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The 1980s and 1990s, what is widely accepted as the golden age of hip hop in New York saw aspiring artists from all over the globe arriving in the city. For these artists New York City was the place where they got to try their luck and some of them made it big.
Fast forward to 2020, director and actor Radha Blank beautifully captured the role of Hip-Hop and Jazz in New York’s soundscape through her directorial debut “The Forty Year Old Version”. The movie centers around Radha playing the role of a playwright and teacher who is about to turn 40. While grappling with where to move with her career, Radha is inspired to return to rapping, a previous passion of hers.
“The film really captures the energy and nostalgia of hip hop culture in NYC. In the 1980s and 1990s if you wanted to learn about hip hop or experience Jazz, then New York was the place to go. The Forty Year Old Version is a homage to this musical hub that is New York,” says Fanny Texier, the editor of “We Made the City Move”, a Netflix commissioned short documentary based on the music in the film.
I recently caught up with Fanny to talk about Hip Hop, Jazz, New York and her work on the documentary in particular.
For people who don’t live in NY, can you explain the connection between the music from the film and New York City? How does the documentary highlight this connection?
It’s commonly accepted that the golden age of hip hop in New York occurred from the mid-80s to the mid-90s. For many years, New York City was a destination for artists from all over the world.
Hence, while editing We Made The City Move, I kept that historical aspect in mind. Just like in the film, I wanted to make sure that A Tribe Called Quest’s classic “Electric Relaxation” would play very early on in the video, to really set the tone for the rest of the film. With The Forty-Year-Old Version being about a rapper living in New York City, using music from the Queens or the Bronx was fitting.
Can you take me through the thought process behind creating a documentary specifically focused on the music in the film? What resources went into this project?
From the start, I knew the central focus was the importance of music and how the “sound of New York” shaped the film. Radha’s relationship with hip hop and jazz music was the impetus for much of her writing and a major reason her work resonates with so many people. So I knew everything else had to be in service of that story.
My post-production team and I decided to open with a montage of New York locations mixed with iconic spots in New York hip hop history, set to one of the beats from “The Forty Year Old Version” soundtrack. The idea was to establish that this is Radha’s love letter to her New York, maybe one that the viewer hasn’t seen before but that is just as iconic.
In addition to the interviews that Radha conducted, including with her music supervisor, Guy Routte, as well as various artists and rappers such as Mickey Facts and the Beatminers, we drew heavily from Radha’s interview itself. And throughout the process we had to look for archival material including videos illustrating different parts of New York in the ’80s or the 90’s
Apart from its connection with New York is there any other significance of the music used in the film?
While editing We Made the City Move, I wanted to be faithful to Radha’s personal connection to music and what she had wanted to highlight in the film. The rhythms and soul of The Forty-Year-Old Version pull you through, so we had to create that same atmosphere in the documentary.
Two main musical inspirations throughout the film came from hip hop and jazz culture. We wanted to honor the fact that Radha Blank’s father was a jazz musician who played with everyone from Sun Ra to Walter Davis. Radha knew she wanted to use one of her father’s pieces in the film. That final scene when she is coming to her mother’s apartment while confronting her past includes her father’s music playing in the background.
Another jazz influence was highlighted by Courtney Bryan, a composer and pianist who has multiple songs featured in the film. Courtney came up with the song “Footsteps of a Queen”, which plays when Radha walks through the streets of New York, coping with the loss of her mother. Courtney later revealed that she was herself grieving when composing the song, which I thought was very important to underscore.
Hip-hop is also integral to the film, both in its music and as a broader philosophy. The raps in this film stylistically feel like a throwback to 80s and 90s rap in particular, with its stripped-back beats and poetic feeling.
