LIL' X
Directing Award-Winning
Videos in Canada and the U.S.
By Theresa Micallef
Critically acclaimed music video director Little X - born Julien Lutz, aka Lil’X, and most recently known as Mr. X – sat on a panel alongside hip hop notables Remy Ma, Chris Brown and MC Lyte, among others, as a participant in Russell Simmons’ “Get Your Money Right” conference that took place at Ryerson University this past fall. This is just one of the various ways the Trinidadian-Canadian artist chooses to give back to the community that raised him and first whet his appetite for all things hip hop.
X attended both Mayfield Secondary and North Park Secondary in the Toronto suburb of Brampton before making his way to New York at the age of 18 to work under the tutelage of legendary hip hop video director Hype Williams. He went from intern to storyboard artist to director of Canadian classics, including “Northern Touch” (Rascalz feat. Choclair, Checkmate, Kardinal, Thrust), Ghetto Concept’s “Crazy World” and Choclair’s “Let’s Ride”, as well as the visually atypical and internationally notorious “Danger! (Been So Long)” (Mystikal), “I”ll Be Dat” (Redman) and “Let’s Get It” (G Dep feat. Puff Daddy and Black Rob).
After breaking into the mainstream by breaking out of the box and introducing several of his own signature artistic effects to the directing game, today X is one of the most in-demand directors in the business. He’s worked on countless – and by countless, I mean more than 100 – high-budget, high-profile projects, from Usher’s “Yeah” to Kanye’s “Workout Plan” to fellow Canadian super-success story Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous”.
X began raking in the awards with 1999’s MuchMusic VideoFact Award, and has since gone on to win the 2000 MuchMusic Video Award (MMVA) for Best Rap Video, the 2001 Soul Train Award for Best Rap Video and the 2003 MMVA for Best International Video. He’s been nominated for a slew of others, including the BET Award for Video of the Year for Nelly’s “Hot In Herre” and the 34th Annual NAACP Award for Outstanding Music Video for Usher’s “You Don’t Have To Call”. All this from a humble Brampton boy who got his start making party flyers and reading his own brand of spoken word right here in the T.dot.
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