Rapper & Director Behind NYPD Pole-Dancer Music Video Defend Detective

S-Quire and Picture Perfect, the rapper and director behind the week's hottest rap music video, aren't celebrating the viral moment their video vixen turned out to be an NYPD detective ... she was such a pro, they hired her from a legit casting agency!!!

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to both artists about their "Doin That" video, now infamous for Detective Melissa Mercado's thong-twerking and pole-dancing moves inside a strip club rented out for the video.

S-Quire says having the "cop rap video" is not a tag he wants on his jacket and reveals the onscreen chemistry he and Mercado shared was simply showmanship ... which you can see in the BTS footage below.

Picture has tons of video shoots under his belt, including "Bodak Yellow," the one that blew up Cardi B's career, and he says "Doin That" has been one of the fastest climbers he's had with a new artist ... but they both assure the video was sitting at million views before her police profession was spread across the internet.

Picture is a longtime exec of WorldStarHipHop, which hosted the "Doin That" video ... they offer tons of traffic, even for newcomers.

They do, though, admit Mercado's beauty attracted the bulk of the views.

Both guys tell us they haven't spoken to Mercado but wish her the best, especially seeing some of the hate mail she's received for being a police officer.

S-Quire hails from Hempstead, Long Island and says he's been making music for over a decade.

He's happy with his strip club anthem but says his next record "Ten Toes Down" will be a 180-degree departure from this fiasco!!!

NYPD hasn't officially commented but sources have indicated they're sticking by the detective.