Chicago-based R&B traditionalist James Benton is one of my favorite young soul slingers these days.

Okay, let’s be honest, he’s also my first cousin.  I’ve known James his entire life and it was a complete honor to begin the process of merging our individual mainstay expressions into a single cohesive piece. James and I went around the concept for a while because we didn’t want to simply just “try and shoot some naked sex-shit”.  I mean, the song is what it is…but it’s not about sex as much as it is about worshiping the perfection of the female form.  Our mothers, daughters friends and foes.  The female form has the power to crumble kingdoms or to inspire a hero.  It’s with this sort of mindset that we approached shooting NUDE.  The models who played alongside JB in the piece, granted after some convincing and detailed pre-visualization, were completely present and really embodied the sentiment that we were after.  Even the Gods played along and delivered an overcast afternoon complete with a modest amount of rain.  Just enough to help this piece illustrate the lyrics in this tune that much more effectively. We had a wonderful time on set led by Master Cinematographer Pete Biagi and Producer Eric Almond transforming JB’s tiny apartment into a sound stage for the day.  Enjoy the video here as well as the imagery and cover art all derived from footage shot on the day.  It’s exchanges like this that solidify my understanding of my “greatest gift” and the blessing it is to be able to give it.

Check out the behind the scenes video below.