BIGBABYGUCCI

BIGBABYGUCCI is a North Carolina-born rapper, producer, and independent artist known for pairing melodic, adaptable vocals with hard-hitting production and unexpected changes in sound. Emerging from the SoundCloud era, he built a prolific catalog by moving freely between Southern rap, trap, alternative influences, and emotionally driven songwriting rather than allowing one style to define him.

Projects including Send Help, Teen Spirit, Isolated, 1 Night I Took Acid, Human, Colors, and Baby 5 reflect an artist continually reshaping his sound while maintaining the instinctive melodies and hooks that first connected him with listeners. That independent spirit also led him to establish Better Temperatures, a creative platform created to help his friends and collaborators develop their music on a professional and global scale.

I met BIGBABYGUCCI during the same Los Angeles trip that brought our crew together for Felly’s “Pot of Gold” production. While we were already immersed in that wider creative community, Keaton D. Jones received the opportunity to direct the official video for “Pressure + Layers,” a song from BIGBABYGUCCI’s 2021 album 1 Night I Took Acid.

Keaton directed the production and handled the edit, visual effects, and color. I handled all still photography for the project while also providing production assistance throughout the shoot. I documented BIGBABYGUCCI, the cast, the crew, and the visual world developing around the song while helping wherever another set of hands was needed. The project credits my still photography alongside Adrian Mejia’s VHS footage and additional motion footage captured by Chevy Wilkins.

The production brought together a larger group of performers and Los Angeles creatives, giving the video a theatrical, layered energy that matched both the title and Keaton’s vision. Fish produced the song, Alex Oren created sound design for the video, and Joe Dirt handled the mix, while Dorm Room Entertainment and Better Temperatures helped bring the collaboration together.

What stays with me is how naturally the opportunity unfolded. We traveled to Los Angeles for one production and suddenly found ourselves creating another complete visual with an independent artist whose work had already developed a devoted audience. These photographs preserve BIGBABYGUCCI in front of the camera, but they also document the experimentation, trust, and collective effort required to turn “Pressure + Layers” into its own visual world.