We had just wrapped choir rehearsal at the church, laughing with family, when my phone rang. Calls then weren’t unusual, but this one was urgent. The producer of "Out The Box" basically needed an overnight visual treatment for the song, “Games”.

It was one of those moments when time slowed just enough to signal I was stepping into something bigger than a routine rush job. I didn’t have a crazy setup though. Just CorelDRAW 11, Photoshop 8, and a stubborn confidence shaped by the Black church. But Nureau culture legit raised me to thrive under the pressure. It demanded innovation and turned raw talent into diamonds. So when the request came, instinct took over. The first asset I built was the stylized cross and tambourine that became the base for the virtual set.

I freehanded everything in Corel with the pen tool, shaped each curve, and added depth with extrudes and gradients, before exporting to Photoshop to composite. After finishing, I passed the files to the video editor, who blended them with concert footage to form the sequence that ended up on DVD. That same weekend I created other Nureau branding like “iNK TV”—small touches that extended the meta language of the Nureau movement that had been shaping for years.

When the DVD dropped, watching it felt surreal. Seeing the choir. My city. The massive live recording captured at full scale. It took me back to the studio sessions where my mother and brother tracked vocals as founding members of the choir. It took me back to the Four Corners after-party where the whole neighborhood felt like it was part of history. Seeing myself in crowd shots, and finally my name in "Special Thanks". It wasn’t just about credit, but having a full circle moment. I'd lived every layer of Out The Box—from pre to post-production.

Looking back, the designs feel simple compared to the new tech, but they were exactly what the moment needed. It was proof that preparation and opportunity can align you with a legacy that was already waiting on you.

2.0

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