We know that Los Angeles, California produces top tier talent when it comes to Hip-Hop, so we won’t even start with the long list of MCs and beatmakers that comprise that grouping. Yet, we have to acknowledge that Jason “Problem” Martin is right on that list with the greats of his city. Beyond ghostwriting for legends and presenting a slew of mixtapes, which has lead to his trifecta of self-produced Selfish themed albums, Mr. “Whaaat!” (his signature catch phrase) is now in the cinematic realm with the release of the short film A Compton Story, exclusively released on the Tidal streaming platform.
Based on events that could be from his real life, Problem squeezes in the everyday occurrences that a black man can go through whether famous or infamous. “I wanted to do a comedy. I thought ‘some gangster movie’ would be expected from me,” explains Problem. “I grew up loving stuff like Martin, Friday, Purple Rain…so those projects were my major inspirations and the blueprints to tell my own story, A Compton Story.” Executive produced by Problem and President of the mighty Top Dawg Entertainment, Terrence “Punch” Henderson, A Compton Story twists and turns and features music that goes along with the scenes. It also debuts Problem’s newest single “Don’t Be Mad At Me.”
Watch the likes of Mike Epps, Jackie Long and Snoop Dogg enhance the visuals, along with the love of Problem’s life…we’ll let him tell you all about her.
————-
How did you go about casting your short film “Compton Story?”
The casting process for Compton Story was random as hell. It was a mix of people I’ve worked with or currently work with in some kind of capacity that was around during that month period that I was shooting. Once I drop the documentary to the film, you’ll see how random a lot of things ended up happening. It was a blessing. I just called up all my friends…I heard Deon Taylor say something, ‘Just work with who you fuck with.’ And that’s what I did, I just happen to have some real cool friends. Shout out to them for giving me their time and taking their time with me for this, cus it was a new process. I was dealing with some really high level people.
When did you meet the leading lady of the film, Daphne?
Me and Daphne met when I came back from Germany, I was one years old and I went to my Pa-Pa’s house and she lived three houses down. I been knowing Daphne since I was damn near born. I used to watch her down the street, I used to sneak in her house. Her Dad was one of my best friends on the block, he used to give me candy. He knew I loved his daughter. I used to tell her I was going to marry her when I was like four, five and six… I just been plotting on this for a long time. For us to kick back off when I’m grown, she went and had a fabulous life and went and did what I did, for us to reconnect right now is still strange to me. But you know on some confidence shit I told her, “I knew I was gonna get you.” So it’s funny man.
Is “Whaaaat!” your preverbal light blub saying when you come up with a genius idea?
Honestly, I would say “Whaaat!” to everything. It was just like my period to the end of the sentence or my exclamation point or whatever. I’d be sitting with the homies and somebody would say something funny I’d be like “Whaat” or if they did something crazy I’d say, “Whaaat!” But I was sittin’ with one of my partners at Diamond Life and he was like, “Aye man, why don’t you ever put one of those shits in your songs?” I’m like, “What?” He’s like, “That, the ‘What.’ Put that shit in your record.” Every record after that, I put “Whaaat!” in it and it just stuck.
“Compton Story” shows us just one day of the pressure it is to be a young successful black man in those L.A. streets. Do you feel or live as though every day is this hectic for you? And if so, how long before you realized these [L.A.] Valley streets are crazy as hell too?
It’s just hectic for any black man, let alone a successful one. Just the randomness of shit that can happen. Then especially if you came from an urban area or poverty stricken area, or low class area…and then to become successful you battle with the nuances of what you learned and what do you take and use in what situation is always the hardest parts for me. Like, ‘Do I use my Compton shit here? Or do I use my about to be 40 (years old) vibes?’ That’s the toughest part, knowing when to hit the gas and when to hit the brake.