Hype Williams on His Iconic Music Videos, the Legacy of ‘Belly,’ Working With Tom Brady, and More

Hype Williams’ impact is undeniable. He’s responsible for countless visuals that helped define aesthetics for an entire generation. Missy Elliott staring into a fisheye lens in her bubble jumpsuit and bug-eyed shades in “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly).” Nas and Diddy dancing on the roof of a corner store in “Hate Me Now.” These are just two examples from the long list of memorable imagery Hype Williams has contributed across his 30-plus-year career. 

But Williams’ latest partner isn’t someone you’d immediately think of. It isn’t a current-day artist or one of his go-to collaborators. It’s a legend from a different field. Tom Brady tapped Williams to execute the visual campaign for his BRADY Golf collection that debuted this morning. While the photos may come across as more subtle than the trademark visuals Williams is known for, most feature crispy white or black background, he was trying to try to make these athletes look like superheroes. The image maker says Brady was very receptive of his artistic vision. He wanted to go beyond just creating images for the sake of selling product. 

“I just felt like with this campaign I wanted to be able to do that for younger consumers, that same feeling that I felt when I used to look at those photographs of Heisman trophy winners. They just felt like superheroes to me. So I tried to take that approach with Tom,” Williams tells Complex. “I’m lucky that he just let me do it. He didn’t push back. It was really more about how I felt about the pictures I was taking.”

And this is just the beginning. Williams says that the second part of campaign that rolls out later this year, “might be one of the biggest things I’ve done in my career.” Ahead of the launch of BRADY Golf, we had a chance to speak with Williams about his newest campaign. He also talked on why the “Big Pimpin” video is still one of his most memorable, the legacy of his first and only feature film Belly, why he feels music videos are becoming a lost art form, and more. 

(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)