The G-List is TheUrbanDaily.com’s annual celebration of 40 influential men from various walks of life who define what it means to be a trendsetter with style in their field.
Name: Coodie Simmons
From: Chicago
Occupation: Production Company Co-Owner
Affiliation: Creative Control
Everybody always wants creative control. It’s something that artists, producers, and directors are always fighting over. As ½ of the production team “Creative Control,” Coodie and his partner Chike have never compromised their creative vision. Thus, the duo is responsible for some of the most artistic visuals to come out of the hip hop game. Last year, they made noise with the controversial video for Erykah Badu’s “Window Seat.” Now, as they venture out of the music video genre (Coodie is hush on a current project with ESPN), the filmmakers are ready to take their creativity to the next level, in the same way they’ve done with the videos. Creatively, they are in control of their destiny.
How did you and Chike start working together?
We started off as a production company back in 2007. When I ran into Kanye as a young producer, I thought he was really interesting. I started filming him for a documentary, and that’s when I met Chike. [Kanye] had the car accident and we had the idea of doing the “Through The Wire” video. And that’s when me and Chike started working together at that point. We were supposed to do all of Kanye’s music videos, but it didn’t work out that way.
Did you know that doing music videos would give your production company such a boost?
I wasn’t trying to do music videos. I didn’t have a passion for music videos. I always liked TV and film. The “Through the Wire” was a big deal, but I didn’t see that much creativity in making music videos at first. I was always a fan of creative music videos, especially Hype Williams, but at a certain point videos started really losing it. Once the girls in videos came out, [the genre became] all about the girls and partying. After that, [artists] started coming at us to do videos, and we were writing creative treatments they didn’t want to do. We were coming with animation and all different ideas. We wanted to take hip-hop videos to the next level.
What is in your iPod right now?
I listen to Pandora. The stations that I go to are Jay Electronica, Curren$y, Ashford and Simpson, and Barry White. Those are my favorite channels. They play everything–a mix of all kinds.
What are your favorite movies or music videos of all time?
The film, Claudine. And I really like the Brazilian film City Of God. And I would have to say, I’m really like an old-school type of dude. Cooley High is one of my favorite films. My favorite music video, “Thriller,” Michael Jackson, and I really was liking that Busta Rhymes video, “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See.”
How would you describe your personal style?
You know you just want to look good. I’m not really into it like that, luckily a lot of brands just give me stuff. Like the Diamond Supply and Prohibit, those brands I love. They give it to me so it helps me look good. I’ll go get a white tee and some jeans and wear that all week. I’m just focused on my craft right now, so I don’t have time to think about what I look like.
What about grooming?
I have a bald-head. I can shave every morning and keep my beard lined up nicely. I do it myself. When you’re trying to be successful, you can’t look like a bum. You can’t look like you not on everything. I’m from Chicago, and we’re really into the grooming. There’s a lot of great barbers in Chicago. We take it serious; we have hair shows out there. You could always find a great barber in Chicago.
The G-List is TheUrbanDaily.com’s annual celebration of 40 influential men from various walks of life who define what it means to be a trendsetter with style in their field.
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