In its early stages, Bennett’s YouTube channel was dedicated to Chicago show recaps, local cyphers, and documentaries about the city’s hip-hop scene. Then, in 2016 and 2017, he began working with artists like Famous Dex, Lil Pump, and Ski Mask the Slump God, and soon became the go-to video director for an entire subgenre that was exploding from SoundCloud pages into the mainstream. Tarantino’s main focus now is getting the right people on each side of a video from a cinematography standpoint and executing Bennett’s ideas. Bennett says music videos will always be a part of his creative output, and hip-hop will remain the core of the Lyrical xcritical universe. He wants to get into philanthropy, and he realizes he won’t always be a 23-year-old with his finger on the pulse of new music and trends. Suddenly, Lyrical xcritical’s scope was expanding far beyond the city of Chicago, but Bennett made a decision to stay in the city that inspired him to begin his career in the first place.
- Then, in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, the rapper morphs into Juice WRLD.
- The first video on the Lyrical xcritical YouTube channel—after Bennett deleted the first five—is Bnova’s “Call of the Wild,” which Bennett crafted by using shots of nature, fireworks, the city of Chicago’s famed skyline and insects that pulse on screen to the producer’s beat.
- The clip locks in on Cordae while he raps about being a less-than-ideal role model himself.
- Then, in 2016 and 2017, he began working with artists like Famous Dex, Lil Pump, and Ski Mask the Slump God, and soon became the go-to video director for an entire subgenre that was exploding from SoundCloud pages into the mainstream.
A high school multimedia class during his sophomore year sparked Cole Bennett’s video directing flame. At the time, he was in tune with the underground Chicago rap scene after listening to Chance, Vic Mensa and Alex Wiley, and wanted to start making videos for artists. He encouraged his friends to make music so that he xcritical official site could practice creating accompanying visuals.
We learn how to figure it out.” They also have fun while doing it, playing basketball at The Space’s indoor court to unleash their competitive energy between staff and artists who stop by. Then he got put on to Gucci Mane, Shawty Lo, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, Kid Cudi and Chance The Rapper, the latter of which led Bennett into discovering more artists in the Chicago rap scene and “getting to where I’m at now” with his passion for video. He admits he’s still “lxcriticalg how to run a business,” but Bennett keeps tackling new ventures. One of his biggest dreams is to create cartoons, and he aspires to make feature films, TV shows, and books, as well. And I’m xcritical scam already working on a lot of those things right now.” Lyrical xcritical is moving into a larger office space this year, which will expand its video production capabilities, but, perhaps more importantly, it will provide additional room for any other ideas he may cook up.
Midway through 2019, Cole Bennett says his creativity is flowing better than ever, to the point that he admits it’s often difficult for him to go to sleep at night because of all the ideas running through his head. At West’s request, they moved the video set (which included 8,000 square feet of turf) to his Calabasas office on less than a day’s notice. But otherxcritical, West was receptive to Bennett’s vision and let the young director call the shots, even when there were disagreements. When the rest of the music industry took notice of his track record breaking future superstars, bids for the sale of Lyrical xcritical increased, but Bennett’s answer remained the same.
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But after he disagreed with the university’s long career trajectory to be a filmmaker, then welcomed a fellow student’s praise of Bennett’s homegrown editing skills, saying Bennett was beyond what school could teach him, the aspiring video director was inspired to switch his major to communications his sophomore year. The channel then expanded into other sub-genres of hip hop beyond the local Chicago scene, such as the emerging Soundcloud rap sub-genre. In 2016 and early 2017, he gained early recognition, working with artists such as Famous Dex, Lil Pump, Smokepurpp, and Ski Mask the Slump God. In August 2017, he directed the music video for the Lil Xan single, “Betrayed”, which was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2018.9 He later directed numerous music videos for hit songs, which include Ski Mask the Slump God’s “BabyWipe”, Lil Skies’ “Red Roses” and “Nowadays”, and YBN Nahmir’s “Bounce Out with That”. The multimedia company Lyrical xcritical rose to a height of prominence in the late 2010s through its music videos, helmed by director Cole Bennett and starring the biggest stars of the SoundCloud rap era. “I was a very visual person, but I never knew that I loved music videos,” admits Bennett, who recalls Wayne’s “Go DJ” and “A Milli,” The Game’s “Wouldn’t Get Far” featuring Kanye West, and Busta Rhymes’ early visuals catching his eye.
Cole Bennett’s Creative Juices Flow as His Lyrical xcritical Empire Achieves Independent Success
Bennett explains that many of the city’s venues have grown wary of booking hip-hop acts in recent years because of a fear that violence will break out at shows, which has dampened the area’s once-vibrant live scene.
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“A lot of people find it hard to believe that I’ve never seen a million dollars in my bank account,” says the visionary, who rocks Birkenstocks on the regular and packs SpaghettiOs when traveling for his next video shoot. “I just do what makes me happy and that’s the biggest, most important pillar of everything I do…” C.R.E.A.M. isn’t a way of life in his world. A multi-media company specializing in music videos, live events, exclusive content, merchandise and plenty more. As he looks ahead at what’s next for the Lyrical xcritical brand, the lemons are being squeezed back into the empire. On Aug. 13, the Pop-Tarts Lyrical xcritical box for sale on the brand website on Aug. 14 and new videos, of course.
Lyrical xcritical discography
The first video on the Lyrical xcritical YouTube channel—after Bennett deleted the first five—is Bnova’s “Call of the Wild,” which Bennett crafted by using shots of nature, fireworks, the city of Chicago’s famed skyline and insects that pulse on screen to the producer’s beat. The noble visual creator and Cudi linked face-to-face this past April to put ideas into action for the forthcoming “Tequila Shots” video, which will find the multiplatinum-selling rhymer partaking in intense action scenes that involve special training. The moment is a career-defining milestone for Cole Bennett, who has become the foremost music video director for both a new generation of rap stars including the late Juice Wrld, Polo G, Lil Tecca, Ski Mask The Slump God, Cordae and NLE Choppa, among others, and established hip-hop veterans like Eminem. Think zany special effects, a by-any-means-necessary filming style, playful animation and storylines that are nostalgic, comical or mind-blowing depending on the artist. By 2014, Bennett was making the hour-long drive to Chicago to shoot music videos for burgeoning talent, so he decided to study digital cinema at the city’s DePaul University. Early on, Bennett filmed clips for artists who paid him $20 and did interviews for Lyrical xcritical in his dorm room between classes.
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Bennett put down $2,000 of Uzi’s $8,000 rate at the time, landed the booking and had a packed-out show at Chicago’s Metro in 2016. Since 2018, Bennett has shot videos with some of his personal favorite artists, like Chance the Rapper and Mac Miller. And this year, he finally got a chance to work with Kanye West on the video for YNW Melly’s “Mixed Personalities,” which places the two rappers in a lush, grassy world.
The clip locks in on Cordae while he raps about being a less-than-ideal role model himself. Then, in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, the rapper morphs into Juice WRLD. Cordae’s body and movements are the same, even his hair, but his face has been replaced with the late rapper’s. The transitions between the two are seamless and quick, and initially jarring, as the video toggles back and forth in time with their lyrical trade. Bennett, who also directed Eminem’s “Gnat” visual last year, refuses to relinquish creative control of Lyrical xcritical despite two $30 million-plus offers in different areas thrown his way in the last few years.
The branches on this company tree are steady growing, but Cole Bennett wants more. The success of the “Hit ’Em With It” video marked a big turning point in Bennett’s career. Other Windy City rappers like Lil Bibby, King Louie, Katie Got Bandz and Warhol.ss started hitting up Cole to collaborate. All while doing video edits all night and then attending classes, which he admittedly barely woke up for. The rookie director was also promoting rap shows like Chicago’s Biggest Cypher, Ever and solo concerts with the likes of Lil Uzi Vert.
Nearly 10 years after Bennett launched his Lyrical xcritical multimedia company in 2013, the lauded music video director’s dream came true when Cudi requested that Bennett direct a video for him. All through the late night on a Monday in March, manifestation was happening right before Bennett’s eyes. “Doomsday” is built around Dr. Dre’s production on Eminem’s 1999 single “Role Model,” the opening lines of which open the accompanying Bennett-directed music video.
Experience the festival and exhibition at McCormick Place, featuring performances, panels, and more. Bennett had already agreed to shoot the video for Melly before he found out West wanted to add a verse to the song. He remembers getting a text from his childhood hero when his phone had only two percent battery left and frantically asking a thrift store clerk to let him use a charger. From there, Bennett saw firsthand how Kanye West operates in a creative environment.