In the world of less than unique music videos, it’s appreciated when an artist and director collaborate to add to the experience of a song. You know who I’m talking about; the rappers whose idea of creativity is a bunch of guns, getting hype, naked women, money, strip clubs etc. Big name artists are just as guilty, maybe even more so as they have the ability to do something different with their budget.
There is nothing wrong with that once in awhile and if it furthers the track. If Chief Keef made his “I Don’t Like” video with even a little bit of artistic flair, it probably wouldn’t have done very well.
My top 5 criteria for this list was an excellent track, a great visual, and a creative and unique way of combining the two. I tried to include the least amount of popular artists that have a big budget as they do have the advantage.
Supa Bwe – Fool Wit It Freestyle (featuring Chance The Rapper)
Supa was promoting the shit out of this in the last month and for good reason. He posted a semi short clip and fans and myself were amazed to see it was pure art.
The full video is gorgeous; Abel Gray has created a masterpiece. I can’t even imagine how much time went into this. It’s already gotten over 80K views, and its not just because Chance was tied to it. Supa is a superstar in his own right, garnering a massive amount of devoted fans based off of, first, his Hurt Everybody mixtapes, and then his solo career when they broke up. (He’s now in a group called Fight Me with UG Vavy and Shepard Hues that’s dropped a hell of a debut single, Annie.)
Abel Gray is no stranger to praise either as he’s gathered tons of attention based off his music and illustrations.
These three creatives came together to create a blissful animation. I love how Chance wasn’t actually featured in the visual which would have probably gotten even more attention. It’s the art that matters, and it should always stay that way.
Charles Lauste + femdot. XXII
This is another visually compelling video from Charles Lauste featuring femdot. I posted this one to the flowsfordays blog a few days ago and it’s one of my most viewed posts of the week. Collaborate videographers Cian Mallers and Patrick Ryan Deasy of Stripmall Productions went totally HAM on this one. It’s full of watercolors, light speed stars, and femdot doing his thing. Definitely a quality piece of work.
Boogie – No Way
My favorite track off of Boogie’s highly anticipated Thirst 48 Pt. II (which has dropped) got the visual treatment a little before the release. It was a great way to hype up the album as the track AND video is stellar. Director Jack Wagnercreated a fluorescent wonderland with Boogie and his boys getting really wild. It’s energizing to look at.
Marcus Nogood – Blackman
With everything that’s going on right now (the presidential election, police brutality, etc) it can get depressing knowing most of us can’t do a whole lot about the actions of these power figures. The good thing is, Marcus Nogood has made an artist statement in his music video for Blackman. Legendary videographer YAKUB Films directed and edited this creepy barn backdrop. My personal favorite image is Marcus putting a blowtorch to Donald Trump’s picture.
Saint Millie, Mano & Sir Michael Rocks – No Heauxs’
I’m praying these three become a super group. They have so much personality and charisma, and are each so different. Not only is this a great song, (produced by C Sick + Mano) it is such a simple and effective video. It was shot by Forman James along with Jordon Clark (who also edited the whole shebang.) The black and white shots almost seem essential and the white backdrop adds another classic element.
1stDayFresh.com 