The Brothaz adventure beings with the group shooting a video for their song “Operation F.O.B”. As far as I can tell, this is a fake video shoot and a full video for this song was never made. That video shoot involves a huge number of extras, all dancing in a tall lobby of a building.
But after the video shoot is over, things get a little quieter. Awa walks away from the video shoot, taking a path that involves walking along all the most gritty and urban looking places around K Road. Like, why walk on the side of West Terrace with a footpath when the road side is that much more picturesque?
This all leads Awa to a support meeting of Brothaz Anonymous, seemingly inspired by the testicular cancer support group scenes of Fight Club. Support groups are great comedy material, but this one isn’t really done for laughs. All the activities at the group are played straight – the group confessions, the trust-building exercises. It all seems like it could be a legit group.
We never see any of Nesian Mystik actually performing the song, so it feels a bit like a short film with a soundtrack by Nesian Mystik. The song – about the importance of male friendships – is sweet and uncynical, but the video seems unsure of how to tackle the subject. The only plot involves a nearby cleaner being invited to join the group, but even that doesn’t feel fully explained. It’s like something is missing. YouTube commenter MrKebabs summed it up when he asked, “there’s a deeper underlying message to this music video, other than unity of brothers, that i can’t quite grasp… anyone??”
Best bit: the pass-the-wink circle game.
Director: David Garbett
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
Next… a horse, of course.
“Unity” was another top-10 hit for Nesian Mystik, and another of their singles built around the theme of Nesian Mystik. It’s an upbeat song with a bit of everything – brass, reggae, hip hop, acoustic guitar – all part of the Nesian experience.