Aaand this is why I lovehate Youtube. I stumbled across a video, one thing led to another, and I eventually learned that the guy behind this video is insane! Possibly literally, because he currently has a brain thing that he takes meds for. He goes by a couple aliases including Pink Guy, Filthy Frank, and Joji, which you may or may not have heard of. If you need more of a primer, a few years ago he was at the epicenter of popular culture with his video that spearheaded the Harlem Shake craze. Turns out he is actually a talented young man that has a unique assortment of interests.

Born and raised in Japan, he came over to the United States to attend college. From there, as can likely be expected, stuff got weird. Wait… I take that back. I think he started making videos in Japan, but either way it kind of indirectly makes sense. His channels are a disgusting assortment of crass, absurd, and scatological videos that gained him a mass following of people. While I can’t even begin to imagine the body of people that gravitate to his content, I wanted to learn more about the man that brought forth these creations.

I found out that not only is he the main subject in his videos, but he also creates most of the music that goes along with them. In his childhood, him and his friends would mess around with sound recordings and create music without really realizing that was what they were doing. Nowadays, his music ranges from hip hop to more experimental, electronic forms.

In a few recent interviews he’s done, he talked about the jump he made from his Filthy Frank and Pink Guy roots to his current, more serious musical pursuits. For a long time, he was terrified of making the transition out of fear that this image he created would be his pinnacle. His identity was so thoroughly wrapped up in this online persona he created that transitioning away from it symbolized a kind of existential death.

The ridiculous contrast between the first video and this last video is what really struck me. People are damn complicated. It’s easier to say that he just grew up and moved from immature topics to more sentimental material, but I think that misses the point. Underlying all of these creations is one person, who’s wealth of experiences alchemically compounded in unknown ways throughout the duration of his life and led to now. I think there is a point here somewhere… Or at the very least there is a Filthy Frank somewhere in this rainy lo-fi.

Featured image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B-wFx0aMlw