Video: Musicology

2003: North ◄

Music Videos (Prince)

Music Videos (Related Artists)

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Musicology

Music Video details First aired: 12 February 2004 Producer(s): Melissa Larsen (Anonymous Content) Director: Sanaa Hamri Related home video/DVD: Musicology CD First (Commercially) Released: 27 March 2004 Awards Date Institution, Country Award This music video has not received any awards in the USA

Musicology is a Prince video released for broadcast and to promote the single. The video was included in an enhanced part of the Musicology album (CD version). The video was shot in Los Angeles, California over two days in October 2003 and directed by Sanaa Hamri. It is the first promotional video for a song to feature the full line-up of The NPG with John Blackwell, Rhonda Smith, Renato Neto, rad., Greg Boyer and Maceo Parker who went on tour with Prince for the World Tour 2003 just a week after this shooting. The storyline for this video is a kind of time travel with a 10-year-old Prince (played by Lil’ C) in the sixties who is a music lover (apprentice guitarist with posters of Sly & The Family Stone in his bedroom, who also dances with a vaccum-cleaner as a mic stand) and goes to see his favorite artist in concert. Intentionally or not, the video is full of temporal paradox and anachronisms as the kid buys a Prince 7" record ( Musicology) and attends his concert. Wardrobe-wise, as in Cream, two different styles coexist with the sixties and some contemporary hip hop characters. Among the anachronisms we can note the b-boy stance (during the line about Chuck D and Jam Master Jay) and Earth Wind & Fire’s "Spirits" 1976 album. An autobiographical element is inserted at the end of the video when the father carries his son on his shoulders to put him on the stage for him to dance during the concert. This scene is based on the famous story that his stepdad did the same for a 10-year old Prince when he took him to see a James Brown concert ("When I was about 10 years old, my stepdad put me on stage with him, and I danced a little bit until the bodyguard took me off." - MTV Interview 1985). Shooting Information Shooting Sessions Date Location Additional info 10 October 2003 Counterpoint Records & Books (5911 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA, USA) and unknown studio location Los Angeles, CA, USA Storyline scenes 11 October 2003 Tower Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, USA Performance Cast Prince John Blackwell Rhonda Smith Renato Neto rad. Greg Boyer Maceo Parker Fatima Robinson - Stage dancer 1 Aakomon Jones - Stage dancer 2 unidentified other dancers unidentified male sync dancer 1 unidentified male sync dancer 2 Lil’ C (C.J. Burton) - young Prince unidentified actor - Counterpoint Records & Books clerk unidentified actor - dad unidentified actor - bouncer unidentified actor - refused guest 1 unidentified actor - refused guest 2 unidentified actor - soldier 1 unidentified actor - soldier 2 unidentified extras Crew Sanaa Hamri - director Deborah German - casting director Melissa Larsen - producer Fatima Robinson - choreographer Aakomon Jones - choreography Jo Willems - cinematography Albert Cuellar - pops Steve Kokor - editor Versions Released Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info Musicology 4:57 Musicology enhanced CD (2004) Prince YouTube channel (2018)

Additional Information See Also Quotation & triva Musicology Musicology (single) The video was nominated for Best Male Video at 2004 MTV Video Music Awards. Sanaa Hamri has directed the following videos for Prince: Musicology, Call My Name, A Million Days, Black Sweat, Fury, Guitar (second version) and Fixurlifeup. Originally Steve Harvey was cast to play the role of dad in the video, but due to a scheduling conflict he could not make it and someone else was hired. References Awards: 2004 MTV Video Music Awards

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2003 North

Music Videos (Prince)

Music Videos (Related Artists)

2004 Call My Name

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