"We Roll" by thaJoint: Official Video Premiere + INNERVIEW
- Jameka
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
thaJoint (Joey Golden x JohnNY UniteUs) debuts the visuals for their new single, "We Roll," a powerful track produced by Bon Jordy. Shot in the duo's longtime stomping grounds of Sunnyside, Queens, the video uses a dramatic sepia tone to capture the emotional duality of "playing the game," the weariness of the struggle paired with unwavering faith. This visual serves as an authentic window into their creative minds and steadfast message, giving fans the first look at their upcoming album, GAME 4. INNERVIEW + VIDEO BELOW.
JAMEKA The title, "We Roll," and knowing the history of a name like thaJoint, people might expect a certain kind of visual. But in the video, we see these recurring shots of rolling dice. Was that a deliberate choice to shift the meaning from "rolling up" to "rolling the dice," like taking chances in life?
JOEY GOLDEN Absolutely, a recurring theme with thaJoint is having real life raps. In life, we have to take chances. We’re going to have a lot of disguised "weed song title" names of songs that are real life raps. Definitely play into the theme of the words. And the listeners can hear the easter eggs and know these aren't "weed songs" at all.
JOHNNY UNITEUS The feel while making this song was more motivational than anything. The lyrics and title just came naturally.
JAMEKA What do the dice symbolize or represent to y'all? Is there a metaphor at play as an extension of the lyrical content of the song?
JOEY GOLDEN The dice represent a gamble. The verse is about where we come from, how we got to this "gambling" life. The risk we take to express ourselves in this artform. The gamble is to put yourself out there. Every time we step out with an art piece, a verse, a video its a gamble. Every time we roll out music it's just like a dice roll and the payout most times is the acknowledgement. To the point I'm willing to be an unfavorable type of character, the annoying guy trope like, "I'm back on the block. I want my hug".
JOHNNY UNITEUS Definitely that life is a game of chance. What decisions are you willing to make to further your being? Your lineage? What happens if you fail? You can’t win (or lose) without playing the game though. So, we roll.
JAMEKA
Are there other details woven in that the audience might miss on the first few watches?
JOHNNY UNITEUS Joe shot & edited the video so he has the best insight on this.
Photos by Noah Bility
JOEY GOLDEN
I would never want to give those away. My favorite parts of art is the interpretation of the fan or observer, follower etc. The fans' interpretation of lines, videos, songs, titles is just as important or valid as mine. It may not be true canon in the story I'm telling but if it hits you like that, that's for you.
JAMEKA The sepia tone is a major part of the video's aesthetic. At what point in the creative process did you all decide on that visual style, and what was the inspiration behind it?
JOEY GOLDEN That color style was to set the emotional tone. like, "melancholy in spite of... but still".
JOHNNY UNITEUS Definitely setting a mood and tone to encapsulate the weariness in “playing the game” with the unwavering force of faith to keep playing.
JAMEKA Where was the video shot? What does that area represent to y'all?
JOEY GOLDEN The video was shot around the corner from the studio we record in.
JOHNNY UNITEUS Queens, Joey’s neighborhood Sunnyside to be specific, lol. That’s where we started recording together in ‘07.
JAMEKA What is the importance of the music video in our current streaming-era?
JOEY GOLDEN Right now the music video is just as important as it ever was. Nowadays, there's very few artists that have the budget or acclaim of our favorite signed artist from the 90s-00s to have high quality current videos on a consistent basis. all for fans to be as passive as Instagram posts.
JOHNNY UNITEUS It’s still a great way to get your message heard if done potently. That definitely takes the right investing and timing but seeing how technology has expanded the possibilities - the creativity is going to get even crazier w/o needing a big budget. The music video will always be important no matter what it may turn into sooner or later. It’s a visual window into an artist's creative mind.
JAMEKA Tell me more about "We Roll," is it a standalone single or part of a larger project?
JOEY GOLDEN Part of an upcoming album, GAME 4. the sequel to our GAME 3 project. We are very sports oriented. Johnny and I grew up playing sports our whole life.
JOHNNY UNITEUS Hence my alias UniteUs (Unitas). GAME 4 is entirely produced by our homie, Queens producer Bon Jordy.
JAMEKA As artists, how do you feel this video represents your growth and evolution from your previous work?
JOEY GOLDEN Lately, we have done our own visuals. Not being traditionally trained in editing and videography is an advantage creatively. We have all the control to put whatever message, wherever we want without worrying about any rules to follow.
JOHNNY UNITEUS
It shows we’re steadfast in our message. We’ve done a lot of the lifting along our music journey but not without the help of each other and our circle of support.
JAMEKA What do you want the audience to take with them from this video?
JOHNNY UNITEUS That everything is possible and all is attainable.
JOEY GOLDEN I want the song to be stuck in their heads.
EVERYTHING JOEY GOLDEN: https://linktr.ee/JoeyGold24k EVERYTHING JOHNNY UNITEUS: https://uniteusall.bandcamp.com/ | https://www.instagram.com/johnny_uniteus/ | https://x.com/JohnNY_UniteUs Garfield Park by thaJoint REVIEW (2021)