Roger That

Album: We Are Young Money (2009)
Charted: 56
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the third single from We Are Young Money, the first collaboration studio album from Young Money Entertainment. The song features Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Tyga.
  • The song's music video, which pays homage to the graphic novel and movie Sin City, was released on March 1, 2010. Co-director David Rousseau told MTV News about it: "Jeff Panzer, the executive producer for all of the Cash Money videos, sent me the 'Roger That' track to sit with for a couple hours - and it really was a couple of hours because I had to get an idea back to him pretty quickly. We started texting back and forth and the idea to use 'Sin City' popped into my head and I came up with the concept. I thought of Sin City because it was so groundbreaking and I knew it'd be a great match, something different and edgy that people would remember. The idea was born in an hour."

    Rousseau then called on co-director Adam Rush and the pair began to develop the idea: "We discussed the concepts through style frames, which are mock-up images that show what the background would look like with Wayne, Nicki [Minaj] and Tyga," Rush explained. "When the artists came to set, they had already chosen their outfits and things, then we shot it all that day in Miami and the footage of them in front of the green screen was flown to Los Angeles where editors put together a rough cut of all the images. Then, after the rough cut was approved by the label, Universal, the film was shipped off to me so I could do the film's introductions, transitions, settings and background like the radar behind Tyga."
  • The video was filmed in front of a green screen, meaning the artists had to use their imaginations, as the images weren't created until post-production. Rousseau said: "Filming with them on the green screen and capturing their energy was great because they understood what we were trying to do. Green screen is hard sometimes because it takes a lot of imagination. We'll sometimes print out storyboards, which will have images close to what the screen will end up looking like to walk the artists through the idea. Nicki was great - I really enjoyed working with her. Tyga was great too. When artists are down to push the boundaries, that's awesome.

    On 'Roger That,' Nicki Minaj's delivery is almost comic book-like, and then Tyga and Wayne come in like they're rapping about fiction so the visual needed something out of the ordinary. The green screen was great because when you shoot on location, you're limited to what you see - but with green screen it's whatever you imagine, any scenario."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Martin Page

Martin PageSongwriter Interviews

With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside Story

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside StorySong Writing

The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."