St. Joseph native films Tech N9ne and Lil Wayne music video
ST. JOSEPH, MO (News-Press NOW) -- A native of St. Joseph and alumnus of Central High School, has emerged as a rising force behind the lens, recently serving as director of photography on the new music video “YODA” by Tech N9ne featuring Lil Wayne.
Jackson Montemayor, who is related to News-Press NOW's Cameron Montemayor, shares his experience working on set with the two famed rappers.
"It was a great experience and a great reminder that I'm doing the right thing," said Montemayor.
His cinematography journey started when he was young, shooting videos with his family through VHS. He would then graduate from Central High School, where he filmed video announcements and found a passion for editing videos as well.
"I just noticed that I really enjoyed doing it, but quite honestly, I didn't think of it as like a viable career choice at the time. Hollywood and filmmaking just seemed so far away," Montemayor said.
“YODA,” a standout from Tech N9ne’s latest album 5816 Forest, dropped June 26, featuring Lil Wayne, and quickly gained attention online for its "intergalactic" shots.
Montemayor recalls the experience working with Lil Wayne and Tech N9ne as "collaborative and unique".
The video’s sci‑fi theme is complete with the song’s playful lyricism as Tech N9ne raps in Yoda‑styled structure and Lil Wayne delivers a signature hook about being “green like Yoda.”
"They're both incredible artists," Montemayor said. "They both work very differently, but in really impressive ways. Tech N9ne really focuses on his lyricism. He really takes time to write all of his lyrics, and it comes through in the way that his writings come about. Whereas, Lil Wayne really just works on an instinct and he has such a knack for that and I really got to see that on set."
In an interview, Montemayor broke down each intergalactic shot and his reason behind every choice.
"They crash land and so the idea is that they're trying to get this ship back working again," Montemayor said. "The way that they get this ship working again is they have to work out their lyrics properly."
With 2.3 million views in 10 days on YouTube, Montemayor is eager to tell more young cinematographers in the community to get in where they can, hoping to inspire a new wave of storytellers from his hometown.
"The big thing is just getting involved in the community, finding where the filmmaking is happening," Montemayor said. "There are different filmmaking Facebook groups to get involved with and learning and picking people's brains."
As he prepares for his next projects, Montemayor said the biggest takeaway is working with each artist individually and allowing their craft to shine through in the cinematography.
"As long as you can convey that to people who you want to work with, that you're hardworking and that you're passionate, they're going to give you an opportunity and they're going to teach you and you're going to learn a lot that way."
Montemayor's journey can be followed on his Instagram @jack.the.dp or online at jmontemayor.com.
