August Alsina - Why I Do It (Explicit) ft. Lil Wayne

What this video is

Released August 28, 2015 as the lead single from August Alsina's sophomore album 'This Thing Called Life' (Def Jam, December 2015), 'Why I Do It' unites two New Orleans natives — Alsina and Lil Wayne — at a moment when Southern R&B-rap crossover acts were reclaiming commercial dominance. The video's meta-cinematic structure (a video shoot depicted within the video itself) reflects a mid-2010s trend of self-aware…

Why it matters

Represents the peak of mid-2010s Southern trap-influenced R&B, blending August Alsina's gritty, melodic vocal delivery with Lil Wayne's legacy Southern rap. The video's hybrid live-action/animation format and meta behind-the-scenes framing anticipated wider adoption of self-referential 'making-of'…

The director

Payne Lindsey is an American director, filmmaker, and podcast host born and raised in Kennesaw, Georgia. He obtained his first video camera at age 10 and began his career directing commercials, music videos, and short films — notably a prolific run of August…