On Ewube's Video Work with Adrenaline: Camera, Craft, and Genre
A critical review of a music video collaboration between vocalist Ewube and cinematographer Adrenaline, examining both the technical execution of the shoot and Ewube's artistic positioning within contemporary reggae-dancehall.
The original title of this post was 'Ewube be get for show skin for adrenaline for wipe mud for yi camera lens.'
I have worked with Adrenaline before and we all know his core strength is in his camera movements as opposed to his picture quality. I thought he had it figured out when he did the video for Mathematik de Petit Pay's 'Dans la vie' but up till today, I still think he hasn't quite figured it out as his inconsistency with picture quality proves.
Unlike Dr Nkeng and the obscure Yonka who opt for a cooler temperature (on the blue side), Adrenaline likes to go warm (yellow) with his colors and I think he over does it quite too often. I am always like "Adrenaline dan rub mud ontop lens again."
In this new photography work we get from Adrenaline, the picture quality is much better with sharper imagery. Even though he continues to lean on the warm side of things, he was closer to middle ground this time around.I wonder how much the involvement of Didi Blaise and Artnurin on the directing end had to do with the improved video quality. The frames and cuts are PERFECT. I could only take issue with the flaky attempt at reproducing scenes from Beyoncé's 'Drunk in Love'
I have been onto Ewube since 2014, first discovering her with 'Party All Night.' Like most modern day female vocalist in Cameroon, she has a narrow vocal range but she plays quite well within it.
The only reason Ewube is not a superstar is her choice of music. I understand she must have had a lot of reggae/dancehall influences but the genre has evolved and her management team needs to revisit the drawing board. I'd tell them to listen to the recent instrumentals used by artists like Vybz Kartel, Popcaan,and Alkaline for guidance or take Wizkid's 'Daddy Yo' and put that thing on loop till they get where the genre now stands. It's more like pop with a reggae infusion - the rhythm has changed.
And guys there's a lot of teasing but at 3:33 you get your best look.
This piece reflects on the Cameroonian music video and production landscape circa 2017, when genre boundaries between reggae, dancehall, and pop were actively shifting globally, and when questions of artistic direction and production quality were live concerns for local creators.
The review models a form of engaged, specificity-rich local criticism that takes craft seriously—technical choices in color grading, frame composition, directorial input—while also diagnosing broader strategic questions about an artist's genre positioning and career trajectory. It remains a useful artifact of how peer criticism operated in Cameroon's creative circles at that moment.