Music video was an inevitable development in rap and did wonders to establish it as a world-wide movement, but in reality there a very few hip-hop clips that actually add to the song. Unless you were Run-DMC, there’s a good chance that any 80’s rap vid featured a fake band miming playing your beat, a cheap set and a bunch of girls with dumb hair styles. The 90’s gave us bigger video budgets but 90% of clips were just everybody doing the East-Coast Stomp (c) LONS rocking Timbs and hoodies before the shiny suits and Hype Williams tunnel vision tunnel vision took over. Now that there’s no money again we’re back to home-made videos of dudes walking around rapping…
There was something about the impact of hearing a song for the first time on the radio or copping the single and blasting that shit twenty times in a row. I still remember hearing ‘If The Papes Come’ on the radio late at night and that shit blew my mind, or hearing the first four bars of Latee‘s ‘This Cuts Got Flavor’ on a Red Alert tape and playing it until the tape nearly popped. But whenever I see the video for a song that I either grew-up listening it’s a let-down. The power of the visual imagery of ‘Follow The Leader’ was light-years ahead of seeing Rakim dressed-up like Al Capone. Sure, I could get on some luddite shit and just ignore videos, but there are always some exceptions to the rule. Jeru‘s ‘Can’t Stop The Prophet’ was amazing, as was Organized Konfusion‘s ‘Stress’, but I’d be hard-pressed to even think of 25 rap vid’s I’d actually want to watch again. Blame Beavis, right?
I remember watching Wu-tang clan’s C.R.E.A.M. video and thinkin about how thugged the fuck out they were, so much was blurred out of the video, but that just added to the allure of the Wu. I can’t say I’ve watched many rap music videos if any lately. I think it was a 90’s Yo MTV raps thing. The best videos these days are by indie bands doing the rube goldberg thing or being clever with their shit to get youtube fame.
your thoughts ring true, however, where i grew up (in the early to late 80’s), we didn’t have hip hop on the radio and yo! mtv raps was how we heard (and saw) new music. then we’d buy the tape and listen to it till it popped.
hype williams def made the best videos. pharcyde – drop, might be my #1 video. hype made them learn to lip sync backwards.
^That was Spike Jonze, not Hype Williams.
“My Philosophy” and “Night of the Living Baseheads” are some immediate classic videos that come to mind.
“Microphone Fiend” and “Fight the Power” also come to mind, lemme go over to youtube and dig some more.
Onyx + Wu = The Worst, crazy ass video. one of my favorite.
The Symphony video was dope ….. even tho’ Kane did’t dress the part.
sure u right.but i could easy name 25 clips that i still like to watch again.all that wu and bootcamp stuff.onyx had dope videos.keith’s poppa large.biggie’s warning.them jeru clips.there are a lot of nice visuals in my vhs collection.
All them Das-EFX videos from the first album looked the same. In fact, ALL the Hit Squad’s vids from about that time are indistinguishable!
Kool G Rap “On The Run Remix”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Niua9KOzgrA
The Del videos from No Need For Alarm had a great low budget quality to them.
“Buffalo Gals” and “Nuthin but a G thang” videos belong up there…
MAIN SOURCE:
= Watch Roger Do His Thing (message & images)
= Just Hanging Out (histoy & reality)
= Looking At The Front Door (artistic imagery)
Enough said. The complete example of when a great artist makes great songs AND videos to match on zero budgets. Creativity of masterful music can be translated on screen.
Word to Keatso, “Mic. Fiend” & “Baseheads” are classic along with “In The Ghetto”, “Let The Rhythm Hit ’em”, “I Ain’t No Joke”, “Move The Crowd”, Biz “Vapors”, every Public Enemy video up to the incredible “Do You Wanna Go My Way?”, BDP “My Philosophy”, The Roots “What They Do” & “Next Movement”, Madlib/Quasimoto “Bullyshit”…in fact hell, if you make real Hip Hop you probably got good taste in a film video director.
Boogiemonsters “Recognized Thresholds…”
Nas “Halftime”
Brand Nubian “All For One”
Mic Geronimo “Shit’s Real”
A Tribe Called Quest “Jazz”
were all 100% class, regardless of the budget
^Oh yeah that Jazz/Buggin Out video was ill, as was Scenario, although it hasnt aged well.
Can we get a separate post to start listing our favorite bad videos?
I got plenty of those on deck Robbie.
lmao @ Mic Geronimo’s inclusion. It’s exactly what Robbie was saying “rocking Timbs and hoodies”. The typical “giving a pound” shot, the crew shot, etc.
Kool Keith in a straight jacket for “Poppa Large” was the shit…
Gangstarr’s “Mass Appeal” was real hip-hop as can be…
Love The Roots “What They Do” with the captions
I almost never watch music videos anyway.
If I hear good things about a video I might look into it, and Gravel Pit stands as classic to me.
But my vision of a song > visions of the artist and their shitty budgets.
All time favorite “just 2 get a rep” gangstarr;
“aint no 1/2 steppin” BDK; “girls I gottem locked”…
Worst, all videos from cool chip and chuck chillout, runnerup SHAQ…
Girls I got em locked might be the lowest budget video of all time
^lol, aint that the truth, but them brothers had a sick flow that made me cop their shit.
I almost forgot, the best low budget video of all time had to be Wu-Tangs protect ya neck, once I saw that I knew shit was about to change.
‘Night Of The Living Baseheads’-P.E.
Classic
‘The International Zone Coaster’-L.O.N.S.
The zestiest cheese of rap videos
Gang Starr You Know My Steez video, influenced by George Lucas THX 1138, is one of my favourites.
There’s plenty of rap videos I love, I even like some of the shitty ones.
Faves would include Mind Playin’ Tricks On Me, Some of Jeru’s vids, the early Wu vids, etc etc.
Compared to other forms of music, the videos for HipHop songs haven’t really been as interesting as they could be. During the late 90s and after, it seems the generic shouting at the camera with the crew in the background, video hos, or Hype Williams/lavish living fantasy type videos are the most prevalent.
NWA’s 100 Miles & Runnin’ was pretty ill.
I liked Ice Cube “Who’s the Mack” too
PE – Can’t Truss It/Shut Em Down and BDP – Love’s Gonna Get’cha/You Must Learn. Video’s coming off that ‘Fear of a Black Planet’ were like HipHop events…Mikey Jack style.
Shabazz The Disciple – Death Be The Penalty
“Classic Material” by LONS was dope.
“Saturdays”,”Keeping the Faith”, “Buddy” by De La Soul were all dope too.
^ I would add Ego Tripping pt 2, especially since it inspired the Roots “what they do” video.
Also, if the Beastie Boys are in the running for this, they win hands down btw.
Non Phixion – Rock Stars,
Devon the Dude – What I Be On
comin from the uk vaults: foreign beggars featuring skinnyman “hold on”, low budget but effective…you tube it
Word to Keatso again, Ego Trippin’ 2 was dope as hell and Beasties did take on the format as an extension of their art.
SYMPHONY, SCENARIO, NIGHT OF THE LIVING BASEHEADS, MY PHILOSOPHY…