Ras Kassa is to reggae videos what Hype Williams is to rap and R&B videos, one of the best, if not the very best. He is one of the most requested directors in Jamaica and for good reason. Born on November 1, 1974, Ras Kassa has always had an affinity for the arts and music and ultimately found his calling in film.

His first video was TOK’s Deadly medley, directed in 2000. Since then he’s gone on to direct videos for everyone from Sean Paul, Gentleman, Baby Cham, Gyptian, Lady Saw, Alaine, and Da’Ville to American country singer Willie Nelson. Ras Kassa received worldwide crtical acclaim with his direction of the 2005 Welcome to Jamrock video by Damian Marley and The Traffic Jam by Stephen Marley, earlier this year. Ras has expressed his frustration in dealing with some Jamaican artist who believe that they have to mirror the American styled (rap) videos, laced with blinging and balling and has even pulled out of some videos that he just could not creatively stand behind. He strives to bring forth truly individual works of art for each artist while maintaining accurate expressions of Jamaican culture.

Earlier this year Ras formed Guru Films and previously co-founded Music+ both of which are based in Jamaica. Not just a master of video direction he has also worked on numerous TV shows, commercials, and DVD’s. You can find out even more about The Guru at raskassatv.com, gurufilms.tv, or at his myspace page. I’ve posted some of his work below (TOK Deadly Medley, Welcome To Jamrock, The Traffic Jam, Idiot Ting):