collaboration spotlight — The Tea by Danny Gonzalez
Language is always in flux, and one of the more rapidly changing aspects is slang. Every few years, a new wave of words and phrases comes along to express specific concepts in new ways, and befuddle those not in the know. This love song somehow manages to cram most of the late 2010s popular vernacular into just a few minutes, with a tongue-in-cheek delivery that lets the listener in on the joke. The juxtaposition of an upper-crusty tea party as the setting for the video is simply delightful.
Details:
title: The Tea
performers: Danny Gonzalez, feat. Alli Fitz; Drew Gooden & Kurtis Connor (waiters); Chyna Staggs, Cassandra Ariel, Alexa Coelho, Brittany Dobbs Neff, Chris Ross, Michael Cerasoli, Clay DeHart, Daniel Martinez, Melanie Vanderford, & Joey D'Angelo-LaJoie (partygoers)
written & arranged by: Danny Gonzalez
video produced by: PattyCake Productions
release date: 1 June 2019
My favorite bits:
the earnest delivery as they rattle off compliments that will soon become wildly outdated
Danny's deadpan "Yeet."
the actually sweet sentiment behind ♫ "tryna turn you from by bae to my fam" ♫
all the dance trends they included in the video
Alli's vocal skill as she repeatedly navigates between her head and chest registers
the surprise of everyone's wigs slipping off
Trivia:
The interior shots for this video were filmed at a tapas bar called Ceviche in downtown Orlando. Layne from PattyCake had also filmed VoicePlay's "Attention" music video at the same location two years earlier.
The audio track was included on Danny's "Bump This" EP, which had been released in late April.
As is often the case with modern slang terms, many of these turns of phrase originated in AAVE, and were then adopted into broader usage, losing some of their nuance along the way.
PattyCake fans might recognize a few of the partygoers. Cassandra Ariel has filled several roles across their series, beginning with Megara in the Princess Academy / Villains Lair crossover episode; Chris Ross plays Dr. Facilier in The Villains Lair; and Joey D'Angelo-LaJoie has been their LaFou since "Beauty and the Bieber".
VoicePlay fans may notice the colored globes in some of the rooftop shots, which Layne also used for their "True Colors" video that was released a month later.
