Dave Free Extends Free Game to Artists Wanting to Replicate the pgLang Path: 'Does It Move You?'
Free, who co-founded pgLang with Kendrick Lamar in 2020, co-directed the rapper's latest music video, "Not Like Us."
Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar have been wingmen for close to two decades. The pgLang co-founder, who's also Kendrick's creative partner, most recently co-directed his latest music video, "Not Like Us." So when Free was asked by the publication Elephant about their company's "formula for success," the 37-year-old didn't hesitate to share the wealth.
"Here’s the whole process," Free began. "Kendrick or I will dream something up, although the idea could come from staff members too, and we’ll come into the office, and we’ll figure out how to create a system around the idea to make it self-sufficient. We make sure it’s going to be impactful, influential, financially stable, it’s going to shake people up, and it’s going to tell a story."
He continued, "When it’s developed, we ask, ‘Does it move you?’ Eventually, after repeating that process enough times, we get to a place where we can’t poke any more holes. That’s what we call ‘break and repeat.’ Once there are no more holes to poke, I feel comfortable putting it into the universe. So that’s the process. We apply that to everything that we do."
Surely, the pgLang team has followed the blueprint closely, releasing short films, "We Cry Together," Kendrick's Big Steppers World Tour Prime Video special, plus campaigns for CashApp, Converse, and Calvin Klein:
Next, the company will release their first full-length theatrical film, a comedy directed by South Park's Trey Parker.
In a dual profile with Free for The New York Times in 2022, Kendrick praised his business partner for having "unconditional love to allow each other to grow."
"I always allowed him to have his room to grow, and he always allowed me to have room to grow in mine," Lamar said.
