How Craig David moved the dial for Kurupt FM

This new promo from Bullion director Ollie Wolf is a multi-layered beast.

Kurupt FM are the fictional group/pirate radio station from the hit BBC comedy People Just Do Nothing who have now branched out from the confines of television to become a real-life group. Chabuddy G is their fictional entrepreneurial manager, played by Asim Chaudhry, who has arranged a video shoot starring the real-life UK music legend Craig David.

Wolfe has balanced the ingredients perfectly to create a true hip-hop music promo that, true to Kurupt FM's roots, features some funny improvised moments.

Got it? Good. But while the familiar tropes of a hip-hop video are all present and correct - the cars, the girls, the vibey beach setting - Chabuddy G has blown all the budget on getting Craig David involved, so there are some entertaining corners that need to be cut. 

Wolf has balanced the ingredients perfectly to create a classic hip-hop music promo that, true to Kurupt FM's roots, features some funny improvised moments. Below, Wolf explains how that balance was achieved and how an overcast south London became a sultry Miami setting.

Above: Director Ollie Wolf with Craig David.

Did the band give you an indication of what they were looking for in the video, and if so how did you interpret that?

With Craig David on the single, it felt like the Kurupt lads had finally hit the big time. So, there was an ambition to move the video away from their Brentford estate to something a little glossier. That initial steer lent well to the main conceit of the film, namely that Chabuddy G had spent all their budget on Craig so they were gonna have to pretend to be in Miami. And, to be fair, when the sun shone across the golden sand of the Better Gym volleyball court in Crystal Palace, it did feel a little bit like we were on holiday.

When the sun shone across the golden sand of the Better Gym volleyball court in Crystal Palace, it did feel a little bit like we were on holiday.

Was it hard balancing the need for a 'proper' music video with the comedic elements of Kurupt FM's origins?

I’m always drawn to playing with the tropes of music videos and getting a little meta to surprise the viewer. For this, I loved the idea of really leaning into that glossy rap music video aesthetic so that, for a tiny moment, you could watch and think, “Wow, Kurupt really are killing it”. Only then does it all begin to slowly unravel as we see the lengths Chabuddy has gone to in his recreation of Miami in London. But in regards to being ‘proper,’ there was no need to fake anything as once the boys were warmed up and Craig was on set, their energy was infectious. Stood behind the monitor, it was easy to see why Craig is a national treasure.