Imagine for a moment if Tony Soprano lived not in NJ but in da Bay. This is exactly what Bay Area resident , YouTube member, and local hip-hop artist EmceeT visualized before he went out and shot and edited (directed by ZTY Media:) the inspired above video clip, spoofing the intro to the popular, and sadly defunct, HBO series The Sopranos. In the "Yay" version Emcee T (aka The Chinese King of the Bay) winds his way through various parts of the Bay Area in his whip with cigar (or blunt?) in mouth, and capturing along the way shots of such familar sights as the Bay Bridge and its toll-booth, the Caldecott tunnel, that big ole bow-and-arrow sculpture & the palm trees along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, the Martinez Oil refineries, the Showgirls Strip Club, Casino San Pablo, Oakland Port, the infamous Mac Dre mural (off Harrison Street in SF), SFPD patrol cars, Lake Merritt mural, and at the end (in true Tony Soprano style) Emcee T's own house. Click here for more of Emcee T's videos, here for his MySpace, and for general info on "the real emcee" Emcee T visit his website.
And in case you want to compare it with the original shot in New Jersey- it's below for your viewing pleasure. By the way the song used in the Sopranos intro is by the group A3 and is titled (not too surprisingly) "Woke Up This Morning" and the full version, which is available on the Sopranos soundtrack (look for it at Amoeba Music) is a really great song with a nice slow build-up and towards the end goes into a rap - clocking in at about five plus minutes compared to the television show intro version which is a bit under two minutes.
Relevant Tags
Mac Dre, San Francisco Bay Area, Hbo, SopranosComments
I saw an AC Transit biodiesel powered bus in there , too! Good find and post!
Way 2 hold it down 4 the yay!
Best re-make that I've seen. Can we party it up at his mansion soon!
I think the Bay Area verison is better. Why I asked first of all the bay area has so much to offer. You can travel everywhere and the landscape changes. This version the colors of certian buildings or walls and such pop at you gives you something like eye candy lets say. Second of all this verison has a hip hop feel to it. The soprano version doesnt have that. The hip hop feel mixed with mafia gives it a more authentic underground feel. Hip hop and the thug life goes hand to hand it matches so well like flavor when you eat something that is good.This New Bay Area verison is creative and you can really tell that there was love that was put into this project.
chinese dude got skills.