Roger That

Album: We Are Young Money (2009)
Charted: 56
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the third single from We Are Young Money, the first collaboration studio album from Young Money Entertainment. The song features Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Tyga.
  • The song's music video, which pays homage to the graphic novel and movie Sin City, was released on March 1, 2010. Co-director David Rousseau told MTV News about it: "Jeff Panzer, the executive producer for all of the Cash Money videos, sent me the 'Roger That' track to sit with for a couple hours - and it really was a couple of hours because I had to get an idea back to him pretty quickly. We started texting back and forth and the idea to use 'Sin City' popped into my head and I came up with the concept. I thought of Sin City because it was so groundbreaking and I knew it'd be a great match, something different and edgy that people would remember. The idea was born in an hour."

    Rousseau then called on co-director Adam Rush and the pair began to develop the idea: "We discussed the concepts through style frames, which are mock-up images that show what the background would look like with Wayne, Nicki [Minaj] and Tyga," Rush explained. "When the artists came to set, they had already chosen their outfits and things, then we shot it all that day in Miami and the footage of them in front of the green screen was flown to Los Angeles where editors put together a rough cut of all the images. Then, after the rough cut was approved by the label, Universal, the film was shipped off to me so I could do the film's introductions, transitions, settings and background like the radar behind Tyga."
  • The video was filmed in front of a green screen, meaning the artists had to use their imaginations, as the images weren't created until post-production. Rousseau said: "Filming with them on the green screen and capturing their energy was great because they understood what we were trying to do. Green screen is hard sometimes because it takes a lot of imagination. We'll sometimes print out storyboards, which will have images close to what the screen will end up looking like to walk the artists through the idea. Nicki was great - I really enjoyed working with her. Tyga was great too. When artists are down to push the boundaries, that's awesome.

    On 'Roger That,' Nicki Minaj's delivery is almost comic book-like, and then Tyga and Wayne come in like they're rapping about fiction so the visual needed something out of the ordinary. The green screen was great because when you shoot on location, you're limited to what you see - but with green screen it's whatever you imagine, any scenario."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Chris Squire of Yes

Chris Squire of YesSongwriter Interviews

One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.