In early September 2009, a Russian director (Vlad) journeyed to Jamaica to film the music video for Lockdown, a collaboration between Ms. Triniti and Vybz Kartel. There was great expectation for Lockdown to be a crossover hit and understandably much fanfare around the shoot, prompting Anthony Miller to host Triniti and Kartel on his ER program ahead of the shoot and Gareth Daley to cover the video shoot for Hype TV. Seeing Vlads animated display, zeal, and tireless work ethic on set only served to stoke further interest in the finished product; however, five months later the video has still not been aired.
All the parties connected to the song are understandably disappointed by the inexplicable delay. The Bolan production team that heads up Heart to Art cannot put a finger on the problem; however, they revealed that they have had a streak of unfortunate experiences with video directors in recent times. They explain that Vlad committed to deliver the video for Lockdown within six weeks of the shoot; however, more than three months have gone by since then without him providing any acceptable explanation for the protracted wait. They recently spoke to Vlad and he expressed profound regret for the delay and assured them that he is now working feverishly to complete the project.
Some may ask why Bolan brought in a director from Russia to tackle a dancehall video; however, they contend that they worked on a project with Vlad in NY several years ago and were extremely impressed by the quality of his work and his professionalism. They explained further that selecting a director relatively close to home does not guarantee delivery of the project on time, if at all, and they have the evidence to prove it.
They recently won a settlement against NY-based director Lamont "Liquid" Burrell, who claims to have completed several projects for the likes of Alicia Keyes. Bolan explains that they paid Liquid to complete three videos but once he received the advance he became totally unprofessional and failed to deliver on two of the projects, while he delivered the other one several months late. Despite many promises to the contrary, Liquid also failed to return the deposits, forcing Bolan to take him to court and win a judgment, which they are finding hard to collect from Liquid. They have also encountered disappointment with a director in Jamaica. In 2007, they paid a Jamaican director to create a medley video for a rhythm-driven project. They received the video about three months after the expected delivery date and it was of such poor quality that they did not bother to send it to the media houses.
While some may attribute these incidents to bad luck, Bolan believes that the crux of the problem is a general lack of respect meted out to ordinary working people, especially those living overseas, by entertainers, the entertainment media, and other service providers in the entertainment industry. They believe that many of these individuals seem to only show fear or respect to druggists, bad men, the ultra-rich, and other celebrities. Despite these obstacles, the Bolan team will not be deterred. They remain confident in their own abilities and in those of their labels main artiste, Nando, who is getting set to release his debut EP in early March. Surprisingly, they also remain confident that Vlad will soon deliver the video for Lockdown, and that, when he does, Lockdown will lock down the video charts.