Getting To Know Video Director of The Year Nominee Cole Bennett
Music videos help bring the lyrics to our favorite songs to life.
Michael Jackson wouldn’t have been the King of Pop without bringing his dance moves to the world stage, BET’s 106 and Park era helped get a generation through adolescence and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” like Kanye violently expressed, “is one of the best videos of all time…one of the best videos of all time!”
For this reason, the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards has categories not only honoring the year’s best visuals but also for the shooter behind the camera. Last year, Teyana Taylor took it home after dropping several self-directed music videos from her latest album, The ALBUM. And it’s impossible to forget Karena Evans’s 2019 win for her excellent 2018 wherein which she directed Drake’s 2018 Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles, “God’s Plan,” “Nice for What,” and “In My Feelings.”
This year’s field is packed with talent as artists have been refocusing on the medium. Dave Meyers (Doja Cat’s “Best Friend'' and Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later”), Missy Elliott (City Girls’ “Twerkulator”) and Director X (Dj Khaled’s “Popstar”) just make up a couple of the highly competitive field.
With the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards coming around the corner, however, we’re going to dive into a lesser-known nominee, Cole Bennett. While he’s yet to take home the honor, he has had a full year, directing Internet Money’s “His & Hers” featuring Don Toliver, Lil Uzi Vert and Gunna, Lil Tecca’s “Money On Me” and Post Malone’s “Motley Crew,” just to name a few.
Here’s what we know about the Chicago-based director.
Came Up Off Soundcloud Rappers
Cole Bennett rose to fame and success by tapping into the SoundCloud rapper wave around 2017. During that time, he’d film viral music videos of Smokepurpp, Lil Pump, Ski Mask The Slump God, Famous Dex and more, essentially bringing their music from the streaming service to YouTube.
Unique Style
Bennett’s popularity is partly due to his unique style. The Plano, IL native incorporates colorful animations and squiggly lines to create a lively aesthetic, making some of the hardest-hitting songs come to life.
Because his ascent was during the peak of the Chicago drill scene, you’ll find his earlier videos dawning gun-toting street rappers with kinetic cartoon scribbles.
He tells Rolling Stone how he came about his patented style:
“YouTube tutorials is how I learned everything. [In] the Mac Miller video [“Welcome To America”] there is this line animation and I was always so intrigued every time I watched that. I stayed up all night and learned to animate and by the end of the night I had a fully animated video. It was really sloppy, but I was really excited.”
Runs The Rap Blog, Lyrical Lemonade
But Cole Bennett does more than direct videos. The 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards nominee runs the rap blog, Lyrical Lemonade, which doubles as a promotion and event coordination company. Through the imprint, Bennett put’s on live shows and sells merchandise.
“I just don’t want to make music videos,” says Bennett. “I also want to create and explore different sides of things,” he tells Rolling Stone in an interview
Turned Down $30 Million
One thing you should know about Cole Bennett and Lyrical lemonade is that he strives to keep it local and community-based, even turning down $30 million at one point to keep it private. His goal is to bring music industry infrastructure to his own city.
“I was offered $30 million for Lyrical Lemonade around a year ago. It was the most refreshing feeling to decline that and stay true to myself,” Cole tells Complex. “I am in a position where I can help make Chicago that next city, the next L.A., in terms of resources and hubs” he says.
Obsessed With Birkenstocks
Everyone has their thing and for Cole Bennett, it’s Birkenstocks. So much so, you’ll be hard pressed to see him in a pair of anything else — even on the red carpet.
“I wanna wear my Birkenstocks. But everyone’s gonna look crazy at me, the white kid coming out there with Birkenstocks on. So I threw on the Birkenstocks and I went out there and we shot the video. And it was fun. Everyone was super cool. And at that point I was like, ‘This is me. This is how I’m gonna represent myself!’” he tells the shoe company in an interview
