Written by Jordan Greene
As fans of the sport of basketball, there is a common love that we all share when we glance at our phones and scroll through social media. That common love is mixtapes and edits of our favorite players showcasing their highlight reel plays. There is nothing better than a posterizing dunk or an ankle breaker with a rap song that captures the intensity of the moments and the frenzy the crowds get into.
In the eyes of most viewers, no one really considers how edits and mixtapes are constructed. As long as the more exciting players reach their timeline, no one gives credit to the photographers/videographers that make these edits in the first place. But there is one person behind the camera who is changing the narrative for the future. New Jersey’s own Mehkai Huey, also known as Shotsbykaii, is a talented photographer/videographer who is responsible for many mixtapes and photos of the top high school players in the country.
From Jared Mccain to Bronny James, Huey’s popularity has been growing at a rapid pace. The speed of all of this happening is unusual for a person working behind the scenes, especially since Huey was once a basketball player himself.
“I’ve always had a camera lying around in my house,” Huey expressed. “My dad had bought me a camera a few winters back and one day I took some pictures of my friends on my birthday and they came out solid. Over time I realized that this could be a potential passion for me if basketball did not work out for me, just so I can continue being connected with the sport. Now, it has turned into a career for me.”
Before Kaii began traveling around the world doing what he does best, he started his career strictly filming New Jersey athletes. His primary focus was former Patrick School and Elizabeth guard Jayden Pierre, who would go on to become a Providence Friar. Since then, Huey has grown from making edits on countless amounts of players to making documentaries on his Youtube channel. His most talked about project is with the number one high school point guard in the country, Elliot Cadeau, where Huey captures his daily lifestyle and the hard work he puts in on a consistent basis.
“It was a hard transition for me at first,” said Huey. “I was used to making mixtapes that only lasted a minute at most. Now it’s like I’m moving into a production type of role where I am putting together a story and capturing every single moment for a single player. It’s definitely challenging but I love doing it and it helps motivate me going forward.”
Currently, Huey is taking a gap year to further pursue his dreams. With all of the filming and traveling that he does around the clock, Huey’s parents have played a tremendous role in supporting and assisting him to accomplish as much as he can. Because of this, Huey expressed how grateful he is to have parents that are willing to do whatever they can to help their son.
“They have been extremely supportive since my decision to pick videography over playing
basketball,” said Huey. “They trust in my word and they see the same vision that I see. Since then, they have traveled with me to numerous events and even helped me invest in my first camera back when I started to record different players. Even though I am nowhere I want to be as of now, I can say that they are both huge reasons why I have had some success.”
Because there are so few photographers/videographers that are recognized for their work, Huey is starting a trend where more people behind the camera can be noticed for the visions that they showcase on social media. Huey believes that if everyone can stick to a particular formula, photography and videography can be on everyone’s radar.
“I think that staying patient and staying consistent at your work is vital,” Huey said. “Not everything is going to come your way at first so staying the course and having confidence in yourself will help in the long run.”
Going along with his success, Huey has a great deal of friends/colleagues whose talent is growing across the Tri-state area. This includes UncutxRemy, Prestige.TV, Tim Lang, Unarchivedfiles, Lokesh Sutherland, and many more. Much like Huey, these creators have a knack for capturing thrilling moments with their special skills.
Hopefully in the long run, other creators who have talents similar to Huey can utilize their platforms and make holding a camera just as popular as dunking a basketball.