Tag Archives: deaf community

MUSIC
Nakhla ’13 Releases New Music Video, Signs “Charlie Brown”

Mark Nakhla ’13, ASL music video superstar, released a beautiful new video to Coldplay’s “Charlie Brown” yesterday.

It is the latest addition to his growing repertoire of artistically-composed videos. You may remember his interpretations of Drake’s “Headlines” and Jay-Z and Kanye’s “No Church in the Wild,” both of which went viral and have over 20,000 and 40,000 plays respectively. His “No Church in the Wild” video was featured on the Huffington Post, which also covered the criticism it drew from other members of the ASL community. The new video clearly pushes in a different direction, most visibly featuring Nakhla in a solo performance.

Nakhla notes how the criticism surrounding his previous video influenced his newest one on YouTube: 

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MUSIC
Nakhla ’13 Learns ASL, Also Learns Drake

Wesleyan junior Mark Nakhla ’13 picked up American Sign Language as a freshman. In the years since, Nakhla has spent a considerable amount of time and effort signing videos for the deaf and hard of hearing community, including Backstreet Boys’ “The Call,”  Katy Perry’s “Fireworks,” and OneRepublic’s “Secrets”—basically your average WESU playlist. Most of the videos involve Nahkla, stationary, signing in front of an unchanging, domestic background. Until now.

The latest is an ASL interpretation of Drake’s “Headlines,” with help from Noah Korman ’14, Adam Keller ’14, and Greg Faxon ’14. Says video contributor/not-so-anonymous tipster Korman: “This video’s production and signing however have reached new heights.” He’s right: this is a tightly choreographed Drake-themed journey through the Butts tunnels and beyond. It’s already topped 400 views in one day and counting. Check it out here or embedded above.

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