Malik Sayeed

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Malik Hassan Sayeed is a prolific artist—photographer, cinematographer, director—who moves effortlessly between commercial and art cinema projects. He graduated from Howard University in 1990 and began his career alongside cinematographer Arthur Jafa and show Spike Lee’s Clockers and He Got Game and most of Hype Williams’s music videos in the mid to late 1990s, including his feature length film Belly. Since then, he has been nominated for multiple awards, including the VMA for Best Cinematography for Beyoncé’s Lemonade and the top award at the AICP and DGA awards for “Beats, You Love Me,” both of which he won. Sayeed first worked with Arthur Jafa on John Akomfrah’s Seven Songs for Malcolm X (1993) where the two became friends. The pair have since co-founded their own studio called TNEG (which Elissa Blount-Moorhead joined in 2013) “whose goal is to create a black cinema as culturally, socially, and economically central to the 21st century as black music was to the 20th century.”

In the 1990s Sayeed developed the aesthetic markers of what became Hype Williams’s signature style through scores of music videos, one that was most prominently displayed in his only feature film Belly (1998). As Lauren Cramer writes, formally, Belly is a study in sensitometry that evokes the style of film noir and an esteemed aesthetic lineage of saturated, high-contrast black images, which includes Williams’s own established oeuvre honed throughout his prolific career directing music videos. The film’s frequent superimpositions, converging storylines, slow motion, incorporation of Williams’s signature wide-angle lens, and the flatness of the film’s many backlit and otherwise monochromatic shots traps the film in the uneasy but urgent space of experiencing blackness (as a color, identity, sound, swag, question, problem, attachment…) all at once.[1] This aesthetic notably inspired Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning movie Moonlight (2016), both of which represent the kind of escape that is contradictorily stuck in the here and now while simultaneously reverberating throughout history. It is deprived of the sustained duration and hope that is necessary to construct the kind of alternate future that is so characteristic of Afro-Futurist responses to black conditions of existence.

In an interview with Film Roundtable, Bradford Young and Shawn Peters discuss meeting in New York through Sayeed. Young and Peters bonded over a shared reverence for his work when Peters pulled out a copy of American Cinematographer with Spike Lee’s Clockers (1995) on the cover. Young said it was a magazine in the Howard University Film Organization office during his time in school and seeing another Howard alumni working with Lee inspired him to get into cinematography. Sayeed was also the critical link between Arthur Jafa and Kahlil Joseph and has played a key role fostering this lineage from one generation to the next.

In terms of cinematic approach, Sayeed is considered the physicist, the chemist, the scientist of the group. He approaches cinematography and color temperature as a scientific problem that must be meticulously explored. For Spike Lee’s Clockers, Sayeed took the chance of working with a Kodak 5239 film stock, an Ektachrome reversal film that at the time was only used by NASA and the US air force.[2] His distinct style comes to the forefront in his short film Exquisite Corpse: She Walked Calmly Disappearing Into the Darkness,[3] which he directed and shot. While the nebulous plot is about a man in a hospital who vaguely remembers a shootout and a mysterious woman who gets away with his bag, the aesthetics suggest a work about escape from cyclical reverberation when intersubjective violence functions like sound in the city. The lingering close-ups on skin, hair, fabrics, equipment, textured floors, and architecture give the sense that sanctuary cannot always be created through new worlds and imaginative lines of flight but, for some, must be worked in wherever it can fit. Through these moments of tactile dissociation, time can be stretched out for just a moment before the next round of pulsating sounds and disjunctive edits.

Throughout his body of work, the flows of the city slow down for no one, suggesting a relationship to escape where certain black people must manage and make do. Haptic cinema, in this instance, offers a momentary sense of warmth and duration, a working-class form of fugitivity, against an otherwise cold cinematic space that is infused with the blue tones so characteristic of city nightlife.

[1] See Lauren Cramer, “Belly,” b.O.s. 19, no. 1 (2022). https://asapjournal.com/b-o-s-19-1-belly-lauren-cramer/. See also Music Video as Black Art

[2] Stephen Pizzello, “Between ‘Rock’ and a Hard Place,” American Cinematographer 76, no. 9 (September 1995): 36-46.

[3] later the film circulated with the title Deshotten and was featured at Ruffneck Constructivists, curated by Kara Walker for ICA Philadelphia, February 12-August 17, 2014.

SELECTED WORKS

Cinematographer

After the Hunt (2025 projected release), dir. Luca Guadagnino

Michael Jackson: They Don’t Care About Us (2020), dir. Spike Lee

Beats by Dr. Dre: You Love Me (2020), dir. Melina Matsoukas

Black is King (2020), dir. Emmanuel Adjei, Ibra Ake, Blitz Bazawule, Beyoncé (as Beyoncé Knowles-Carter), Pierre Debusschere, Jake Nava, Jenn Nkiru, Dikayl Rimmasch, Joshua Kissi, Kwasi Fordjour (co-director), Julian Klincewicz (co-director), Dafe Oboro (co-director)

N.E.R.D and & Future: 1000 (2017), dir. Todd Tourso

N.E.R.D and Rihanna: Lemon (2017), dir. Todd Tourso

August 28th (2016) dir. Ava DuVernay

Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley: Nail Pon Cross (2016), dir. Darren Craig

Lemonade (2016), dir. Beyonce Knowles Carter, Kahili Joseph, Todd Tourso, Dikayl Rimmasch, Melina Matsoukas, and Mark Romanek

Beyoncé: Formation (2016), dir. Melina Matsoukas

The Reflektor Tapes (2015), dir. Kahlil Joseph

Dreams are Colder than Death (2014), dir. Arthur Jafa

Amex Unstaged Pharrell Williams Live at the Apollo (2014), dir. Spike Lee

Cagefighter (2012), dir. Derek Cianfrance

Da Brick (2011), dir. Spike Lee

Michael Jackson: This is It (2009), dir. Spike Lee

Exquisite Corpse: She Walked Calmly Disappearing Into the Darkness (2008), dir. Malik Sayeed

Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx: Gold Digger (2005), dir. Hype Williams

Nas: Video Anthology Vol. 1 (2004), dir. Benny Boom, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Fab 5 Freddy

Life and Debt (2001), dir. Stephanie Black

DMX: No Sunshine (2001), dir. Hype Williams

Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers Live (2000), dir. Thor Olsen

The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), dir. Spike Lee

Jay Z: Jigga What, Jigga Who (1999), dir. Malik Sayeed

Belly (1998), dir. Hype Williams

John Leguizamo: Freak (1998), dir. Spike Lee

He Got Game (1998), dir. Spike Lee

The Players Club (1998), dir. Ice Cube

2Pac: All About U (1996), dir. Rob Johnson and Marlene Rhein

Nas: Street Dreams (1996), dir. Hype Williams

Girl 6 (1996), dir. Spike Lee

Clockers (1995), dir. Spike Lee 

Director

Jay Z: 4:44 (2017) as TNEG

New Soul Rebel: Adrian Younge (2015)

Little Minx Exquisite Corpse: She Walked Calmly Disappearing into the Darkness (2008)

The Black Eyed Peas: My Humps (2005)

All Star Tribute: What’s Going On (2001)

Prince: The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (1999)

Jay Z: Jigga What, Jigga Who (1999)

Jay Z: More Money, More Cash, More Hoes feat. Beanie Siegel, Memphis Bleek, and DMX (1999)

Commercial

Gatorade, “Make Your Own Footsteps with Suni Lee” (2022), dir. Malik Sayeed

Gatorade, “Believe in Yourself with Serena Williams” (2022), dir. Malik Sayeed

Gatorade, “Want From Within with Hansel Emmanuel” (2022), dir. Malik Sayeed

AT&T, “Roll Up Your Sleeves” (2019), dir. Malik Sayeed

Nike, “#Equality” (2017), dir. Melina Matsoukas

Levi’s, “The New Women’s Denim Collection” (2015), dir. Malik Sayeed

SELECTED INTERVIEWS

“Filmmaker + Cinematographer Shawn Peters and Cinematographer + Visual Artist Bradford Young.” Film Roundtable. YouTube video, 1:09:25, 2022. https://youtu.be/HrNBpOYEt6M

Jafa et. al. “Dreams are Colder than Death: A Screening and Conversation with Arthur Jafa,” interview by Christina Sharpe, Reina Gossett and Tavia Nyong’o, September 29, 2016. https://bcrw.barnard.edu/videos/dreams-are-colder-than-death-screening-talk-with-arthur-jafa/.  

Pizzello, Stephen. “Clockers: Between ‘Rock’ and a Hard Place.” American Cinematographer 76, no. 9 (1995): 36-46. Clockers: Between “Rock” and a Hard Place - The American Society of Cinematographers (en-US) (theasc.com)

Rucker, Gabrielle. “A New Film Studio Made For Telling Our Stories.” Mater Mea. A New Film Studio Made For Telling Our Stories - mater mea.

Rucker, Gabrielle. “TNEG.” Impossible Objects. http://www.impossibleobjectsmarfa.com/fragments/tneg.

SELECTED REVIEWS

Ellis, Ellice. “How The ‘Belly’ Soundtrack Gave The Movie The Plot It Needed.” Discovermusic. December 12, 2022. https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/belly-soundtrack/#:~:text=The%20Belly%20soundtrack%20was%20not,listen%20to%20then%20and%20now.

Meyer, Joshua. “The Daily Stream: He Got Game Is Basketball Poetry In Motion And An Essential Spike Lee And Denzel Washington Collaboration.” Slashfilm. February 27, 2022.  https://www.slashfilm.com/781644/the-daily-stream-he-got-game-is-basketball-poetry-in-motion-and-an-essential-spike-lee-and-denzel-washington-collaboration/.

Nudd, Tim. “Grand Clio Winners: Translation's 'You Love Me' for Beats by Dre: Inside the Remarkable Piece that Topped both Film and Branded Entertainment & Content.” Muse by Clios. May 5, 2021. https://musebycl.io/creative-brief/grand-clio-winners-translations-you-love-me-beats-dre.

Goldrich, Robert. “Droga5, Director Malik Hassan Sayeed Get ‘Technically Illegal’ To Advance Justice For REFORM Alliance.” Shoot, April 27, 2021. Droga5, Director Malik Hassan Sayeed Get "Technically Illegal" To Advance Justice For REFORM Alliance | SHOOTonline.

Hughs, Aria. “The Stories Behind Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter’s Memorable Looks From ‘B.A.P.S.,’ ‘Black Panther,’ and More.” Complex. January 11, 2021. [CAC1] [AR2] https://www.complex.com/style/a/aria-hughes/ruth-carter-black-panther-spike-lee.

Christley, Jaime N. “Review: Spike Lee’s Clockers on KL Studio Classics Blu-ray.” Slant. February 6, 2020. https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review-spike-lee-clockers-on-kl-studio-classics-blu-ray/.

Benjamin, Marcus. “On the Reel: Why ‘Belly’ Deserved to be Nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar.” Still Crew. December 11, 2018. https://stillcrew.com/belly-20th-anniversary-53f6644ed980.

Parham, Jason, et al. “Why Moonlight Is A Small Miracle Of A Movie.” Fader. October 20, 2016. https://www.thefader.com/2016/10/20/moonlight-barry-jenkins-film-roundtable.

Mu’min Nijla. “LAFF Review: Arthur Jafa Conducts Multilayered Exploration of Blackness in 'Dreams Are Colder Than Death.'” Blavity. June 19, 2014. https://shadowandact.com/laff-review-arthur-jafa-conducts-multilayered-exploration-of-blackness-in-dreams-are-colder-than-death.

Hornaday, Ann. “Howard University has become Incubator for Cinematographers.” The Washington Post, January 28, 2013. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/howard-university-has-become-incubator-for-cinematographers/2013/01/28/39202f00-697f-11e2-ada3-d86a4806d5ee_story.html. 

Cohen, Joshua. “A Little Minx Makes an Exquisite Corpse.” Tubefilter, April 1, 2008. https://www.tubefilter.com/2008/04/01/a-little-minx-makes-an-exquisite-corpse/.

Maslin, Janet. “Film Review: A Spike Lee Explosion Roams All Over the Court.” The New York Times. May 1, 1998. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/01/movies/film-review-a-spike-lee-explosion-roams-all-over-the-court.html.

THEORETICAL CONTEXTS

Haptic Cinema – Video Screen, Surface, & Status as an Everyday Object

Bost, Darius. "Sensing History's Hold: Touch and Black Queer Representation after Moynihan." Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 42, no. 1 (2021): 92-108.

Dell’Aria, Annie. “From Vertical Roll to .MOV File: Haptic Control, Flow, and Video Art.” Afterimage 47, no. 3 (2020): 22-42.

Kelley, Andrea J. “Bedsheet Cinema: The Materiality of the Segregating Screen.” Film History 31, no. 3 (2019): 1-26.

Stańczyk, Marta. "Tactile epistemology: sensoria and the postcolonial." TransMissions: The Journal of Film and Media Studies 3, no. 1 (2018): 89-99.

Jackson, Chuck. “The Touch of the ‘First’ Black Cinematographer in North America: James E. Hinton, Ganja & Hess, and the NEA Films at the Harvard Film Archive.” Black Camera 10, no. 1 (2018): 67–95.

Grønstad, A., Gustafsson, H., & Vågnes, Ø., eds. Gestures of Seeing in Film, Video and Drawing. New York: Routledge, 2016.

Archer, Nicole. “Security Blankets: Uniforms, Hoods, and the Textures of Terror.” Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory 24, no. 2-3, (2014): 186-202.

Dudrah, Rajinder. “Haptic Urban Ethnoscapes: Representation, Diasporic Media and Urban Cultural Landscapes.” Journal of Media Practice 11, vol. 1 (2010): 31-45.

Naficy, Hamid. An Accented Cinema: Exilic and Diasporic Filmmaking. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001.

Marks, Laura U. The Skin of the Film: Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment, and the Senses. Durham: Duke University Press. 2000.

Gjerden, Jorunn S. "Gazes, Faces, Hands: Othering Objectification and Spectatorial Surrender in Abdellatif Kechiche’s Vénus noire and Carl Th. Dreyer’s La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc." In Exploring the Black Venus Figure in Aesthetic Practices. Brill. (2019): 193-215.

Urban Spaces and Communal History

Palmer, Landon. “Do the Loud Thing: The Boombox and Urban Space in 1980s American Cinema.” JCMS: Journal of Cinema & Media Studies 61, no. 5 (August 2022): 1–28.

“Cinema Trouvé: The City as a Moving Image.” Papers on Language & Literature 57, vol. 1 (2021): 50-66.

Hawthorne, Camilla. "Black Matters are Spatial Matters: Black Geographies for the Twenty‐first Century." Geography Compass 13, no. 11 (2019): 1-19.

Summers, Brandi Thompson. Black in Place: The Spatial Aesthetics of Race in a Post-chocolate City. UNC Press Books, 2019.

Birks, Chelsea. “Objectivity, Speculative Realism, and the Cinematic Apparatus.” Cinema Journal. 57, no. 4 (2018): 3–24. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26585569

King, Jason. “Stuck In A Time Loop: Notes On APES**T.” Journal of Popular Music Studies 30, no. 4 (2018): 14–18.

Brown, Adrienne. The Black Skyscraper: Architecture and the Perception of Race. JHU Press, 2017.

Diawara, Manthia. “Noir by Noirs: Towards a New Realism in Black Cinema.” African American Review 50, no. 4 (2017): 899-911.

Raengo, Alessandra. “Blackness and the Image of Motility: A Suspenseful Critique.” Black Camera 8, no. 1 (2016): 191–206.

Wojcik, Pamela Robertson. “The Odds are Against Him: Archives of Unhappiness Among Black Urban Boys.” Fantasies of Neglect: Imagining the Urban Child in American Film and Fiction. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2016.

Langhorst, Joern W. “(Re-)Framing Urbanity: Contestation, the Moving Image and the Right to the City.” In Filming the City: Urban Documents, Design Practices and Social Criticism Through the Lens, edited by Mirko Guaralda, Ari Mattes, and Edward M. Clift, 45-60. Bristol: Intellect Books, 2016.

Sexton, Jared. “Jonathan Munby. Under a Bad Sign: Criminal Self-Representation in African American Popular Culture.” African American Review 46, no. 1 (2013): 171-174.

Shabazz, Rashad. Spatializing Blackness: Architectures of Confinement and Black Masculinity in Chicago. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2015.

Brundson, Charlotte. “The Attractions of the Cinematic City.” Screen. 53, no. 3 (2012): 209–227.

McKittrick, Katherine. Demonic grounds: Black Women and the Cartographies of Struggle. University of Minnesota Press, 2006. 

Massood, Paula J. Black City Cinema: African American Urban Experiences in Film. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2003.

Bruno, Giuliana. “Site-Seeing: The Cine City,” In Atlas of Emotion: Journeys in Art, Architecture, and Film. London: Verso, 2002.

Donald, James. “Light in Dark Spaces: Cinema and City,” In Imagining the Modern City. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 1999.

Afro-Pessimism
See Dreams are Colder than Death Theoretical Context.