Giving Thanks with Davonte Jolly – Stories From Behind the Camera

Tate: “Hello everyone, we are in Compton, CA right now. This is Round Two Magazine, my name is Tate Canyon and today is Thanksgiving. Today I am here with Devonte Jolly, skate photographer, videographer, director, everything keeps going. Please introduce yourself to the people at home and let everyone know who you are and what you do.”

Davonte: “Davonte Jolly and I make films, specializing in skateboarding films, that is the majority of my work. I make shit to inspire other kids to go make shit so that is my whole purpose.”

Tate: “That being said I mean man you really inspired me moving here. I moved out to Los Angeles in 2020/2021 and my peephole from the Bay Area looking in from Los Angeles was mainly like Big Brother, Odd Future, Jackass, Day With The Homies.”

Davonte: “That is crazyyy! Saying ‘Day With The Homies’ is in the same category as those 3 that is just insane to me.. wow”

Tate: “It is in the same subculture of everything you feel me? Even Big Brother stemmed from Canter’s over on Fairfax with that weird hookah lounge. For me looking in ‘Day With The Homies’ was like my peephole into all this. The magazine was started off of my peephole of California. With you being on the level that you are and people seeing you at the same status as those other big names mentioned before, how does that feel?”

Davonte: “It is crazy when I hear it, but it is sort of in the same sentiment as what you said it is like an inside look to a certain culture. Before that I would say maybe I.C (Illegal Civ) videos were the closest inside that you got to that, but I feel like ‘Day With The Homies’ was something where it felt like you were just hanging out with us for the whole day. That was the idea behind it. For why I wanted to do it, that was because I felt like I would have loved to see my favorite skaters, when I was younger, like those types of days seeing what it takes to get a clip or wonder like when it is a bad day and nobody gets a clip but it still is a good day because so many things have happened in it. I think that was my motivation to create it and understanding that you can see tricks anywhere, but you couldn’t see my friends' personalities anywhere. I guess at that point skaters' personalities in general you couldn’t see anywhere really. So I dove into that and kept wanting to keep pushing that forward so that other people could make their own version of ‘Day With The Homies’ in their city. That is how it goes into the film which is the same ethos of inspiring other people to make homie films.”

Tate: “And it was like the catalyst of that, because before it was just like skate clips, skate clips, skate clips–”

Davonte: “Yes bro! Even my channel was skate clips, edits, songs, song, song , song,-”

Tate: “Yeah! And there is a rare instance of a Big Brother or a CKY , where there was some comedy mixed in but even then it was Youtube-esq where it was a little built up. Where with I.C (Illegal Civ) in a sense it was a brand orchestrated by the homies and there was a whole lot of stuff where it did take from ‘Day With The Homies’ but it was orchestrated like a brand where with you it was where it was like you were a part of the brand but you were a subsection of it that operated very similarly where you are able to show the behind the scenes where it didn’t feel like behind the scenes really it was just another POV.”

Davonte: “Exactly yeah. That is my biggest thing with ‘Day With The Homies’ and how I go into shooting it is like I want whoever is watching to feel like they are right there with NAK-EL Smith or feel like they are right there with Aramis Hudson, you know? In the car moments, I consciously shoot it as if it was someone viewing it from in the car so that is good, it is a very accurate description of it.”

Tate: “With the ‘Day With The Homies’ stuff that is you putting your name on that and that is a Davonte Jolly production. With that moving in shooting for a ton of different people, they have a ton of different sponsors, they have videos they are specifically shooting for while getting started with skate photography and videography and you are just out there every single day not too sure if they are going to land the trick and if you are going to get paid for that clip, two separate questions what does it take for someone to get those clips and how do you monetize it? And question 2 for ‘Day With The Homies’ and making your own show and putting your own name in coin on it how do you build your own brand for your own audience because that it basically how ‘Godspeed’ and a lot of other things transpired was you being able to not only take those sponsors and just be like I will wait for this person to get a video or I’ll wait for this to happen, but you are just like fuck it I am the media company I can do it on my own, and I can still coin my name on it because I shot this, these are my clips. Two separate questions, what is a Davonte Jolly production and what is ‘Godspeed’? What is Thrasher? Like how do you separate them? Where like this is a film and this is something completely different. How do you separate the two when like it is all skateboarding or it can all feel like the same thing? Especially for other people in the productions.”

Davonte: “Yeah that is true. I think I will answer the ‘Godspeed’ point, it is like the same approach that I had in creating ‘Day With The Homies’ that is what I did into ‘Godspeed’ like I didn’t think about what anyone think about me using this song or what if I edit this the way I edit this, it was very like this is my mark on skateboarding and luckily Mikey & I.C allowed me to have that freedom. Like Mikey saw the video 2 nights before the premiere, like it wasn’t like he was over my shoulder like hey you need to this, I just made the film and then he was like oh shit. As him being a company he allowed me to connect that dot you know? But before that it was like when you are trying to be a part of an industry obviously you observe it and that was the structure of how you get into the industry. It is like you are a filmmaker? Okay you film a skater that has this sponsor, okay they are making a video? Okay you try to sell the clips to them or maybe they might not use the clips, maybe he wants to use it for something else you know? It is kind of like normally the filmers' projects are viewed secondary, you know? It is like I will give you the clips I don’t want to give to x,y,z sponsors you know? With ‘Godspeed’ that shifted for me. I will use Zion Wright for example he was telling all his sponsors like ‘y’all not getting any of my clips Jolly is getting all my clips, oh and that clip y’all did get well send that to Jolly’. Like every skater was like standing on that. I think that created an important shift in the industry because it was a film that everyone wanted to be a part of, not that they had to be a part of, you know? And I think that changed the industry, or not industry that changed the feeling of a skate video. There are not too many homie videos especially at that time that were even being made, but that had that level of skateboarding because it is like the comment I said earlier it is usually secondary clips. Like someone being like ‘here I’ll give this clip to you’ on some homie shit but I’m going to keep this insane one for myself’ you know? And then I think I got a little lost, so the first part of the question –”

Tate: “So the first part of the question is like starting out I guess when you kind of went on the other part but like starting out you know what I mean? When you are first getting clips and like you are kind of having to listen to the skaters a little bit even though you are the one with the camera filming them, but you are being swayed to this should go to this video or this should go to that video, or that sponsor, or this should go to me, how do you calculate that starting out and what do you own? What do they own? How do you communicate that and do that so well even with people you have personal connections with?”

Davonte: “I think that it is to your point. I don’t put, and this is where a lot of filmmakers fall out with skaters, I don’t put either the clip or the money I am getting for the clip ahead of my friendship with the person. So it’s like even if I might not necessarily agree with the clip or where the skater wants the clip to go, if that is where they want the clip to go it is done. They don’t need to feel like I am holding their clips, it is like damn I would have loved to use this but all good I will send it to them. Because the track record and like our friendship is so good a lot of times they will just be like ‘oh you are right you could use that clip for this video or what are you working on?’ you know? If there is an awareness that I am working on something vs like oh let me just hold your clip hostage, you know? Like Tyshawn for example, like he wasn’t even originally going to be in ‘Godspeed’ because he was making his park that got him that second SOTY trophy. So I am like understandably so, I am not trying to take from that moment you know? But then I had this conversation with him like brother to brother and told him I would hate to look back on this film years from now and you had no presence in it. When I was skating with him probably the most of anyone, you know? And he thought that was real so he gave me a couple clips for him to be in the video and we talk about this all the time he was like, ‘yeah I just did another trick’ it was such a simple conversation that most filmers would like not have the conversation and then hold resentment and then things get weird between you and the skater and then the skater doesn’t want to work with the filmer anymore. There is not really that much money selling skateboarding clips for me to, and even if it was, for me to ruin a whole relationship that I just spent years building over $150 for a clip. It is like bro what? That sounds insane to me but I have seen it happen multiple times.”

Tate: “Trust me yeah I am a filmer as well and that is why I asked that question, because it is like a lot of stigma around that. Like you are coming out there to do a job, but it with the homies so that gets conflicting sometimes and–”

Davonte: “Communication.”

Tate: “That is something that you do very well and I have noticed is you definitely do like a very good job at that communication and just staying good with the homies and holding those relationships close to you and just making good content out of it truly. So, I guess moving forward it is Thanksgiving man I brought us some cheesecake.”

Davonte: “WHAT! Aw you must know me because I love cheesecake. This might be one of my favorite desserts.”

Tate: “Aw shit man well we got you your favorite dessert for Thanksgiving!”

Davonte: “Thank you, I love this. I was not expecting cheesecake. Cheesecake and a free mag!? I’m down! And an interview on top of that!”

Tate: “Come on! So Thanksgiving, what are you most thankful for in the industry you are in and what you do?”

Davonte: “Damn.. in work I am definitely most thankful for my freedom and like the way I create and the people I work with. Just like the genuine relationships I have built throughout these years and not like letting it only be because of skateboarding you know? These are all my friends whether they stop skating tomorrow or whether I stop filming tomorrow. It is like ‘oh let’s hangout!’ or ‘oh let's go to the movies!’ or ‘how is your daughter doing?’ that type of thing you know? And I put energy into that you know? It is like you can’t expect to have a good relationship with someone personal or business if you don’t put energy into making it a good relationship, you know? I genuinely care about those people so I am very thankful for all of those friendships. I think hmm.. What else am I thankful for? I am thankful for the new Kendrick album. I literally parked my car and someone was playing the exact same song I just finished playing as I hopped out of the car and it is just like yeah, real LA culture.”

Tate: “Real LA shit.”

Davonte: “You saw you put the 91 sign in the ‘Squabble Up’ video I was like BRO!”

Tate: “Yeah that was so tough, I do know what you are talking about. And totally off topic but what do you think of the community and everything going on with this album?”

Davonte: “I love it bro. There has been such a disconnect in music and reality like you are saying. Like driving by people playing the same song as you, that is what I grew up on. LA was so unified sonically so I remember when E-40’s album was like THE ALBUM. Bro you would go anywhere and you would always hear ‘Yay Area” you would always hear that song. And then it continued from like a multitude of artists in the 2000s but it's like I don’t feel that with music anymore until this Kendrick album. It is like okay people are proud, like that used to be a thing like that was like the flex back then was to like windows down playing whatever that song was you know?” 

Tate: “ Usually it was on the radio and it was like by chance!”

Davonte: “We were so grateful! That is so true. We were sooo grateful because we're so spoiled now but back then it was like alright I got 106. I had Power 106 on hoping they would play this and if they would go and do like the little commercials, “coming up next we got..” and it was like oh yeah you are locked in, whatever that commercial is you don’t care. 

T8: True, I was just looking through my camera roll the other day and made me think of this but SUPERDUPERKYLE was consistently doing tons of shows hosted by the radio back then and it was when he was first coming up so,

Davonte: I remember Kyle!

T8: All of them were doing so many shows back then and it was before these labels bought out all the radio stations because you would request for these artists PERSONALLY and if they came to your city.. It was crazy! It felt even crazier when you were in a smaller city too.”

Davonte: “Yeah it would like slow the city down! Like wait what? You heard? Nah he’s coming bro. 

T8: “And with Camp Flog Gnaw like that is another thing that was one of my peepholes into Los Angeles before I moved here. So to really see like the IC booth in 2016/2017 and seeing all of you guys there, like that was my peephole. That was my POV before I moved here, and I was like bro these are the videos I’ve been watching and I didn’t necessarily like “Cherry Bomb” right when I saw it. Literally CFG 2016 going to the IC booth learned all about it from the documentary screening and then heard it live for the first time and that was just like, snaps fingers, a clusterfuck of culture to me at 16 years old. I was thinking like I witnessed all of this stuff. Like saw Nico in the booth saw Nikel with the mosh pit and all that shit.”

Davonte: “Oh yeah that is when we had the bean bag chairs! Next to the.. OH! We were right next to the GOLF that was such a good location.”

T8: “Right in the entry!”

Davonte: “It was like you couldn’t miss it! A big ass tent.”

T8: “And it was the time for IC like the Cherry Bomb doc and stuff like that.”

Davonte: “We were filming a show that Camp Flog Gnaw! “

T8: “A show?”

Davonte: “Yeah we were doing a pilot for a TV show with Vice at the time.”

T8: “And it never got picked up?”

Davonte: “I think they just didn’t or Viceland ”

T8: “Aw that would have been so cool back then, a Viceland IC thing!”

Davonte: “Yeah it just didn’t work for a reason. I think they thought it was too expensive. They were like this is too expensive. I mean it was a cast of like what, 10 of us? It would have been insane though. But a lot of that footage ended up in IC3.”

T8: “And I would assume translated into “Mid 90s” to a certain degree? Like that was such a big part as well back then I remember that screening and everything. It was such a fun time. So we are getting a little bit disconnected but to end things off what I am thankful for is that. The community that y’all built with IC, with your videos, and everything. It was truly for me like coming out here what I was Los Angeles as. So for me thank you! That is real, it is true, like that shit probably was really just you hanging out with the homies not knowing exactly what that is but that is the reason I am here today so I just want to thank you man.”

Davonte: “Wow.” 

T8: “Because this shit is super tough like you are a fucking legend in the space so you know this has been Round Two Magazine , my name is Tate Canyon, this is Davonte Jolly, this is thanksgiving we’ve been talking about what we are thankful for, and Davonte is there anything you would like to add on to close?”

Davonte: “Thank you for having me, this magazine is a great idea and I always appreciate new great ideas so congrats to you and doing this and I wish you all success. Maybe you’ll get Tyler on here one day.”

T8: “That would be super tough. But last final question, 3 thanksgiving dishes? Go!”

Davonte: “Homemade macaroni & cheese, THE REAL KIND. Real cheese, layered, all that. Stuffing. From an older person so like my grandma or my great aunt or someone. And then hmmmmm… I’ll go turkey. Classic turkey. Nice seasonings. White meat only we not doing the dark meat turkey because that’s crazy.”

T8: “Davonte Jolly. Necessary Evil. Godspeed. Round Two. Let’s go.”