Some GET IT TOGETHER back-story:

For the music video I had a vision of using people’s faces to tell the story of “Get It Together.” There is something powerful about seeing into people’s eyes - seeing different faces of all different characters and backgrounds - each drilling the message to the world, “Get It Together!”

We shot the first series of faces on Flatbush Avenue near my apartment, off of Church Avenue. One thing that surprised me is the shop owners and clerks that all came outside and were totally supportive and excited about the song and video. One guy (I meant to have him in the video) became the defacto director all of a sudden. He was yelling over to us about what I needed to do in all the shots! Hahaha. Everyone is a professional. I approached interesting strangers on the street, broke down the song concept and lyrics, and convinced them to take a moment to be a star! The guy with the kufi didn’t want to do it at first, until another stranger on the street encouraged him that it was necessary to have his image represented. I agreed!

The close-up performance shots of me were done inside my apartment. I still have clean walls because I haven’t been able to get all my paintings framed. My makeup artist, T’rah, made an appearance and was shot on my little balcony. She did an excellent job at giving me a natural look that highlighted my eyes.

Later that day I changed looks for the third time, and went to Staten Island to get the shots of little kids and a beautiful little Maya-look-alike named Idea! Idea happens to be the daughter of Gabri Christa, a fantastic choreographer/filmmaker and Vernon Reid, a famous rock guitarist that I work with. Gabri was gracious enough to round up several children through their wonderfully supportive parents. They all met us on a surprisingly warm and sunny day in a Staten Island park that was assuredly “not too crowded” and “over looked Manhattan.” It was a great park with unique jungle gym structures and colorful surroundings. Now, I grew up in Brooklyn around aggressive, expressive kids so, to my surprise, most of the little 5 and 6 year old kids were shy! It was a task to get them to even look at me, let alone sing “When we Gonna Get It Together!” In the end, the director Seth ran after the kids with his camera and got some priceless close-ups of them looking cute and excited. Then, back at Vernon and Gabri’s house, we were ready to shoot Idea as the shrunken version of me. By then, Idea had warmed up and wasn’t as shy to the point of tears as earlier. She did a fantastic job mouthing the words of the second verse and dancing in front of the camera. (I knew it was a good idea when later, once the video was complete, some other little children asked if that was really me in the video as a little kid….They couldn’t quite understand that it would have been impossible to get High Definition camera footage of myself two decades prior, singing “Get It Together.”) So by then, part of the mission was accomplished…but my children’s choir was a bit measly. The one little boy blurting out, “this is stupid!” in the front row of the little kids in the park, made it a bit hard to use the footage as convincing children telling the world the “Get It Together!”

Enter, KIPP INFINITY. With the help of Luquantumleap (emcee extraordinaire, guidance counselor, martial artist, nutritionist, etc.), a shoot was organized at the top New York State charter School, KIPP INFINITY, in Harlem. These children were about 9 years older than the smaller children we shot, and they really understood the message of the song. I am so proud to have these young people featured in my video, along with 3 of the teachers and the principal! How thankful I am to have been at a school that epitomizes the lesson of “just look in the mirror, to see what you got/the future you build, that no one can stop….” These young people carried so much power in their faces that one of the earliest edits of the video shot chills over my skin, just looking into their faces. We were fortunate enough to utilize the Kipp Infinity auditorium, with its wonderful multi-colored mural as a backdrop. After some impromptu choreography and much needed sheep herding by their teacher Luquantumleap, we got some serious children choir shots and close up portraits of the youth, that translated the energy of the song.

Last but not least, Seth and I ran about collecting more faces. Activist Supa Nova Slom with Luquantumleap; My Mother and Stepdad Orlando; singer and longtime friend Big Brooklyn Red (on his balcony); my favorite graphic artist poet Caitlin Meissner; Greg Tate (fearless leader of Burnt Sugar) and various members of the musical rock menagerie that is Burnt Sugar: Mazz Swift, Paula, Mica, Mikel, Justice X, and Renee.

The director, Seth Kushner, has fast become one of my all time favorite people. He is a phenomenal photographer and has shot me 3 or 4 times. In all of his work, I love his eye and the way he captures the personality of his subjects. His book, The Brooklynites, has received much critical acclaim and features page after page of deeply character-ful Brooklyn faces. As I imagined my concept for a grassroots video for Get It Together, I imagined that Seth could absolutely capture the attitude and faces that could tell their stories with a simple glance and nod of the head. As always, we who are hard on ourselves, always think we could have done better. But in the end, I feel that Seth was the man for the job! He, along with the patient editing of Corey Leavitt, helped to manifest a charming video for Get It Together. My budget does not yet rival P Diddy, but I still believe that real people have something to say that can affect the world around them. Uh-Huh, Yeah, Yeahh.

Maya Azucena