A Seattle native, Grant grew up behind the camera studying his mother's artistry as she made her mark as an indie filmmaker. After graduating film school, Grant took the industry by storm. His meteoric rise includes a catalogue of over 100 award winning music videos. From Grammy winners to music icons, Grant drew on his innate creativity to uniquely compliment each artist. With Grant at the helm, his videos received heavy rotation on MTV, BET, FUSE and MUCH MUSIC, further propelling the artists to the top of the music charts. This perfect symmetry also garnered a multitude of directorial awards, such as a MTV Video Music Award (VMA) for Destiny's Child "Survivor," 2 Billboard Music Video Awards, NAACP Award and an MVPA (Music Video Prod Assoc) from his piers for "Video of the Year" for his work with Jewel. His signature style has created timeless pieces for Beyonce, TI, Common, Jay Z, Aaliyah, Jewel, Missy Elliot, Monica and Vanessa Hudgens to name a few.
Over the last four years Darren made a big splash in the episodic directing space with multiple episodes of The Chi, Queen of the South, Legacies, God Friended Me and Soundtrack. Other credits include Wu-Tang (An American Saga), Barkskins, Suits, Unsolved (The Biggie Tupac Murders), The Purge, All American, Supernatural, Empire, La's Finest and he served as co-executive producer on sixteen episodes of Saints and Sinners.
Grant's first feature film exploded onto the big screen "Diary of A Mad Black Woman” (Lions Gate Films) debuted at #1. A fan favorite, it grossed over $75 million domestic/DVD. His sophomore feature, "Make it Happen" – a dance film set in the world of modern burlesque (The Weinstein Company) followed shortly after, solidifying his position in the feature film arena. Grant's vast body of work includes commercials for a variety of global brands, such as Budweiser, McDonalds, Major League Baseball and Victoria’s Secret. He also frequently lends his expertise to PSA's such as "Hitman," an award-winning anti-smoking campaign. Currently, Grant is working on a broad spectrum of projects utilizing his experience as a director, writer & producer to continually deliver cutting edge content.
TELEVISION:
2021 61ST ST (FINALE DIR)
2021 RAISING DION SEASON 2 (EP/PREMIER DIR)
2021 WENDY WILLIAMS TV MOVIE
2020 LA'S FINEST
2020 GOD FRIENDED ME
2020 QUEEN OF THE SOUTH
2020 HOT TOPIC (WENDY WILLIAMS STORY)
2020 LEGACIES
2019 WU-TANG: AN AMERICAN SAGA
2019 GOD FRIENDED ME
2019 LEGACIES
2019 BARKSKINS
2019 THE CHI
2019 THE PURGE
2019 QUEEN OF THE SOUTH
2019 SOUNDTRACK (2)
2019 EMPIRE
2018 THE CHI
2018 GOD FRIENDED ME
2018 SUITS
2018 SUPERNATURAL
2018 ALL AMERICAN
2018 LEGACIES
2018 QUEEN OF THE SOUTH
2017 UNSOLVED - THE MURDERS OF TUPAC AND BIGGIE
2017 SCREAM (2)
2017 THE CHI
2017 SAINTS & SINNERS CO-EP/DIR - (16)
FEATURE FILMS:
2016 KILLING HASSELHOFF (UNIVERSAL/WWE FILMS)
2016 LEXUS "VERSES AND FLOW" JILL SCOTT/FIVEOLOGY TOUR SHORT
2010 MAKE IT HAPPEN (TWC)
2005 DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN (LIONS GATE FILMS)
COMMERCIAL:
SPAULDING "NEVER FINISHED" DEMAR DEROZAN
LEXUS VERSES & FLOW "POET MOMENTS" 2013-2016
CLEAR HAIR CARE (ELLE VARNER)
BUDWEISER "CLOCKWATCH"
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PSA
MCDONALDS (SERENA AND VENUS WILLIAMS)
DARK AND LOVELY (GABRIEL UNION)
"HITMAN" ANTI SMOKING PSA (AWARD WINING)
VICTORIA’S SECRET (SELITA EBANKS)
MUSIC VIDEO:
DESTINY’S CHILD- “SURVIVOR” (MTV AWARD), “BILLS BILLS BILLS,”“NO NO NO,” “BUGA BOO.”
JEWEL- “STANDING STILL” (MVPA AWARD)
CRAIG DAVID- “FILL ME IN” (BILLBOARD AWARD)
BRIAN MCKNIGHT- “ANYTIME,” “HOLD ME”
HOWIE DAY- “SHE SAYS”
MYA- “FALLEN”
BOYZ II MEN “PASSING YOU BY”, “THANK YOU IN ADVANCE” “I WILL GET THERE” (SOUNDTRACK VIDEO)
AALIYAH “THE ONE I GAVE MY HEAR TO” “I MISS YOU”
TAMIA “QUESTIONS” “CAN’T GET ENOUGH”
98 DEGREES “WAS IT SOMETHING I DIDN’T SAY”
MONICA “STREET SYMPHONY”
VANESSA HUDGENS- “SAY OKAY”
JAY Z & JERMAINE DUPREE “MONEY AIN’T A THANG”
CODY SIMPSON- “SO LISTEN”
CORRS- “ALL THE LOVE” (SOUNDTRACK VIDEO)
INDIA ARIE- “PURIFY ME” (SOUNDTRACK VIDEO)
COMMON- “YOU REMIND ME”
*FULL LIST AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
