‘Tanning Of America’ Directors On How Hip-Hop Is Changing America
XXL: What were some of the most surprising things you came across while making it?
AS: Not shocking, really, but one of the things that Billy and I found interesting was that Billy and I would sit in the office and see how Stoute kind of followed his timeline in his book. We looked at it as one of our jobs, to kind of round it out and fill it in with politics and society and larger cultural events. So one of the things that was most fun about this was kind of connecting those dots. I remember in Episode 2, we have the Rodney King verdict, or the Rodney King case to begin with, leading into the election of Bill Clinton. Then, by the time you get to Episode 4, you're at Hurricane Katrina leading into the election of President Obama. I think looking at those kinds of macro events that don’t necessarily have a direct connection to pop culture, I think stitching those together was the most fun.BC: I don’t know if I would call this shocking, but perhaps provocative: revisiting some of the Norman Lear sitcoms and how they so candidly dealt with race and racism. Like All In The Family and The Jeffersons. How just overt but genuinely moving and funny they are. You watch those clips and you say, “Shit, they couldn’t do a show like this now.” It’s sad in a way that you couldn’t, but they are provocative in a way. And seeing some of the overt racism during the protests. White people coming out in the streets, shouting at protesters telling them to “go back where they came from.” I don’t think you would see any of that today.