In the age of YouTube and online music streaming, the music video can sometimes make more of a statement than the song itself, especially within the genre of hip hop.
With these music videos so easily accessible, listening to music can be just as much about creating an image for the artist and getting the audience to wonder just what these artists were thinking.
Here are just a few of my favorite hip-hop music videos of the last year. Some are beautiful, some are entertaining and others are just plain strange.
Kendrick Lamar — “Alright”
This video is truly a work of art, playing with motion, timing and space. Its heavy political imagery backs up Lamar’s statements and makes them even bolder. The video centers around Lamar running around his neighborhood, doing donuts in the parking lot with his homies and tossing dollar bills out the window.
Drake — “Hotline Bling”
Everyone has probably seen this video or, at least, clips from it. What is that call center of voluptuous women? Why is Drake wearing that puffy orange jacket? Why is his face doing that? Is that dancing? Questions abound, which is what makes it so entertaining to watch. Drake’s dance moves and wardrobe will have you laughing … or just watching in confused silence.
A$AP Rocky — “LSD”
This is another artsy one. As one would imagine from the title of the song, the video incorporates some pretty trippy visuals. The visuals fit beautifully with the lyrics, softly spinning into the chorus, all the while giving us snatches of faces, buildings and other objects amid spiraling colors and flashing lights. The video will bend your mind a little and keep your attention.
Ty Dolla $sign Ft. Charli XCX & Tinashe — “Drop That Kitty”
This one is … Interesting. The part of this video that makes it stick with you is the women with large CGI cat heads on their bodies. They are the background lurkers of the music video, obviously fitting with the title of the song. They drink slurpees, dance a little and sway awkwardly in the background as the main acts drop their rhymes. This is one that will surely get stuck in your head — both the song and the visuals.
There are so many entertaining music videos out there on the internet. Some are truly works of art and some will just make you laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. But whatever reason you have for searching the video on YouTube, you will no doubt be entertained.
@Unchained116