Kanye West has taken the weirdness of his music videos to a new level since he released The Life of Pablo. "Fade," which he debuted last night at the VMAs, comprises of Teyana Taylor doing a hypnotizing dance routine in a sweaty thong than turning into a naked lion alongside Iman Shumpert. Pitchfork spoke with "Fade" choreographer and artistic director Jae Blaze to attempt to elucidate her and Kanye's vision. The end product of the video, in her estimation was "absolute black magic."
"Kanye, I can't stop saying it, he's just a creative genius," Blaze said. "When he came in, he told us, 'I like this particular move, but I want to take it to the next level. Show me what you can do on top of this move.' He has something specific on his mind, as a visionary. And we have to translate that onto Teyana's body."
"Fade" immediately drew comparisons to the stylish 1983 film "Flashdance." Blaze seemed to confirm that 'Flashdance' served as an inspiration for the video: "You know what the funny thing is? Everyone is just referencing 'Flashdance,' and that is a great conversation to be in because the movie was epic... I mean, she just took 'Flashdance' to 2016, if you want to put it like that. She brought it to a generation of some people who many not have even seen the movie before! She made it relevant and current right now. Her body is amazing. Her dancing was amazing. She's just a beast. All in all, it just came together really well."
Blaze also clarified the most confusing part of the video, in which Teyana becomes a lioness. "I think the vision behind that was how amazing Teyana is, and how she's been on the rise, and how she's working, and you are now seeing her blossom into this fierce lioness, this fierce cat," Blaze said. "She has worked her way into that, and she's in a great position right now in her life. She has her family. She's being held down by her amazing husband. She has a beautiful daughter. You know, the lioness always protects her baby. I think it really is about her coming into her fierceness. And that's where she is in her life right now. She is blossoming."
Read the full interview with Blaze here.
