With the success of short film “LA is My Playground,” Jason Madison is back with “I’m Not a Kid Anymore,”placing himself as the main attraction.
In “I’m Not a Kid Anymore,” heis a behind the scenes artist who matures as a rapper and producer in the second film.
On the concept of IMNAKA, he stated “I wanted to make a movie similar to the film ‘Nine’ a story of a director making a movie about himself trying figure out what to make the movie about and the many women in his life pulling him in different directions.”
A storyteller at heart, he serves the purpose to tell the story of others as well as himself.
On Madison’s approach for his first film, “I wanted to create superheroes for all my friends (Dom Kennedy and Nippsey Hussle); I look at them in how one would look at marvel characters in Iron Man and X-Men, whatever you are you’re the super man of that.”
The filmmaker wanted to show the perspective of Los Angeles through the eyes of other LA artists such as Kennedy and Hussle. “The first was their origin of the story; you see where they are coming from, and their upbringing and what makes them tick.”
Madison is finishing the trilogy of IMNAKA with “The Mike Reese Story.”
He is looking for people who want to help fund or produce the film about a young Black painter in Los Angeles, who’s trying to make it big without drugs or the Hollywood co-signs. The story portrays positive images of Black males.
“I rap and produce for the purpose of my films, like Spike Lee or Woody Allen act in their movies. I make visual and verbal references to this in my film,” said Madison. He shot in Brooklyn and in Manhattan where films “Do The Right Thing” and “Manhattan” were shot.
Madison’s artistic abilities render him a renaissance man.
More than a rapper, but an artist of many trades who wears many hats such as producing, writing, rapping and acting; one wonders how he does it.
“Whatever picks my interest that day,” he said. “Everyone wakes up feeling a different way; I kind of live like that artistically.”
He got his first taste on being behind the camera producing a 4 to 5 minute collection of three short films in his second year at Loyola Marymount University.
“I was a Recording Arts major so I wanted to make music scores for films,” acknowledge Madison. The third film was chosen by the school and it was at that moment that he changed his major.
Madison would like to redefine film similar to filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee. “I want to make the audience rethink the whole medium while watching the movie,” he said.
As a child of the 90’s, he was a part of many who were fans of the movie ‘Home Alone.’
“It still holds up to the test time and is still regarded as a classic out of all those 90’s films,” said Madison.
Staying on 90’s culture, for the premise of IMNAKA cover, he wanted to bring the title with old school Nickelodeon cartoon lettering from animated series ‘Rugrats’ and ‘Aww Real Monster.’ He tied it altogether with a childhood picture of himself in elementary.
Madison gives his audience a visual context of Los Angeles culture.
On his reason to display LA subculture, he responds, “A film is a recording of life’s history,” said the artist.
He goes on to admit, “But really this is what I like, want to record and what I think is tight. I don’t hang out at cliché or trendy spots, but patronize black owned, mom and pop places. I think more people can relate to that experience.”
In his second film, Madison channels sunny LA scene riding around major Los Angeles attractions such as The Forum, A-1 burger, In and Out and Slauson Super Mall. For Madison, it is his golden oasis where he brings back to life the LA culture since the NWA days.
LA culture runs deep for the west coast artist who feels his surroundings, the people he knows, and everything he sees from people getting high to being killed influences his lyrics.
For awhile in hip hop, west coast rappers have not been at the forefront in music, Madison aware of this absence states “there was a fall off but I’m happy, my real gift is being able to predict trends in music and hip hop.
“That is what I feel “LA Is My Playground” was about, following other’s career, that was the genesis part behind the idea of the west coast coming back,” said Madison. Placing west coast artists at the forefront was the basis for his first film.
This low-key artist is not interested in fame; however he would like to win an Oscar.
The non-fame seeker feels more in control over his film career oppose to his rap career, “you can do 10 songs and they will never come out,” he said. “Artists don’t have a lot of control over their content.”
Madison follows Tupac Shakur’s outlook on music stating, “he didn’t care and he did his thing, if you’re really an artist, you are doing it to do your s*#t.”
He recently released The Soundtrack to film IMNAKA which has a summer vibe, made for going to beach music.
What’s next for the multi talent? “The Mike Reese Story” will be released before the end of the year. Madison is looking forward to producing “LA is My Playground 2” with the likes of Kennedy, Hussle, Black Hippy and Kendrick Lamar. He plans on creating his first feature film, “Jason Madison Special Features,” including 9 short stories.
Madison is a student of the game who is in the process of becoming a hit producer of entertainment.
