T.I. released a trailer for his short fillm "Addresses", a track from his latest album, Trouble Man: Heavy Lies The Head. T.I. is among many experimenting with visuals to accompany songs in greater depth. Music videos have obviously been around for a long time, but a combination of cheaper camera equipment, additional revenue from YouTube clicks and artistic expression make these short films a worthwhile pursuit.
There isn't much indication for where Tip is about to go with this film. "Short film" has been thrown around relatively loosely over the past few months. Kendrick Lamar has been rumored to be making a short film accompanying GKMC, and CyHi made reference to a short film for his last mixtape. Rick Ross released a trailer for his upcoming album, so it's possible he'll explore some cinematic creations as well.
What these really mean, though, is a bit up in the air. Some are really just extended music videos — more like "musical shorts", if the goal is really just to sound more artistic — some run together to tell a story with some actual acting.
It is an excellent collaboration in nascent stages, and when the Pro Era high school kids drop a video like "Unorthodox", it's easy imagine a bright future.
