Ben Schwartz And Sam Richardson Discuss Shooting A Rap Video For The Afterparty - Exclusive
The extremely funny Apple TV+ murder mystery "The Afterparty" tells the tale of one night from multiple different perspectives. It's all in the interest of figuring out the identity of the murderer, but it also lets each one of the series' very different characters shine. No one occupies the spotlight more — at least in his own mind — than Ben Schwartz's Yasper. In the show's third episode, it's his turn to recount the events of an evening that started with his high school reunion and ended with the death of a former classmate at an afterparty. In Yasper's hands, the episode turns into a full-fledged musical as he shares his enthusiastic pursuit of another chance at making his rock star dreams come true.
Early in the episode, Yasper explains his hopes and dreams to his long-time friend Aniq, played by Sam Richardson, and the pair launch into an exuberant rap. It's a song full of humor that's also genuinely catchy and fun, and it's accompanied by all the propulsive dancing, swirling camera angles, and dynamic lighting we've come to expect of music videos. For Schwartz and Richardson, it's like nothing either of them had done before.
While Schwartz is a veteran of comedies like "Parks and Recreation" and "Space Force," and Richardson has made viewers laugh with roles in "Veep" and "Ted Lasso," getting chuckles through song was a new experience for both of them. In an exclusive interview with Looper, Schwartz and Richardson celebrated the opportunity to take center stage for "Two Shots," the rap song featured in "The Afterparty."
Getting into the groove
While there are plenty of things to keep in mind when starring in a TV series, Schwartz confessed that filming songs created its own unique challenges. "It's choreography. It's not only recording it, but then being able to sing as quick as you can during this thing," Schwartz noted. "['Two Shots'] was the first [song] we shot ... What we did on that [first song], which we did not do after all the [other] ones, we used to start from the very top and go the whole way through every single time, and we would be so tired, where the next [songs], we would do sections ... That first one, we did the entire rap like 100 times, but it was great. It was really fun.'"
Despite the rigors of shooting, Richardson also had a good time with the experience. "It was fun because I've never done a rap music video, so I like to step in and feel through that sort of thing," Richardson explained. "The dancers are so coordinated behind us. You've got Kelvin [Yu, who plays Ned,] breakdancing for an instant. You got us coordinating, and we're doing choreography as well. And then the camera moves, you feel that camera moving around us. And it's like, 'Oh, this is fun.' Then you watch it in play back, and you're like, 'Oh, that's ... That's cool. That's real.'"
In fact, Schwartz and Richardson couldn't help but take a moment to marvel at the result of their efforts, with Schwartz exclaiming, "We're in a rap video!"
New episodes of "The Afterparty" premiere on Apple TV+ on Fridays.