| Kahn reminisces, "I started making videos for Rap-A-Lot Records and was paid $40 for my first video. I wanted to be a filmmaker and videos gave me the chance." Unlike most of his peers, Kahn not only directs music videos for artists across the board from DMX to Korn, from Enrique Iglesias to WuTang Clan, and from Destiny's Child to U2, he visually and creatively shapes the images of his subjects. "It takes many years to understand and empathize with the subject matter," says Kahn. His style and approach are ascetically selfless. "I add to each artist's overall image by trying to make them bigger than their last video." Granted it takes a considerable amount of strategy to make artists with images as large as Eminem or the Black Eyed Peas larger than their last achievement, but that's why artists seek out Kahn as a director. Kahn has "5D" vision that can help a willing artist push themselves past their previous incarnations. |
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Creativity comes naturally, and the end product reflects Kahn's process. "I didn't set out to make the greatest Thong Song video, but things come together on each of my projects."
Amid a hodgepodge of post-modern pimps and street walking go-go dancers, Joseph Kahn leans back in his chair and watches the footage of Jamiroquai's video, scrutinizing each frame before giving the okay to move forward. The set is a three-ring circus and Kahn calmly wields the charisma and humble confidence that the best ringmasters wish they possessed. Perspective is Kahn's forte and he knows his roots.
At first glance it's hard to imagine Kahn, a Korean-American from Houston, patrolling the streets of the ghetto planning the next shot with Scarface, but this is where Kahn first started developing his style. Each idea is calculated and falls into a grand scheme; one that is not easily or readily decipherable. |
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