San Antonio rapper 'seamlessly' pranks CNN with awesome spoof video

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SAN ANTONIO — A local rapper managed to get an interview spot on CNN with Brian Stelter to promote his debut show in the Alamo City – sort of.

Julius Johnson, a 25-year-old hip-hop artist who uses the stage name “Dingo Johnson,” and local videographer Andrew Goodwin teamed up to produce an extremely authentic-looking video that edits Johnson into a political panel with Stelter and Ana Marie Cox on the cable news network.

Johnson, dressed in a Donald Trump outfit and calling in live from San Antonio, was edited into the spot POLITICO Chief Political Correspondent Glenn Thrush had in the original segment.

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On Thursday, Johnson tweeted the video to Stelter, senior media correspondent and host for CNN, who was impressed. Stelter shared Johnson's tweet with his more than 300,000 followers, calling it "seamless."

Of course, in reality CNN probably wouldn’t spend time covering a rap show unless Trump was dueling in a free flow battle. But with the magical video editing talents of Goodwin, the clip has become a believable piece of web culture for some and gained the attention of hundreds of others throughout the day on Thursday.

Which is exactly what Goodwin and Johnson said they were hoping for.

Goodwin, who’s produced similar videos for rapper Lil B, told MySA.com the pair started working on the project around 5 p.m. on Wednesday and was completed by this morning, just in time for Twitter followers to wake up, see it and hopefully retweet it to inadvertently publicize Johnson’s show.

Along with it being a smart marketing tactic, Goodwin said he wanted to get people to consider the validity of what they’re watching on TV, using Johnson’s clip as a lesson.

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He said some people actually believe the spoof is an authentic newscast.

Meanwhile, Johnson is basking in the positive reaction from his legion of followers, the “Dingo Hive.”

“No one’s been hating on it,” he said. “Why would you? It’s funny.”

These Words are Bound 2, the showcase at the center of the promotion, is scheduled for Friday, beginning at 9 p.m. at BlackGold Emporium. With seven artists including Johnson, the show is doubling as a book drive. Attendees who bring five books will receive a T-shirt and complimentary drinks throughout the night.

Johnson said with Goodwin as his “video guy,” the comical videos are far from being over.

“This is just the beginning,” he said. “This was just to test the waters, the water is warm so we’re jumping in.”

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye