright.
A Director At the Helm
Stinke: I thank you for your time in the interview.
Jacob: It’s always a pleasure.
And by the way, I definitely documented some stuff from the shoot, so there will be some video clips. There definitely will be write-ups. And actually, we found a whole mess of photos from Hawaii, so we’ll probably send some more photographs from the “You Never Knew” shoot.
Stinke: Cool, thank you!
Jacob: It’s all gravy.
Watch the “At the Helm” music video by Jacob Rosenberg, featuring Del the Funky Homosapien and Hieroglyphics: