Hype Williams Net Worth

What is Hype Williams's Net Worth?

Hype Williams is an American music video director and filmmaker who has a net worth of $4 million. Hype Williams came to prominence in the 1990s directing music videos for many of the biggest names in hip hop, including Wu-Tang Clan, Usher, LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, the Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, and Will Smith. He made his feature film debut in 1998 as the writer and director of the crime drama "Belly," starring rappers Nas and DMX.

Early Life and Education

Hype Williams was born Harold Williams on August 1, 1970, in the Queens borough of New York City. He has African-American and Honduran ancestry. As a youth, Williams aspired to become a painter like Basquiat; using the moniker Hype, he tagged graffiti throughout New York. For his higher education, he studied film at Adelphi University.

Music Video Directing in the 1990s

After working at Classic Concept Productions in the early 1990s, Williams created his own production company called Big Dog Films. The first major music video he directed was for Wu-Tang Clan's 1994 single "Can it Be All So Simple." Later in 1994, Williams directed videos for such artists as Miss Jones, Mary J. Blige, and Usher. He was very prolific in 1995, working on multiple videos each with LL Cool J, Brandy, and the Notorious B.I.G. During the latter half of the decade, Williams came to be regarded as the defining hip hop music video director of the period. His notable videos in 1996 included Busta Rhymes's "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" and a number of videos for R. Kelly. For the year, Williams won the Billboard Music Video Award for Best Director of the Year. In 1997, he directed videos for Missy Elliott, Puff Daddy, the Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, R. Kelly, Jay-Z, Snow, and Will Smith. Particularly successful was his video for Smith's smash single "Gettin' Jiggy wit It," which went on to earn five MTV Video Music Award nominations and win Best Rap Video. Williams won another MTV Video Music Award, for Best Group Video, for his work on TLC's hit 1999 single "No Scrubs." The same year, he directed videos for Q-Tip, Ja Rule, Busta Rhymes, Nas, Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, and Mobb Deep, among many other artists.

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Music Video Directing in the 21st Century

At the dawn of the new millennium, Williams worked with such artists as Jay-Z, Macy Gray, DMX, LL Cool J, Wyclef Jean, Funkmaster Flex, and Kobe Bryant. In 2001, his music videos included Babyface's "There She Goes," Lisa Lopes's "The Block Party," Ginuwine's "Differences," and Aaliyah's "Rock the Boat." Williams was less prolific between 2002 and 2004, when his credits included Boyz II Men's "The Color of Love," Ashanti's "Only U," and Rupee's "Tempted to Touch." He was more active in 2005, when he directed the videos for Smitty's "Diamonds on My Neck," Pharrell Williams's "Angel," Ne-Yo's "So Sick," and Kanye West's "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" and "Gold Digger." This marked the beginning of a prolific partnership between Williams and West, with the pair going on to work on over 20 music videos together. Williams also remained a favorite director for such artists as Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, Jamie Foxx, Jay-Z, and Beyoncé. He has directed videos for a range of other artists over the years, including Coldplay, Nick Minaj, Robin Thicke, Jack White, Jennifer Lopez, and Future. Williams has received several BET Award nominations for Video Director of the Year, winning in 2014. He also received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 2006.

Feature and Short Films

In 1998, Williams made his feature film debut as the writer and director of the crime drama "Belly." Set in Williams's hometown of Queens, it starred rappers Nas and DMX in their film debuts. Williams went on to sign a two-year overall deal with New Line Cinema in 1999, but the partnership did not yield any successful projects. In 2000, he was hired by Warner Bros. to direct the film "Speed Racer," but he ended up leaving the project. A few years later, Williams's script for a zombie film entitled "Thrilla" was purchased by Disney but never produced. He finally got another film project off the ground in 2010 when he wrote the screenplay to the musical short film "Runaway," which Kanye West directed and starred in.

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