The Nerds in Babeland resident music nerd (that’s me!) recently had a chance to interview Emii, star of the music video for Mr. Romeo feat. Snoop Dogg! The video intrigues me because of the obvious video game influence (plus it’s damn catchy, if I do say so myself). We talked to Emii about martial arts, working with Snoop Dogg, and general nerdiness. Hope you enjoy her answers as much as I did.
1) I hear you’re trained in martial arts. What type are you trained in and how long have you been doing it for?
It’s been about thirteen years since I began, but I’ve definitely taken breaks since music has always been #1. I’ve taken Wing Chun, Northern Shaolin, American Kenpo, and Tae Kwon Do. I am currently training in Muay Thai and Boxing and would love to try Brazilian Jiujitsu when I can make the time for it. I’ve always had a passion for training and learning about different martial arts styles.
Some videos of my current training:
1) …up with the sun, there’s no school like old school.
2) Even early mornings can be fun.
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2) You also used to work in a comic shop. What was that experience like for you? How have you found it connects to your music, if at all?
When I worked at the comic book shop in NYC, I would work all day, go to the studio to write and record all night, and then I would head straight back to work at the comic book shop the next morning. Comic books were a huge source of inspiration for me when I was young, and they still influence me positively today.
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3) You worked on the music video for “Mr. Romeo” with the legendary Snoop Dogg, Can you tell us how that came to be and what it was like? Any good stories from working with him?
After writing “Mr. Romeo”, my producer and I were tossing around the idea of someone adding a bit of magic to it. Snoop’s name had come up, but really… how the hell do you get in touch with Snoop Dogg? Well, insanely enough, the day I was recording master vocals for the song, the owner of the recording studio came in and he loved the vibe. He happened to have Snoop’s manager’s number in his phone. From there, Snoop heard the track, loved it, and here we are today. Snoop was a pleasure to work with and the coolest cat I’ve met in music so far.
4) The video was designed to look like the Final Fantasy video game series. I will admit not knowing much about hip-hop, but I would imagine this is quite unusual. Whose idea was that and how easy was it to implement?
Actually, much of my fashion sense is influenced heavily by Final Fantasy, Assassin’s Creed, and other similarly-styled video game / science fiction creations. The music video itself was vaguely aesthetically inspired by the 1986 fantasy film “Legend”. I wanted to create a music video that not only told the story of “Mr. Romeo”, but reflected on my own personality and interests. Thankfully, my team is also extremely creative and together we were able to create something that I am proud to share with my beautiful fans.
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5) I heard you once held the Hammer of Thor during a tour of Marvel Headquarters. Can you tell us anything about the tour or how the experience felt?
For one, I really did not want to let go of that hammer! Never in my entire life had I imagined that I would get that experience, and I was in grateful awe the entire time I was there. Agent M showed me around and introduced me to some amazing people, and at the conclusion of the tour my publicist looked at me and said, “That was a highlight of your career, wasn’t it?”. Yes, yes it was.
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6) I like to end every interview with this last question – Here at Nerds in Babeland we like to nerd-out about things. What is something you like to nerd-out about?
ANYTHING Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, video games (mostly old-school Nintendo/PS2/PS3/XBox 360), sci-fi/fantasy/horror novels, anything martial arts related, and most definitely anything technology. I think that covers the basics for me.
