Brittany “YB” Brand Speaks on Working with Dave East and Joe Budden

Brittany “YB” Brand Speaks on Working with Dave East and Joe Budden, Teaming Up With the Grass Route Podcast Team, Overcoming Her Industry Obstacles and More

With the visual aspect of our culture constantly evolving and getting better, I find it fascinating to speak with different people who are involved in that profession and grab their perspective from behind the lens. From doing small photoshoots to growing a brand that has become synonymous with working with the like’s of Joe Budden and Dave East, Brittany “YB” Brand continues to showcase how great she is from behind the camera.

I caught up with Brittany to talk about her inspirations, her camera work, how she was able to link up with Joe Budden and Dave East, her recent team up with Grass Route’s Podcast and much more in our full interview below.

1 – How did you get into doing photography and videography work?

There was always a camera around when I was growing up because my family loved taking pictures. In middle school, I joined the yearbook committee and when I turned 16 I saved my money to buy my first “professional” camera. Once I got to high school I started taking pictures at the football games and other sporting events, creating these pretty cool collages for my friends and teammates. As far as getting into it professionally was the summer of 2015. So much was going on in my life at that time, I’ll never forget sitting in my car outside of my boyfriend’s house feeling like everything was just going downhill. I received a DM from a Video Director who wrote me with interest in collaborating together. He gave me a call, and that next week I was at my first video shoot.

2 – What was the inspiration for you to get behind the camera?

My dad was definitely my inspiration to get behind the camera early on. Most recently I didn’t get my 2nd camera until last year. My first camera was stolen in 2014, so I didn’t pick up a camera again until 2017. Before that, I literally upgraded my iPhone to the 7 Plus just because the camera quality was insane for a smartphone. I started shooting videos on my phone, like the French Montana and A Boogie Concert at LIU, or even the Mary J Blige concert I attended at Foxwoods Casino. When I posted the videos on Instagram, people couldn’t believe it was shot on an iPhone. The only reason why I bought a camera was because after attending a few video shoots, and being apart of the production process, I found a love for editing. After becoming the companies main editor, I got comfortable working with quality footage from the same director each shoot. Until it was time for me to work with other directors and videographers, where I didn’t always like their style of shooting quite as much. It was difficult finding someone who could capture visuals the way I liked it, which kind of forced me to get behind the camera and learn how to do it myself. The first visual I ever captured on my own was a pool party I was invited to at Irv Gotti’s house. He had a few of his artist there, and they were playing their music, so I just started shooting. Then I got some dope moments of everyone getting hype to Meek Mill – The Intro. I put the clip on Instagram, and Irv reposted it. That was pretty dope.

3 – Which one of your professions do you enjoy more – doing photography or videography? Why?

I enjoy videography more. I’m pretty much involved in the entire process, from directing to shooting and then editing in post-production. Editing could be time-consuming but it’s actually my favorite part of a production. Being able to piece a story together, where it’s appealing to the eye and ear is not as easy as it seems. I like my work to always look clean, simple, but impactful. If you notice, my fonts are always pretty basic, I don’t use much effects and filters, because I love the organic feeling of visuals as if it was a reality. I love for everything to look cinematic, and as long as I have quality visuals and quality audio, I feel like I can piece together anything. I realized I loved videography more when I started editing wedding videos. It literally feels like you’re creating a fairytale for Disney. With weddings, I learned the importance of audio, whether it be using sound bites or instrumentals, but audio plays a big role in getting that feeling.

4 – In your opinion, why do you believe visuals, whether still shots or video, have become so important today?

In my opinion, visuals have become so important today because of how the dynamic of media has changed, and the power of social media. These companies are creating visual content for their audience because people absorb it better than they do with words. Most people’s attention spans are a lot shorter now of days, and there are many studies that prove the human brain processes information faster when it’s delivered visually. Speaking for myself, I remember information a lot more when there’s a video attached, or some form of visual presentation, whether it’s a graphic, animation, etc. It allows you to get creative with your marketing, and I definitely believe it’s become the most important form of communication.

5 – You’ve done so many different types of visual work from music videos, sporting events, recap videos, podcasts and so on. What would you say was your favorite moment to cover? Why?

My favorite moment to cover would have to have been the video production for Dave East- Type of Time (The first release). There are so many other great moments that happened in my career, but nothing in comparison to this project. Literally a day I could never forget. At that time, I was apart of a production team. We would always talk about an upcoming artist coming out of New York, and just by listening to their music we would casually create our own video treatments. Dave was one of my favorite underground artists, so of course, I wanted my team to shoot a video for him. I wish I could go into full detail about this whole story, but I’d literally be here all night and still miss a few parts. Long story short that shoot was a real team effort. From the location scouting to my partner Crash getting the Jeep, me getting a whole bunch of dirt bikes to come out the day after a blizzard in Harlem. It was an epic moment for me, it was the transition into my career where I learned how to wear multiple hats at once, and to know I was apart of the beginning middle and end to a project made me wanna do this for a living. We shot this video on a Sunday, I handed in the final edit that Tuesday, and it was released on XXL that Wednesday. That’s a 2-day turnaround, which seemed crazy at the time based on how the whole situation played out. All in all, that’s the type of worth ethic I want to bring to the table no matter what the project is. That was definitely my favorite moment.

6 – What are some of the challenges or obstacles that you’ve faced being that you’re a woman so involved in this industry?

I’ve seen both sides of how women can be treated in this industry, but I think in a predominantly male environment your going to experience a lot more challenges than you’d intend. Whether it be your age, gender, ethnicity, etc. As long as you stay true to yourself, and remain focused on what you want to achieve, your work ethic will speak for itself. Through all the obstacles I’ve faced, I never let it hold me back from reaching my full potential.

7 – Being that there aren’t too many women out there that do what you do, have you ever had any moments of self-doubt or fear? How were able to overcome that?

The more I accomplish the more I get over my self- doubt and fear. I never want to be in an atmosphere where I feel like I don’t belong there, or my voice isn’t being heard. I learned to only work on projects I’m passionate about, rather than chasing a check. I overcome doubt and fear by keeping positive people around me, and people that keep it 100% real with me.

8 – You recently teamed up with Brandon “Killa BH” Hall and Erin Simon to join their Grass Route Podcast team. How did that happen?

It’s funny how that happened. I always say I kind of just speak things into existence. I had tuned into one of their episodes on YouTube, and when I watch content I always think of what could be added to the production. Those are things I often think to myself. I was familiar with Brandon “Killah BH” from his skits on Joe Budden: Mood Muzik projects, and from seeing him perform at his shows. I had the pleasure of attending 2 of Joe’s concerts at B.B. Kings in NYC where I formally met Brandon. Fast forward to now we both followed each other on Instagram and I had just posted my promotion video for my video production. In hindsight, He and Erin were looking for a videographer to join their podcast, so when he sent me a message inquiring business, it was a no-brainer for me. Within the next few days, I began shooting their podcast. I met Erin that first day, along with a few other team members and everyone was super cool, and pretty much made me “Apart of the Family” (which is one of their sayings for the brand) right away. As soon as they posted it on their Instagram that I had joined the team, everyone was texting me congratulating me like wow that’s a big move. Erin’s name was definitely brought up a lot in terms of good business, and just being an all around good person. I knew I made the right decision.

9 – Aside from the fact that you’re a videographer and photographer, you’re also a graphic designer. It is a visual aspect but \what made you get into that?

Graphic design is actually where it all started. Like in 2001, my sister had brought home her first computer from college. It was the first few times I used the computer by myself and she would open up paint for me. I was literally always creating graphics on Windows Paint. Where eventually as I grew older, and I’m literally growing with the internet; I started researching everything on google. My sister would always make her own cd’s, so as a teen I was always on Limewire downloading music and I noticed there was an option to download software. I started downloading programs like Corel paint shop pro and eventually photoshop. In 2007, when MySpace was super popular, that was really my first hustle. Creating myspace layouts for my friends and teaching myself HTML coding. It was pretty cool, I was literally creating a couple of pages a day. My friends would give me their account information, and I would set up their myspace layout. Most of my friends were doing music and rapping, so I started creating their mixtape covers. After graduating high school, and not getting accepted into any of the art schools I applied for, I pretty much got discouraged. I started working more and I didn’t have much time for my art. Until the popularity of Tumblr and Instagram. As that platform grew, I started showcasing my art again, and I would always create my own covers for new music releases hoping the artist would pick it up or repost it. There have been times that it happened. So graphic design was pretty much my introduction to music, video, and photography. Now I just combine it all together.

10 – What is one talent of yours that you want to expand on or at least give a bit more attention to this year?

I wanna give more attention to my photography. I feel like I have a good eye for capturing moments, but I’d love for my pictures to look more professional in quality, and that just comes with investing in more equipment. Right now I’ve just been building as a videographer, so the equipment I use for videos is not typically the same camera/equipment I would use for photography. So I’m definitely going to start investing in that side more.

11 – What valuable piece of advice have you received based on your craft?

A valuable piece of advice I have received was from Misa Hylton. We were meeting at Starbucks to go over a project we are now currently working on together called “The Secret Fashion Project”. As we spoke, and I told her a lil bit about myself she was telling me how she sees so much of herself in me. I mean, when she said that, we are talking about Misa Hylton. Automatically I’m like I can’t wait to tell my sisters. Cause they are the only reason I would know who she is, and the era she grew up in. A lot of her early success came from being at the right place at the right time, and that’s how I feel about a lot of the projects I had the opportunity of being involved in. She told me, it’s not about just being at the right place at the right time, you have to be the right person. And that stuck with me since that day. From then on, at any moment I feel self-doubt, I remind myself I’m where I am because I belong here.

12 – If you could shoot any type of visual piece with anybody you can think of who would that be? Why?

I think it would have to be Spike Lee. Most of my favorite movies are directed by him; Crooklyn, Do The Right Thing, He Got Game … like I can go on and on, and these are all independent films. Before I even got into film he was just such an inspiration to me. One of my favorite pair of Jordan’s from my collection are the Spiz-ike’s, and growing up as a Knicks Fan always seeing him sitting courtside, it’s just like HE IS NEW YORK. I would take pictures with my hat raised and the glasses just like he did (I know corny, but who hasn’t done that lol). I just think he’s the perfect representation of being successful and Black in this film industry because, to be honest, we don’t get enough credit. So I’d love to be apart of a project he directs, or even an interview. I mean I literally just had a dream about him the other day, so I already think something is going to happen soon. I feel it.

13 – What’s next for Brittany Brand for 2018?

I’ve already done the unthinkable, so I can’t imagine what’s next for me in 2018. I never even thought I’d be in the position I am in today. I’ve transformed from a graphic designer to a film editor, to a director, and to a videographer. I literally can’t imagine what’s next, but I know whatever it is it won’t be a disappointment.