[Video] Angel Haze: "Battle Cry" (Feat. Sia)
Angel Haze continued promotion of her debut label project, Dirty Gold over the weekend with the release of her latest video, this one for the track "Battle Cry". The videos is a bit of a parallel for the young Detroit-born Universal signee, who flexed her artist muscle by threatening to release Dirty Gold herself via the Internet a la Danny Brown as a way to force the record company's hand in releasing the project. It worked, and Dirty Gold has been a pleasurable journey of new music from one of the more gifted lyrical rappers in terms of delivery. The video for "Battle Cry" is powerful to say the least, featuring a basic shot of Haze rapping and walking down a desert rode, flanked by images of what is supposed to be her past as she reflects on an upbringing in the strict Pentecostal Apostolic Church and the abuse she faced as a child, all set to her confidently handled bars that hit with resounding urgency amid the aesthetic that is built with the surrounding images. The video, which contains a message urging fans to ""are affected by any of the themes of this video" to donate to Child Helpline International, a nonprofit organization that supports and creates tools to communicate with children in need around the world." The visual fades to black with Haze gallantly raising her fist in one of the more powerful uses of the spoken word I've heard as of late. Check out the full video, streaming below.
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[Video] The O'My's: "Sweet Love"
The O'My's are easily one of the most soul-packed bunch in Chicago. Led by Maceo Haymes and Nick Hennessy, the band has seen its stock grow since releasing their latest album, A Humble Masterpiece late last year via RH and playing a host of high-energy sets around their hometown and beyond. Yesterday, playing on the "love is in the air" vibes of mid February, The O'My's crew dropped their latest visual for the song "Sweet Love" off their latest release. The video, directed by Dan Moraru, details what it's like when a friend of yours falls in love, worse yet, a roommate and what that means for everyone he was friends with. Check out the full video below.
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[Video] Mike Golden & Friends: "Every Morning Love"
Well, if you haven't heard, love is in the air. Adding to the Valentine's Day spirit is Mike Golden & Friends out of Chicago. The soul rock group adds another layer to the already heightened sense of the four letter word with another well-crafted video from the talented Elijah Alvarado. Never one to do things the same twice, Alvarado begins the video with Golden beginning a wall of dominoes, which then pace the first few moments of the visual depiction of the band's song "Every Morning Love", eventually sparking a mechanism, seemingly out of the opening scene of The Sandlot, that announces the title in one of the most creative ways I've ever seen it done. Remember when the song title and artist name were just white writing in the bottom left corner? It's 2014, people. Basically, Golden and Alvarado set up a girl's dream Valentine's Day morning set to a single off the band's latest project, Utopia. Check it out below.
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[Video] Thundercat: “Evangelion”/”We’ll Die”
Thundercat, aside from having one of the best names in music today, has established himself over the past few years as one of the pre-eminent bass players in the game today. Today, the artist legally known as Stephen Bruner dropped a visual that straddles a pair of singles off his critically-acclaimed 2013 release, Apocalypse. Teaming up with Myspace, Thundercat spends the "Evangelion" portion of the video wandering across a debris-laden field before settling down to perform "We'll Die" on a pier. Thundercat is the go-to for creative basslines, having worked with the likes of Vic Mensa, Flying Lotus and Mac Miller, among others. Expect to see plenty more from him both individually and featured on your favorite artist's projects. Watch "Evangelion/We'll Die," streaming here below.
[Video] Wu Tang Clan: "Y'all Been Warned"
On the way to becoming one of the highest-grossing and influential hip-hop groups in history, Wu Tang Clan produced copious amounts of media to help push the music forward and today, some footage that never managed to see the light of day is finally making its debut on the Internet. Recorded while AOL was still clinging to being the gateway to the 'net and before Complex Magazine was a thing, the video for Wu Tang Clan's track "Y'all Been Warned" off their 2001 album, Iron Flag has finally found its way to public domain thanks to another service not around when it was made, Youtube. After hearing about legions of Milennials not familiar with Outkast, maybe this will serve as a lesson in hip-hop history for the legions of rap fans who grew up in the blog era. Check out the full video below and read my interview with U God at last year's North Coast Festival here.
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[Video] Nick Astro: "Put Me On" (Feat. Legit)
Last summer, amidst a steady flow of exceptional projects from the Chicago hip-hop scene that gave us Acid Rap, Innanetape, Yeezus, Alternative Trap and The Recipe Vol. 2, among many others, newcomer Nick Astro snuck in an aesthetically interesting working in his debut project, Super16 which dropped in July. The project demonstrated Astro's careful, almost conversational rhyming tone and lyrical content that easily transitions between the powerful and mundane. After a wait, the Columbia Film student and LOD member dropped his visual treatment for "Put Me On" featuring fellow Chicagoan Legit.
The video certainly plays on Astro's background in film, with a theatrical opening sequence that gives way to a graphically-accented still shot, capturing the pair in a freight elevator. Shot by CAKEatersTV, it's a an appropriate prelude to Astro's "Scarlett Johansson" video. Check out the video below and keep an eye out for his latest project, ListenToNewMusic, due out this Summer.
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[Video] Marissa Nadler: "Was It A Dream"
Marissa Nadler released a new video for "Was It A Dream," a song off of her new record July that was released late last year. The Boston singer-songwriter warbles and whispers in this simply dreamy track, fading in and out with a ghost-like quality. Directed by Robert Walsh, the video is haunting and eerie, matching the track perfectly with vintage-y sepia tone shots of Nadler.
In an interview, Nadler explains her thoughts for the video: "I definitely wanted something beautiful and dreamlike. I dressed in a white-and-black dress that was very simple. We had this older gentleman named Archie who had never been an actor before. I met him at a party and thought he'd be perfect [for the video], so I asked him. He's going through this old footage and he becomes kind of attached to [it]. He's watching her, and he passes her on the street. The lines between reality and dreams are blurred."
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[Video] Foster The People: "Coming of Age"
Foster The People has experienced a lot on the way to becoming one of the most well-known bands in the world, years of hard work, touring, recording and sleepless nights that culminated in the success the group enjoys today, playing and headlining a healthy dose of festivals this summer. The group relives the ride and the early days of trying to make it in their latest video for the appropriately-titled "Coming of Age". Playing on distinct 80s aesthetics, the video is an homage to playing in high school on whatever stage was available. "Coming of Age" is available for download when you pre-order the band's next album, Supermodel, due out March 14. The follow-up to 2011's Torch that set put FTP on the national radar, it seems to be a perfect time for everyone to take some time to reminisce as they prepare to do it all over again. Check out the latest from Foster The People as they recount everything that lead to where they are now.
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