A lifetime of traveling in brown skin and with a Muslim name have taught Riz Ahmed to expect the indignity of being racially profiled. At bo...
A lifetime of traveling in brown skin and with a Muslim name have taught Riz Ahmed to expect the indignity of being racially profiled. At borders and airports, immigration officers see a potential terrorist where there's an actor. For years, casting directors did much the same, typecasting him as a jihadi or a cab driver or some other racial stereotype. The Pakistani-British actor and rapper detailed, and connected, those experiences in a recent essay, published on The Guardian and excerpted from a forthcoming anthology.nnThis sort of sociopolitical reflection through the lens of identity exists in much of Riz's work elsewhere. It's a significant thread in the music he makes with Himanshu Suri, b.k.a. Heems, as the rap duo Swet Shop Boys. "T5," a recent single from their forthcoming Cashmere LP, is a pulsing meditation on airports as centers of socially sanctioned racism. The video for the song, premiering here today and produced by The FADER, puts Riz and Heems at the mercy of TSA and border control officers at JFK's Terminal 5. In the clip, Riz and Heems play semi-autobiographical versions of themselves, with parallel experiences ending in different fates. And the message is right on time, coinciding with intense anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy in their home countries — Brexit in the U.K., and the ever-creeping threat of a Trump presidency in the U.S. Watch above for a take that's as entertaining as it is crucial.nnTour datesn7 Nov - San Francisco, CA - The Rickshaw Stopn8 Nov - Los Angeles, CA - Bootlegn14 Nov - Washington, DC - U Street Music Halln17 Nov - Brooklyn, NY - Rough Trade (Sold Out)n18 Nov - New York, NY - Studio at Webster (All Ages)n21 Nov - London, UK - BirthdaysnnSwet Shop Boys "T5" from the album 'Cashmere'nBuy here: http://www.smarturl.it/ssb-cashmerennProduced by RedinhonDirected by Sofian Khannhttp://capitalkpictures.comnnFollow Swet Shop Boys:nhttp://www.swetshopboys.comnhttp://www.facebook.com/swetshopboysnhttp://www.twitter.com/swetshopboysnnDirected by Sofian KhannProduced by Sofian Khan & Bob BlankemeiernExecutive Producer - Joseph PatelnAssociate Producer - Fabian CaballeronDirector of Photography - Bob BlankemeiernSteadicam Operator - Richard PattersonnProduction Designer - Jesse MailingsnCostume Designer - Laura TexternCostume Assistant - Ashley HogannMakeup - Ilaria FerraronSpecial Effects - Daniel CalvonTitles - Justin HerrmannnEdited by Sofian KhannKey Gaffer - Tom ChavesnKey Grip - Charles BakernFirst Assistant Camera - Jonah SerfassnSet Photographer - Cheryl MowczannBest Boy - Harris AnsarinProduction Assistant - Nick FiorenDriver - Michael RasulonSet Painter - Dario NievanProduction Coordinator - Madison LaClairnnTSA Agent 1 - Kyle MerkernTSA Agent 2 - Amanda Lea MasonnTSA Agent 3 - Michael RasulonTSA Agent 4 - Sara SilvanDancer 1 - Jaime PineironDancer 2 - Diego BorjanMilli - Adam DavenportnVanilli - Elijah GravelynInterrogator - David SereronSoldier - Asen GrigorovnUber Driver - Harris AnsarinnBackground talentnLinda AydiniannNed BowennAmelia ChairamontenHerge M. JansennJane MaushaynWarren McKnightnnProduction Company - Capital K PicturesnStudio Location - Vigilant NYC, Flushing QueensnSpecial Thanks to Vincent Rasulo / Playcrafters nNick Tarascio - Ventura Air / Republic Airportn& Michael Stack - MacArthur-Islip AirportnnSubscribe now for more The FADER http://bit.ly/XPZVfGnnRead the FADER: http://www.thefader.comnFollow the FADER on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefadernLike the FADER on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/11JaNSJnFollow the FADER on Tumblr: http://bit.ly/xerObW Less
