Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesus “Shula the Don” Hilario.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jesus “Shula the Don”. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Music has always been a part of my life; I knew I wanted to be part of it somehow. Since I was a kid, I’d watch yo mtv raps the jukebox rapcity religiously. We moved down from Washington Heights early in the 90s. I’d record the videos for my cousin while he worked, I idolize what I saw the cool scenes, the cars, the clothes, the love of hiphop was a lifetime thing so when I’d be with my friends some of them along rapped and while some took serious enough. I wanted to help and get busy; my friend DB who owned the studio where everyone recorded at showed me the basics of editing footage. He gave me some advice so I bought my self a camera and I started doing little blogs which turned into doing an actual video. I got discouraged with a couple of things after a fallout; I found myself partying too much and not being focused. So I moved to Atlanta I got tired of Miami and the whole party club culture. I felt like I had nothing to celebrate what’s the purpose. Atlanta taught me a lot about myself I needed that their culture is dope. I got into eating better and reading on Latin American and African history. All that culture but I missed home and my family and friends.
So I moved back a few years later, my friend Kiko called me to tell me his cousin Ayojuan who’s dj Khaled engineer now worked at Cool and Dres studio and they needed a videographer. He asked you still record and I was like hell yea. So I went in they liked my work that was crazy to me their legends and they liked my work. I was like, wow okay we can get busy. I took in on the role as in-house videographer which we would cut up clips of them creating beats and their own artist Kent Jones to any other guest they had I’d film and take pictures, talk about samples whatever I loved it. Jim Jones, one day put up a post that he needed a videographer, Lucci his right-hand man tags me in it since he been in the studio at Cool and Dre. I dm Jim and he said tell Lucci to bring me to the studio thank God he brought me in. Jim was one of my favorites artists ever; all my friends knew it too. It was insane to me unreal definitely it was an honor. So couple years went on I was working at Costco, I was working full-time at Costco I would be in the studio all night. I didn’t sleep at all, I had a long relationship end and I barely even had time to see my mother. I cut myself part-time then to limited part-time to handle everything. I knew I had to stick with this Jim tells me to go to NY with him for a Dipset reunion concert, that really changed my life cause new years after a party at puff daddy house Jim tells me to quit my job and just work for him and its been all gas peddle since then. I went from as a little boy recording my favorite videos to making them happen.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth seas don’t make skilled sailors. It’s never a smooth road. I learned along the way I had to make a lot of sacrifices and still do. Starting your own business or working for yourself is hard from getting support from people you’d wouldn’t think to person closes to you not believing in you to not having time with loved ones when you really want to, to not sleeping or eating to making mistakes we all make them observe and learn and apply it. You have to just focus and use it as your fuel to want to crawl out and stand up the reward is priceless.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Two Seven Films – what should we know?
Well, Two Seven Films is the company I started with my good friend pc. its crazy that out of all my friends we used all go out and spend money every night in clubs and buying needless shit. He’s the only one every that said let’s start a film company I believe in you and that’s what we did and got to work with artists who we idolized coming up our hero’s and I’m proud of it. I direct videos more than that just really creative control of our projects. We specialize in the main culture that is urban America eras of 80s and up. We’ve put from Santeria actual rituals to smuggling in immigrants on videos or putting a grand piano in the middle of one of the worst projects in America or real shark on a table or real-time protest and social messages we make it real. When you watch the work, you’ll feel a taste of it; its organic and authentic and fast turnaround times we quick with it first 48 was my nickname.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My mother for always showing me there’s always a hack to it, she made so many things happen with that duct tape man. It showed me to look at sideways in upside down till you figure it out. My cousin Sammy who introduced me to hiphop, who had me watching the movie juice and making me record yo mtv raps for him. My big bro SpaSe Jav, who always believed in me and used to get mad at me for not being focused. He’d asked me if id went to the studio to record music and if I said anything else that wasn’t going, he’d be out doing promotion he’d legit walk away from me and not speak till later in the day lmao thank you bro. My main friends since ages E, B, stick, solaar, sterl, my Atlanta crew Greg and Micah Harlem Klock, red and blue pill. When I took this serious space and Rob Dade for bringing me in those guys are special, they been in the field working for a long time with big names and was eager to show me the ropes on things to work they dope. My girl Denializ who’s stayed pushing me to be great makes sure my head stable. My brother Harold for the wise words, I feel like it’s my pops talking to me. My Saucey and team vamp 730 and Dipset brothers always making sure we as a unit move right pone.flee, gotta, dud!denity of course Pc, Rah, Marcos, bobby trends, big bro Jim Jones who took me in as family man he’s taught me so much it’s unreal he’s my mentor. He directed videos when his first album out and to trust me with his vision we go out there and bounce ideas back in forth it’s super dope and fun to see them turn into major videos and songs and albums be apart of it it’s priceless. Also, big shout to Rick Ross for reaching out to after we did the video for Jim and Ross – state of union. We did nobody’s favorite ft gunplay amazing time that was a bucket list moment.
Contact Info:
- Email: shulathedon@gmail.com
- Instagram: @shulathedon or @two7films
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