CONSISTENCY IS KEY
FEATURING: W4TERPLUS
Although music is what soothes the soul, sometimes we might have to take a deeper look on why we feel connected to that music. Sometimes more than the the sound, or the artist, the visuals play a principal role in amplifying the sensitivity of the art. And it takes an insane amount of effort and dedication to capture the essence of that art medium and give something more to the audience. We sat with someone who is the very definition of a creative, he has ability to take a subject and showcase them in a way gives viewers a representation of culture, art, and community. On this Applying pressure, we interviewed W4TERPLUS, a talented Photographer and videographer on the rise out of Hillside, New Jersey.
Inspiration is like an indispensable step for any creative, it’s the steppingstone to who we are. So, we asked W4TERPLUS for the occasion behind picking up the camera, his response was “Just being around my friends who had interest in music. Some rapped, others made beats… and the rest just had the same music taste you know? I remember I shot my friends first music video on my dad’s camera and the rest was history. It was that very moment I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
Evidently, W4TERPLUS’ work captures the authenticity and rawness of today’s underground hip hop scene, and we wanted to know his biggest inspirations stylistically. Although he talked about his focus more on originality and inability to be in competition with his peers, he recognized Jon Psycho & Lonewolf as videographers that inspired him to go hard. In his words “I just create the perfect visual I feel makes the song 100x enjoyable.”
Shooting with film has become more mainstream and not only with its audience, but with price as well. W4TERPLUS has been an OG with capturing subjects on film before it grew into the aesthetic driven medium it is today. He recognized the increased love for the film aesthetic and was peeved by the jump in price but also acknowledged the inevitable inflation of art through the years.
To take a deeper look into his directing counterpart, we asked W4TERPLUS about the start of his directing debut and to talk us through was the process was like. His response was:
“I started directing in 2017 when I shot some of my first music videos with my boy Spaceli. We would try to shoot at least once a week and I always saw progression in my videos, so I decided to take it next level and start investing more in camera equipment. My early days editing was such a headache because the computer I used would always crash. However, now that I’ve upgraded my setup, editing is more of a breeze.” W4TERPLUS also credits his editing source to programs like Adobe Premiere and After Effects. But before he advanced to those programs, he reminded and gave a shout out to Final Cut Pro. He says “that was the program I edited all my videos prior to 2020.”
One of his most recent projects, “NYC” for Cash Cobain & SPACELI, amazingly racked up over 8,000 views in less than 3 months, and we had to know his thoughts on that. For a lot of creatives on the rise, it’s an awesome feeling to complete a body of work, but to also get a great response to it in a short amount of time is euphoric. W4TERPLUS exclaimed that it was one of his favorite videos, but he isn’t content with the views count just yet. He says “I know they can be bigger. I try not to stay stagnant when it comes to videos because I’m constantly trying to top the last one. So, I hardly ever like to look in the rear view, but it’s nice when people take appreciation to the work that me and my homies are putting in.” W4TERPLUS explains how being a creative from New Jersey has been an uphill battle to get recognition, but he has a strong feeling that the tide is about to change, and he will be noticed in the industry.
For every creative, as much it is imperative to dwell on the present, we also encourage artists to take a deeper dive to their hopes and dreams of the future. We asked W4TERPLUS, his thoughts on the future of his brand. His response was “5 years from now I hope to take WATER+ to new heights. I want to start managing artists and being a part of their marketing strategy.” W4TERPLUS informed about having an ear for music as well as reviews from his peers and family that he can be a great manager. And so, he says “I plan on really putting that into full motion by 2025.”
It was a pleasure to get to boggle the mind of W4TERPLUS and talk about his art and the inspiration behind it. We recognize his dedication and effort to making visuals that transcends and can be interpreted in many ways. With the influence of hip-hop and culture, his medium has given him a signature for his brand that eventually will be acknowledge by the world. Applying pressure is all about highlighting these wonderful creatives who constantly are putting the work to achieve their dreams and we are proud to feature W4TERPLUS.
W4TERPLUS concludes with:
“My words of wisdom to any artist or creative is never sell yourself short & Consistency is key.”
Thank you W4TERPLUS.
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Written by: Janice Coleman.
@callmej.cole
Follow us @ure.media
email us @ure.media@gmail.com
