Toronto's Director X is now one of the most successful music video directors around. He's directed multiple Drake videos, as well as recent videos for T.I., Iggy Azalea, and Wiz Khalifa. His latest vid is Kendrick Lamar's "King Kunta", and its some of his best work yet.
X explains to Complex that the visual to "King Kunta" was originally inspired by "Still D.R.E.", a classic in the West Coast video canon. King Kunta also borrows ideas from 2Pac and Dr. Dre's "California Love" video. In the beginning of "California Love", 'Pac goes to the Compton Swap Meet to look for some clothes to wear to the party later that night. In "King Kunta", Kendrick gets on top of the Swap Meet and raps to an adoring crowd below. Wal-Mart has officially purchased the Swap Meet, so the video is both K-Dot's shout-out to 'Pac & Dre as well as a "goodbye party" to the Compton institution.
X goes on to explain other images and characters seen throughout the video, such as the video girls, Kendrick's throne, the totally stunnin' little kid on K-Dot's lap, and more.
Read his full breakdown here, and watch the incredible "King Kunta" video below.
