Diane Martel, the fearless visible architect behind Blurred Strains and All I Need for Christmas Is You, died earlier this week at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York following a chronic combat with breast most cancers.
She was 63.
Her household confirmed her passing in a press release, saying she “handed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends.” Martel is survived by her aunt, Gail Merrifield Papp, the widow of Public Theater founder Joseph Papp and three cats.
Martel’s profession spanned greater than 30 years, beginning within the early Nineteen Nineties when she emerged from New York’s underground Hip-Hop scene. Her directorial debut got here in 1992 with the gritty Throw Ya Gunz by Onyx, a video that set the tone for her uncooked, unfiltered aesthetic.
She shortly turned a go-to director for Hip-Hop royalty, helming visuals for Methodology Man, LL Cool J, Ol’ Soiled Bastard, “Chief Rocka” by Lords of the Underground, Gang Starr, and Keith Murray.
Her catalog contains each chart-toppers and deep cuts, from Nicki Minaj‘s Capsules N Potions to Insane Clown Posse‘s One other Love Tune.
In a 2003 interview with Vibe, Martel made her stance on artistic integrity crystal clear:
“I’m involved with how wack movies are proper now. How lucky are administrators each time we’re given a chance to symbolize the tradition? How dare we serve individuals weak s### when Hip-Hop was born of such energy.”
Her breakout second got here by means of her long-standing collaboration with Mariah Carey, directing eight of the singer’s movies, together with the enduring vacation juggernaut All I Need for Christmas Is You, which has racked up almost 900 million views on YouTube.
Martel’s attain prolonged far past Hip-Hop. She crafted iconic visuals for Christina Aguilera‘s Genie in a Bottle, Justin Timberlake‘s Like I Love You, Beyoncé‘s Finest Factor I By no means Had, and Alicia Keys‘ If I Ain’t Acquired You.
But it surely was in 2013 that Martel discovered herself on the heart of a cultural firestorm. She directed two of the yr’s most talked-about movies: Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Cease and Robin Thicke’s Blurred Strains.
The latter drew intense criticism for its portrayal of ladies and sparked a broader dialog about consent in popular culture.
Years later, mannequin Emily Ratajkowski accused Thicke of groping her in the course of the Blurred Strains shoot. Martel backed her up, telling The Instances, “I screamed in my very aggressive Brooklyn voice, ‘What the f*** are you doing, that’s it! The shoot is over!
“Your limitless historical past will stay acknowledged. Sleep Peacefully,” DJ Premier mentioned in a touching tribute, whereas EPMD’s Erick Sermon mentioned, “my lady. This hurts.”
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