Phat Free (1999)

Phat Free begins with several minutes of darkness overlaid with an unidentifiable loud metallic sound As the video image is revealed a manHammons himselfappears dressed in a long coat felt hat and sneakers kicking a metal bucket down a deserted city sidewalk late at night The work was shot in 1995 to document Hammonss latenight performance and edited into an independent video work four years later At first seemingly violent the noise evolves into an almost musical rhythm that is synchronized with the protagonists methodical movements The title elaborates this musical allusion conjuring both the streetwise lyricism of rap and hiphop and the improvisational nature of jazz