A story in the life of Soopaman Luva…
From fan sketches in 90s London to animating Redman’s official video
PART ONE – THE OBSESSION STARTS
Back in the early 90s, Whut? Thee Album dropped by Redman, and honestly, people were waiting for that album.
I remember “Time 4 Sum Aksion” coming out first and as soon as the vinyl landed in London, I was straight down the record shop buying it. This was around 1992/93 – no streaming, no internet hype machine, just word spreading through mixtapes, magazines, radio and people talking.
The album was incredible front to back, but there was one track that completely blew my mind:
“Soopaman Luva.”
That track did something to me creatively.
The storytelling was so vivid that I immediately started visualising this character in my head. Redman was hilarious, energetic, chaotic – but cinematic too. It felt like a comic book playing out through speakers.
I must’ve replayed that track hundreds of times.
Years later I discovered the sample came from Johnny Guitar Watson and his own “Superman Lover” track, which only made me appreciate the whole thing even more.
But back then, I was obsessed.
Not just with the music – with the character.
By the mid-90s I’d started drawing Soopaman Luva constantly. Comic book covers, poses, weird scenes, animated ideas – whatever came into my head.
The funny thing is, eventually the character almost separated itself from Redman in my imagination. It became its own visual universe.
At the time I was studying illustration, fine art and photography at Camberwell College of Arts in London, and while I should’ve probably been focusing on coursework, I’d constantly end up doodling Soopaman Luva in the margins instead.
I’d disappear into these ideas for hours.
Every few years I’d come back to the character again and do something new – another drawing, another concept, sometimes even little bits of animation.
It became this ongoing side mission running quietly in the background of my life.
PART TWO – THE MISSION TO MEET REDMAN
In 1999, I heard that Redman and Method Man were appearing on The Big Breakfast in London.
Now remember – this was before smartphones, before social media, before GPS. I think I’d literally seen it announced on TV the morning before.
So naturally I decided:
I’m going to London.
I’m taking my artwork.
And I’m somehow going to meet Redman and Method Man.
Absolutely no proper plan whatsoever.
I headed off trying to find the Lock Keepers Cottage where the show was filmed and completely failed. Got lost. No maps. No navigation. Probably carrying drawings around like a madman.
Mission unsuccessful.
But weirdly, looking back now, it feels like part of the story.
Because years later, when social media finally appeared, I started posting some of the Soopaman Luva artwork online. Some of it was brand new, some of it was old drawings from years before.
Eventually, Redman noticed it.
Then he shared it.
And suddenly this thing I’d quietly been building since the 90s was now being seen by the actual artist who inspired it.
That alone felt surreal.
PART THREE – FULL CIRCLE
Then in 2019, just before lockdown, the message arrived.
Redman got in touch directly.
He was working on Muddy Waters Too and wanted me to create the animated music video for “Soopaman Luva 7.”
Honestly – madness.
This was the seventh chapter in a series that had run throughout his entire career – starting all the way back on Whut? Thee Album.
And now I was being asked to visually bring that world to life officially.
After spending decades privately drawing this character.
It genuinely felt like something had come full circle.
Me and my brother immediately got to work on storyboards and visuals. After that, I built an animatic – basically a moving storyboard timed against the track using keyframes and rough motion.
That stage was vital because it helped everybody visualise the pacing, flow and energy of the final animation before full production started.
And then…
COVID hit.
Like a lot of creative projects around that time, everything slowed down. The album itself got delayed, and the animation ended up being paused while the world basically stopped for a while.
But eventually the project came back to life.
During that process I linked up with Tony Coppin from Mad Urgency.
Tony became a huge part of helping get the project over the finish line.
His After Effects and motion graphics skills were incredible, and creatively we clicked straight away.
We’ve worked together since then too, which says a lot.
Good collaborations are hard to find, but when people understand each other creatively, everything flows properly.
There were still delays though – partly because of COVID, partly because changes were made to the audio which meant sections of animation needed reworking.
So the project became a much longer journey than any of us expected.
But eventually, after years of work, “Soopaman Luva 7” was finally released following the release of Muddy Waters Too.
And the response was amazing.
People loved it.
Most importantly, Redman loved it.
That meant everything to me.
PART FOUR – BRIXTON, MAY 2026
Then came another full-circle moment.
On May 6th this year, I finally saw Redman perform solo live in London during the Muddy Waters tour.
Weirdly, despite being a fan for decades, every previous time I’d seen him perform had been with Method Man.
This was my first proper Redman-only show.
The gig was at Electric Brixton and honestly – excuse the pun – the place was electric.
Packed crowd.
Huge energy.
Classic tracks.
Everyone locked in.
And Redman still absolutely has it.
Same humour.
Same charisma.
Same explosive energy that made those early records special in the first place.
One of the promoters involved was Mike from Chip Shop Brixton – legendary spot if you’re into hip hop culture.
One of those rare places where the music, artwork and atmosphere all genuinely feel connected to the culture properly.
After the show, I finally got to properly meet Redman.
He signed some prints for me, I gifted him one back, and although the conversation was brief – because loads of people were waiting – it still felt surreal.
Back in the 90s I was just some kid in London replaying “Soopaman Luva” and sketching this weird comic-book character endlessly in notebooks.
Years later, I ended up animating an official chapter in that universe.
And now we still occasionally stay in touch.
Life’s strange sometimes.
FINAL THOUGHTS
And strangely enough, today – May 9th – marks exactly one year since the “Soopaman Luva 7” video was finally released.
Looking back now, it still feels surreal.
Something that started as obsession, sketches and imagination in the 90s somehow evolved into a real creative collaboration decades later.
Some ideas disappear over time.
This one completed the circle.
