The Bullitts
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- filmmaker
- director
- film composer
- actor
- Alternative hip hop
- alternative R&B
- alternative rock
- folk rock
- pop
- electronica
- Vocals
- guitar
- piano
- Kilburn Lane
- Giant Step
- Little League
Jeymes Samuel (born 27 July 1979), also known by his stage name The Bullitts, is a British singer-songwriter, music producer and filmmaker. His debut album, They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories..., was issued in 2013. The Harder They Fall, released in 2021, was his feature film directorial debut, which won him the 2021 BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
Life and career
Samuel initially embarked on a career in filmmaking, having shot his first reels at the age of eight. However he began making music at the age of 13. In the year 2000, he released "When It Rains", his debut single in the form of a 12", under his real name on Giant Step Records. On 1 January 2002, in conjunction with Little League Productions, he released Urban Folk Music: The Prequel. That same year, he contributed background vocals on the song "The Proud", from American rapper Talib Kweli's debut album, Quality. In 2004, he wrote "Serenade", for Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini's 2005 album Fisherman's Woman. Little League Productions later debuted Samuel's new moniker and released his single "The Bullitts Theme" in 2007.
In 2009, Samuel wrote and co-produced three songs on fellow British singer Mr Hudson's album Straight No Chaser, namely "Straight No Chaser", "Everything Is Broken" (featuring Kid Cudi) and "Time”. In March 2010, he joined a choir called The Purple, The People, The Plastic Eating People. The choir contributed background vocals on the songs "Some Kind of Nature" (featuring Lou Reed) and "Pirate Jet", from the third album by Gorillaz, Plastic Beach (2010).
In 2010, Samuel began uploading "FlixTapes" to YouTube under the pseudonym The Bullitts, named in honour of the 1968 film Bullitt; this was a series of videos in which he added new vocals to his favourite movie and television themes. The first episode, titled "Tales of the Unexpected", was released on 14 November 2010.[1]
"Close Your Eyes", the lead single from his then-upcoming album, premiered in April 2011.[2] The single features narration by American actress Lucy Liu and a verse from American rapper Jay Electronica. Its music video is a re-imagining of the Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel film, Un Chien Andalou. In May 2011, the album's second single, "Landspeeder", was released.[3][4] "Landspeeder" was later included on the original motion picture soundtrack to the British 2011 slasher film Demons Never Die.[5]
He issued "Weirdo" in July 2011, a short piece starring Jesse Williams.[6] In it, two young lovers in paper-bag masks spend a day on the streets of London before robbing a newsagents during a declaration of love. For the song "Run and Hide", by Jay Electronica, he directed a film noir in Paris, based around the actress Elisa Lasowski.[7] Samuel played at The Big Chill music festival on 6 August 2011; he was joined onstage by Liu, Electronica and English actor Idris Elba.[8]
The album's third single, titled "Supercool", was premiered on Lowe's show on 4 October 2011.[9] Its accompanying music video featured he dressed as a homeless individual being harassed by someone filming him against his will; during this he bumps into actress Rosario Dawson, and the pair end up having a dance off on the streets of Soho.[10] In 2011, he wrote "Wonderful Life", alongside Estelle Swaray, for Swaray's third album All of Me (2012). In late 2012, he was handpicked by Baz Luhrmann and Jay-Z to be Executive Music Consultant for the soundtrack to the film The Great Gatsby (2013).[11][12]
In early 2013, Samuel wrote, directed and scored the short film titled They Die By Dawn, with an all star cast that includes Michael K. Williams, Erykah Badu, Isaiah Washington, Jesse Williams and Rosario Dawson. The film is set in Langston, Oklahoma in 1890 and is a gun-slinging, black cowboy western.[13] Samuel's first album under the moniker The Bullitts, is titled They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories... and was released on 9 July 2013. The album was produced entirely by himself and features guest appearances from Jay Electronica, Lucy Liu, Mos Def, Rosario Dawson, Doxi Jones and Tori Amos.[14]
In 2021, he directed and co-wrote The Harder They Fall, a revisionist western starring Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, and RJ Cyler. The film, which was initially titled The Notorious Nine, was in development for several years.[15]
In 2022, Netflix announced that Samuel will direct the feature film adaptation of Irredeemable and Incorruptible.[16] In March 2022, it was announced American musician Kid Cudi would direct a film titled Teddy, which would be executive produced by Samuel, alongside Jay-Z and James Lassiter.[17]
Artistry
Samuel is on record saying “As a musician, I've always regarded myself as, at root, a folk musician. My voice and my acoustic guitar.”[18] There is a cinematic element to his music and he has created a short film to accompany most of his releases.[19][20]
In a November 2021 interview, Samuel said “My influences musically go back further than time itself. If I'm outside the house, I'm listening to Wu-Tang Clan and Mobb Deep and Jay-Z and Nas. If I'm inside the house, I'm listening to Crosby, Stills and Nash, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne. So my brain is always cooking everything together in both film and music and drawing from all of my influences, and bringing them into the present.”[18]
Personal life
Samuel's older brother is Henry Samuel, better known as Seal. His mother, Adebisi Ogundeji, is Nigerian, and his father, Francis Samuel, is Afro-Brazilian.[21]
Discography
The Bullitts discography | |
---|---|
Studio albums | 1 |
Music videos | 7 |
Singles | 9 |
Soundtrack albums | 1 |
Mixtapes | 1 |
The discography of The Bullitts consists of one studio album, one soundtrack album, one mixtape and nine singles.
Studio albums
Title | Album details |
---|---|
They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories... |
|
Soundtrack albums
Title | Album details |
---|---|
The Harder They Fall (Original Score)[A] |
|
Mixtapes
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Urban Folk Music: The Prequel[A] |
|
Singles
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"When It Rains"[A][24] | 2000 | non-album single |
"Who Write the Songs"[A][25] (featuring Canibus) | 2003 | Urban Folk Music: The Prequel |
"Baby Don't Cry"[A][26] (featuring Kool G Rap) | ||
"The Myspace Song"[A][27] | 2006 | non-album singles |
"The Bullitts Theme"[28] | 2007 | |
"Close Your Eyes"[29] (featuring Lucy Liu and Jay Electronica) | 2011 | They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories... |
"Landspeeder"[30] | ||
"Supercool"[31] | 2012 | |
"World Inside Your Rainbow"[32] |
Guest appearances
Title | Year | Album | Artist(s) |
---|---|---|---|
"When It Rains (Restless Soul Mix)"[33][A] | 2001 | Sessions: Volume One | Ron Trent, Felix Hopkins |
"Who Write the Songs"[A] | 2003 | Late Night Tales: Sly & Robbie | Sly & Robbie, Canibus |
"Too Much Drama"[34][A] | 2004 | Undercover Cuts | Brooklyn B.L.E.S.S. |
"Democracy Leaders"[34][A] | 2006 | Fight the Power | — |
"Striptease"[35][A] | Yam Who Revue | Yam Who? | |
"Bullitts Theme"[36] | 2007 | Walk Tall, Kick Ass, Love Music | — |
"Bulletproof"[37] | Help George Tabb! Vol. 1 | — | |
"Fade Away"[38][A] | 2009 | Loss 4 Wordz | Scratch |
"Run and Hide"[39] | 2020 | Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn) | Jay Electronica |
"No Turning Around"[A] | 2021 | The Harder They Fall (The Motion Picture Soundtrack) | — |
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m as Jeymes Samuel
Production discography
Track(s) | Year | Credit | Artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|
12. "Serenade" | 2005 | Producer, songwriter | Emilíana Torrini | Fisherman's Woman |
08. "Bullitts Theme" | 2007 | Producer, songwriter | Various artists | Walk Tall, Kick Ass, Love Music |
04. "Straight No Chaser" | 2009 | Producer, songwriter | Mr Hudson | Straight No Chaser |
11. "Everything Is Broken" | ||||
13. "Time" | Songwriter | |||
08. "Mr. Grin" | 2011 | Producer, songwriter | The Feeling | Together We Were Made |
10. "Wonderful Life" | 2012 | Producer, songwriter | Estelle | All of Me |
06. "Dinner at Tiffany's" | 2020 | Producer, songwriter | Jay Electronica | Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn) |
16. "10,000 Lotus Petals" | ||||
All tracks | 2021 | Producer, songwriter | Various artists | The Harder They Fall (The Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
Filmography
Films
Title | Year | Credited as | Studio | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Writer | Director | Producer | Composer | Actor | ||||
They Die by Dawn[40] | 2013 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Film Village Corporation | Short film |
The Great Gatsby | No | No | No | Yes | No | Village Roadshow Pictures / Red Wagon Entertainment | Executive music consultant | |
JAY-Z: Legacy[41] | 2017 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Little Minx Films | Short film |
Arctic Dogs | 2019 | No | No | No | Yes | No | AMBI Media Group / AIC Studios / Assemblage Entertainment / Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures | Executive music producer |
The Harder They Fall | 2021 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Netflix / Overbrook Entertainment | Feature film debut |
The Book of Clarence | 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Legendary Pictures / Westbrook Studios | |
Teddy | 2025 | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Netflix / Bron Studios / Mad Solar |
Music videos
- As lead artist
Title | Year | Director(s) |
---|---|---|
"Close Your Eyes" (featuring Lucy Liu and Jay Electronica) | 2010 | Jeymes Samuel[42][43][44] |
"Weirdo" | 2011 | |
"Landspeeder" | David S. Blanco and Matt Law[45] | |
"Those Silly Names" | Jeymes Samuel[46][44][47] | |
"Supercool" | 2012 | |
"World Inside Your Rainbow" |
- As featured artist
Title | Year | Director(s) |
---|---|---|
"Run and Hide" (Jay Electronica featuring The Bullitts) | 2011 | Jeymes Samuel[48] |
Awards and nominations
Award | Year | Work/Recipient(s) | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
African-American Film Critics Association | 2022 | The Harder They Fall | Best Picture | Won | [49] |
Best Director | Won | ||||
Best Ensemble | Won | ||||
The Harder They Fall (The Motion Picture Soundtrack) (with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi) | Best Music | Won | |||
British Academy Film Awards | 2022 | The Harder They Fall | Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer | Won | [50] |
Black Reel Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Film | Nominated | [51] | |
Outstanding Director | Won | ||||
Outstanding Screenplay, Adapted or Original | Nominated | ||||
Outstanding Emerging Director | Won | ||||
Outstanding Original Score | Won | ||||
"Guns Go Bang" (with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi) | Outstanding Original Song | Nominated | |||
"The Harder They Fall" (with Jay-Z and Koffee) | Nominated | ||||
Critics' Choice Movie Awards | 2022 | "Guns Go Bang" (with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi) | Best Song | Nominated | [52] |
Critics' Choice Super Awards | 2022 | The Harder They Fall | Best Action Movie | Nominated | [53] |
Denver Film Festival | 2021 | Best Original Score | Nominated | [54] | |
"Guns Go Bang" (with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi) | Best Original Song | Nominated | |||
Detroit Film Critics Society | 2021 | The Harder They Fall | Best Screenplay | Nominated | [55] |
Georgia Film Critics Association | 2022 | Best Original Score | Nominated | ||
"Guns Go Bang" (with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi) | Best Original Song | Nominated | |||
Hollywood Critics Association Awards | 2022 | The Harder They Fall | Best Action Film | Won | [56] |
Hollywood Music in Media Awards | 2021 | "Guns Go Bang" (with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi) | Best Original Song in a Feature Film | Nominated | [57] |
Houston Film Critics Society | 2022 | The Harder They Fall | Best Original Score | Nominated | [58] |
"Guns Go Bang" (with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi) | Best Original Song | Nominated | |||
NAACP Image Awards | 2022 | The Harder They Fall | Outstanding Motion Picture | Won | [59] |
Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture) | Won | ||||
The Harder They Fall (The Motion Picture Soundtrack) (with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi) | Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album | Won | |||
Satellite Awards | 2022 | The Harder They Fall | Best Original Score | Nominated | [60] |
References
- ^ TheBullittsTV (14 November 2010). "THE BULLITTS & PASSION PIT- TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED – The FlixTape. EPISODE 1" – via YouTube.
- ^ Cochrane, Greg. "Introducing…The Bullitts". BBC. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
- ^ "Hottest Record – The Bullitts – Landspeeder" 3 May 2011, BBC web site
- ^ NME. "NME Bullitts article". The Bullitts to release debut single featuring Jay Electronica and Lucy Liu – video. NME. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
- ^ "Album Search for "demons never die original motion picture soundtrack"". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ^ "The Bullitts – Weirdo" 8 July 2011, Youtube
- ^ "The Bullitts & Jay Electronica "Run & Hide"" 28 July 2011, Complex web site
- ^ "The Bullitts debut at The Big Chill 2011" Archived 12 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine 4 August 2011, Virtual Festivals web site
- ^ "Hottest Record – The Bullitts – Supercool" 4 October 2011, BBC web site
- ^ "The Bullitts – Supercool" 4 January 2012, Youtube
- ^ Ramirez, Erika (31 December 2012). "Jay-Z, The Bullitts to Score 'The Great Gatsby'". Billboard. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
- ^ Vena, Jocelyn; Horowitz, Josh (29 April 2013). "Beyonce's 'Back To Black' Helps Make 'The Great Gatsby' A Bit 'Darker'". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "Song Premiere: The Bullitts Merges Country to Hip-Hop in 'They Die By Dawn'". Rolling Stone. 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ a b "They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories – Album by The Bullitts". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ^ Obenson, Tambay (13 November 2021). "'The Harder They Fall': 6 Other Films to Watch If You Liked Netflix's Black Western". IndieWire. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ Perine, Aaron (17 March 2022). "Netflix Producing Irredeemable & Incorruptible Superhero Movie". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ "Kid Cudi to Write, Direct and Star in Netflix's 'Teddy,' Produced by Jeymes Samuel and Jay-Z". 22 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Director Jeymes Samuel on the often ignored history of Black cowboys". 9 November 2021.
- ^ "'The Harder They Fall': 3 reasons why the Idris Elba starrer cannot be missed". 2 November 2021.
- ^ "Biz Markie, Masta Ace to Kick off Summerstage Performances at von King Park in Bed-Stuy". 15 June 2015.
- ^ "Jay-Z and Seal's Brother Score 'The Great Gatsby'". 2 January 2013.
- ^ "Roc Nation & Geneva Club Release 'The Harder They Fall' Original Score". 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Album Search for "the prequel"". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ^ "Jeymes Samuel – When It Rains". Discogs. 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Jeymes Samuel – Who Write The Songs". Discogs. 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Jeymes Samuel – Baby Don't Cry / Winterfall". Discogs.
- ^ "The Myspace Song – Single by Jeymes Samuel". iTunes Store. Apple. 28 May 2006. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ "The Bullitts – The Bullitts Theme". Discogs. 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Close Your Eyes – EP by The Bullitts". iTunes Store. Apple. 3 April 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ ""Landspeeder" – Single by The Bullitts". iTunes Store. Apple. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ "Supercool – EP by The Bullitts". iTunes Store. Apple. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ ""World Inside Your Rainbow" – Single by The Bullitts". iTunes Store. Apple. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ "Giant Step Records Sessions, Vol. 1 – Ron Trent – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ a b "Various – Fight The Power". Discogs. 25 September 2006.
- ^ "Yam Who Revue by Yam Who? on Apple Music". iTunes. 17 September 2006.
- ^ "Album Search for "walk tall kick ass love music"". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ^ "Various – Help George Tabb! Vol. 1". Discogs. 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Loss 4 Wordz by Scratch". iTunes. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ "Kanye West, Jay-Z, Diddy to appear on Jay Electronica's long-awaited debut album". NME. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ "Erykah Badu's Film "They die by Dawn" is Exclusively Streaming on Tidal Right Now". 8 April 2015.
- ^ "Jay Z "Legacy" Starring Susan Sarandon, Ron Perlman, Jesse Williams! (Short Film)". 22 December 2017.
- ^ "THE BULLITTS starring JAY ELECTRONICA & LUCY LIU- CLOSE YOUR EYES". YouTube. 2 December 2010.
- ^ "The Bullitts - Weirdo". 18 July 2011.
- ^ a b "The Bullitts - Supercool (Starring Rosario Dawson)". 18 January 2012.
- ^ "The Bullitts - Landspeeder (Official Video)". YouTube. 15 August 2011.
- ^ "The Bullitts - Those Silly Names". YouTube. 31 August 2011.
- ^ "The Bullitts - World Inside Your Rainbow". YouTube. 26 June 2012.
- ^ "Video: The Bullitts & Jay Electronica "Run & Hide" (Short Film)". Complex Networks.
- ^ "Aafca Awards - Aafca". 19 May 2020.
- ^ "Congratulations to Jeymes Samuel for winning Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 2022 BAFTA Awards". 13 March 2022.
- ^ "The 2021 Black Reel Awards (BRAs) Nominations". Next Best Picture. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
- ^ "Film Nominations Announced for the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards". criticschoice.com. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ Couch, Aaron (22 February 2022). "'Spider-Man,' 'Shang-Chi' Lead Critics Choice Super Awards Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- ^ "44th Denver Film Festival Homepage". Denver Film. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ Jamieson, Doug (6 December 2021). "Cyrano Named Best Picture by Detroit Film Critics Society". filmotomy.com.
- ^ "The 5th Annual HCA Awards". Awardsdaily - The Oscars, the Films and everything in between. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ Tangcay, Jazz (4 November 2021). "Beyonce, Van Morrison, Hans Zimmer Receive Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on 13 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ Darling, Cary (3 January 2022). "'The Power of the Dog' takes a bite out of Houston Film Critics Society's nominations". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ Lewis, Hilary (18 January 2022). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Harder They Fall,' 'Insecure' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- ^ "Power of the Dog, Belfast Lead Nominations for IPA Satellite Awards". December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
External links
- Official website
- The Bullitts at AllMusic
- Jeymes Samuel at AllMusic
- The Bullitts discography at Discogs
- Jeymes Samuel discography at Discogs
- The Bullitts at IMDb
- The Bullitts discography at MusicBrainz
- Jeymes Samuel discography at MusicBrainz
- They Die By Dawn
- v
- t
- e
Carl Foreman Award
- Richard Kwietniowski (1998)
- Lynne Ramsay (1999)
- Paweł Pawlikowski (2000)
- Joel Hopkins, Nicola Usborne (2001)
- Asif Kapadia (2002)
- Emily Young (2003)
- Amma Asante (2004)
- Joe Wright (2005)
- Andrea Arnold (2006)
- Matt Greenhalgh (2007)
- Steve McQueen (writer/director) (2008)
- Duncan Jones (writer/director) (2009)
- Chris Morris (writer/director) (2010)
- Paddy Considine (director); Diarmid Scrimshaw (producer) (2011)
- Bart Layton (director); Dimitri Doganis (producer) (2012)
- Kieran Evans (writer/director) (2013)
- Stephen Beresford (writer); David Livingstone (producer) (2014)
- Naji Abu Nowar (writer/director); Rupert Lloyd (producer) (2015)
- Babak Anvari (writer/director); Emily Leo, Oliver Roskill, Lucan Toh (producers) (2016)
- Rungano Nyoni (writer/director); Emily Morgan (producer) (2017)
- Michael Pearce (writer/director); Lauren Dark (producer) (2018)
- Mark Jenkin (writer/director); Kate Byers, Lynn Waite (producers) (2019)
- Remi Weekes (writer/director) (2020)
- Jeymes Samuel (writer/director) (2021)
- Charlotte Wells (writer/director) (2022)
- Savanah Leaf (writer/director/producer); Shirley O'Connor (producer); Medb Riordan (producer) (2023)