King Vader
King Vader is a popular YouTuber, director, and content creator
“bridging the gap between hip-hop and anime.”
He directs and stars in Netflix’s new miniseries “Netflix Dreams,”
currently streaming on Netflix’s YouTube channel.
This makes him one of the youngest African American directors
to work with the streaming network. The series follows Vader as he falls asleep
watching a Netflix show and wakes up as one of the characters
in the show. The first episode “The Raincoat Academy” is a parody of
“The Umbrella Academy,” which just returned for season 2. You can view the first episode at:
here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=idCWusGQ0YI
Photographer: Sheri Angeles
Fashion Stylist: Raina Silberstein
Tearsheet: Xi Lang
Where are you from? Where do you reside right now? How did where you grew up shape you as a person?
I was born in Chicago, raised in Maryland, and now reside in California. Maryland, it was truly diverse, and this helped me learn more about myself.
How did you become, and how long have you been, King Vader? What made you decide to create content for a living? What was your first gig as a creator?
I became King Vader the day I decided to stop being a watcher and become a creator, and I’ve been King Vader for about five years. I’ve honestly always been in love with filmmaking so creating content on social media just came naturally. I did a Burger King commercial a long time ago for a campaign of theirs, and it was really cool.
What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever made? What’s your favorite thing someone else made? Why? What was working with Netflix like? How did that working relationship come to be?
As of now it’s between Netflix Dreams Episode 2: Cobra Kai Worldwide and Don’t Disrespect Halloween 4. My favorite thing someone else made was Inception by Christopher Nolan because he took a universal concept and simplified it in a way the masses could comprehend. Working with Netflix is always a great time. I feel like the relationship began after Netflix noticed the hard work my team and I put in.
If you had an unlimited production, casting, and licensing budget for your dream project, what would you create and why? Who would star in it? Would it be similar to the work you’re making now or something completely new?
I would create an original superhero movie, and it would star me because I’ve been holding off on this superhero concept strictly because I don’t have the resources right now, which is why I would make that happen given the right resources and circumstances. This project would feel similar but would be completely new because in every project I do, we raise the bar and that would be the exact same way we attack this.
What is your favorite anime and why? Has that particular work influenced you a lot in your creative practice today? How did you come up with the idea to fuse anime and hip hop together the way that you do?
My favorite anime will forever be Naruto because that anime has changed my life in so many different ways. Seeing Naruto chase after his dreams inspires me to do the same. My love for both genres led me to bridge them together in the content I create.
What has been your biggest takeaway in making this interdisciplinary, cross-genre work? Is there something you wish you knew before you started in the industry? What would you do differently if you had the chance to do it all again?
My biggest takeaway is that it’s definitely unique and it’s something the world has never seen before. To have someone say they’ve never seen Naruto, but by watching this video they are inspired to watch the anime now is the best feeling ever. Being able to bring people over from different interests and cultures is really amazing to see. I wish I knew how much work was going to be required of me to get to where I am now so that I could get a head start because I believe man’s greatest enemy is time.
What’s the first thing you’re going to do once we’ve hit herd immunity from the coronavirus? If you could be anywhere else in the world right now, where would you be?
The first thing I’m going to do is go to a movie theater. I have always been a fan of movies and film, and I feel like the pandemic has robbed me from one of my greatest lives. If I could be anywhere else in the world right now I would be in Tokyo, Japan. Since I was a kid I was inspired to go there someday. I always told myself that once my foot touches the soil there, I’ve made it.
You work on a fashion line with Hot Topic. What’s your favorite piece from that collection and why? What aspect of fashion design was most challenging for you? What parts of it felt the most natural?
I have a shirt line with them called Smile More, and I just love it because it is an anime version of me, and I love the vibe of it. Creating the message of the shirt was the most challenging but the actual design was the most natural because I want to create clothing that stood for something.
Photographer: Sheri Angeles
Fashion Stylist: Raina Silberstein
Tearsheet: Xi Lang
What is your life’s motto?
Pressure produces diamonds.
Link us to your socials!
Instagram: @kingvader
