“I wanted to go to a place people would least expect me to go in a music video. An overly masculine place and make it gay asf. I also wanted to visualize the theme of breaking free from the shackles society places on you.” – Lil Nas X
NEW VEVO FOOTNOTES EPISODE REVEALS HIDDEN REFERENCES PLUS KEY INSIGHT BEHIND FAVORITE AND MOST CHALLENGING MOMENTS ON-SET
Grammy Award-winning artist Lil Nas X and director Christian Bresauer have partnered exclusively with Vevo for the latest installment of Vevo Footnotes, revealing every hidden reference and new information about the making of their iconic “Industry Baby” music video.
WATCH “THE MAKING OF INDUSTRY BABY | VEVO FOOTNOTES”
In the visual for the now Platinum-certified hit song, Lil Nas X discusses the inspiration and controversy surrounding the making of the video. He also talks about personal items he used on the set, improvised choreography and the most uncomfortable scenes to film with co-star Jack Harlow. The song appears on Lil Nas X’s chart-topping album MONTERO out now.
Below is a complete outline of “The Making of Industry Baby | Vevo Footnotes,” including key insight from the music video’s executive director and more from Lil Nas X himself.
FOOTNOTES OUTLINE:
0:10 Narration: The Grammy’s in Nas’s jail cell are his actual Grammys.
0:18 Narration: The poster in his cell is an image from the BET Awards show he performed at three days prior to shooting the music video.
0:35 – 0:41 Lil Nas X: “I wanted to go to a place people would least expect me to go in a music video. An overly masculine place and make it gay asf. I also wanted to visualize the theme of breaking free from the shackles society places on you.”
0:54 – 0:59 Christian Breslauer: “This Visual is essentially a giant metaphor to represent Nas’s unwillingness to conform to the industry standards or be caged in because of his beliefs. No matter the scenario he will be who he is and no prison is strong enough to contain him.”
1:08 Narration: Nas improvised this choreography on the spot.
1:27 Lil Nas X: “I think ‘Shawshank Redemption’ is a great movie, but it was in no way the main inspiration of the video. Although, it is responsible for the hole in the wall scene.”
1:54 Narration: The security guard getting punched by Nas is Colton Haynes, the star of ‘Teen Wolf.’
2:22 -2:42 Lil Nas X: “The hardest part of making this music video? Honestly? Twerking in front of Jack Harlow. Very uncomfortable lmao. I felt like Jack was in a very similar situation that I was in — having a super huge song and having people counting you out. That’s how I knew he would be perfect for this song.”
2:56 – 3:03 Lil Nas X: “My favorite scene is where we’re all dancing in the courtyard, but I’m proud of the entire video. I knew the controversy was inevitable, but I thought the video would be super fun, which it was.”
3:10 – 3:15 Christian Breslauer: “The prison location was our most ambitious day of the two. Choreography scenes in general take the most time to shoot and we only had an hour to shoot each one. We made it happen though, thanks to an Allstar crew.”
3:22 – 3:29 Lil Nas X: “The song felt like a victory lap… but also an underdog anthem, and that’s what I wanted the lyrics to reflect. I wanted a song to remind people I’m not going anywhere.”
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