A$AP Rocky & Skepta Release New Visuals
A$AP Rocky & Skepta team up on the split screen visual representing New York City & London for their song "Praise The Lord (Da Shine)." Following a similar vintage hazy feel of the previous video, "A$AP Forever." The combination of the quick transitions, A$AP's outfits, Tyler the Creator cameo, and the cool color tone creates another epic music video.
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Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have My Money" Video is Bananas
I think I've hit the point where I'm officially tired of Rihanna's career trajectory. Seemingly more and more, her sound is dictated by her record company. Her evolution into this faux "trap princess" is definitely a far cry from the Rihanna that cried out for help in "SOS" all those years ago or the one that claimed she was "so hard" in "Hard." Her last album wasn't as bad - it had the slick production her latest album clearly will not have.
I guess I'll wait to pass further judgment until we see release of her eighth album in full, until then here's the crazy video for her second single "Bitch Better Have My Money." Directed by Megaforce (who also once directed Madonna's weird video for "Gimme All Your Lovin") and Rihanna herself, the video sees a criminally angry Rihanna torture her accountant, kidnap a naked woman, and show off her boobs while covered in money and blood. It's absolutely bonkers. Mads Mikkelson even makes an appearance for some reason. I'd kill to have that money gun he uses.
As for the track itself, it's fine. I prefer "American Oxygen's" sound, however. Check out the video for "Bitch Better Have My Money" below.
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Video Saved the Radio Star: How YouTube Pulled Off What MTV Couldn't
In 1981, MTV revealed their very first music video, the ironically titled "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. In that single moment, the age of visual media exploded and radio began its decline into obsolescence. To this day, most of what you'll find playing on radio is the same recycled Top 40 hits over and over again. For an artist to gain any type of fame, it used to be that they'd have to work to get their single on the radio, and after a few weeks of play, get to have a music video on TV. Fortunately, that's not the way it works anymore.
With the rise of the Internet age, video sites like YouTube helped revolutionize the music video medium. While it may have damaged the music industry in terms of revenue, it's been pretty damn great for the rest of us. With every video wanting to become the next "viral" sensation, music videos are finally doing what they were intended to do and make us want to buy music again.
[Video] Sego: "20 Years Tall"
Utah natives and members of the LA-based band Sego are currently working on making a name for themselves in the west coast music scene. Sego’s first music video, “20 Years Tall,” manages to vibe with a wide-range of influences, but goes to show that the band promises to hold its own in the realm of punk-funk and will hopefully shower us with more playful jams in the near future.
The initial relationship between the candid bass line and percussion smoothly guides “20 Years Tall” into a synthesis of mollified vocals and noisy guitar. The chorus is lively and electronic and provides a stark contrast to the coarse vocals, and still manages to remain un-abused, unwinding the song of its wryness but not becoming its crux. The disco-punk Sego infuses in “20 Years Tall” reaches out to cult fans of Franz Ferdinand or even The Stone Roses, but cultivates a unique quintessence for the Utah natives nevertheless. Watch Sego’s video for “20 Years Tall” down below.
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[Video] Randy Class: "True Story"
Sometimes, all it takes to re-affirm your love is a simple guitar serenade. That's the theme of Randy Class' video for "True Story," the first single from his upcoming EP, Metanoia. Directed by Jason Steven Ruan, the music video features the crooner serenading a lovely lady, assuring her that the love they share is a true story. While the song features some background production, it's carried along with Class' guitar playing, something of an uncommon (though not alright rare) commodity in R&B.
Check out the video below.
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[Video] Isaiah Toothtaker: "La Mer"
Photo by William Olguin
It’s been a long eight months since Isaiah Toothaker and Jacob Safari’s ?OTHING came out. At the time of its release, I singled out “La Mer” as the highlight of the Nine Inch Nails-sampled project thanks to Safari's production and Toothtaker's introspective lyrics. Not long after ?OTHING was released, I talked to Toothtaker about the project where he revealed that a few videos were planned to support the EP. Thanks to SPIN, the first of the ?OTHING videos was released earlier today, fittingly for the aforementioned standout, "La Mer."
The video runs counter to some of Isaiah's past videos, opting for more of a simple, minimalistic style than what we've come to expect from the rapper (especially in comparison to the amazing "Frownin'" video with Gunplay). However, while some might miss the stylistic flourishes from Isaiah's video backlog, the "La Mer" video more than makes up for with Isaiah's singular style, complete with the rap squat and a fat 30 pound gold chain; the gold motif also extends past the ever-present chain, but also in Isaiah's jewelry and curtain backdrop. No bells, no tricks, no whistles - the focus is on the music, and damn if this isn't one of my favorite Isaiah Toothtaker songs.
You can check out the video for "La Mer" below.
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[Video] Lee Woods: "Playing With Fire"
Following March's Girl Power project in which she covered pivotal "girl power" songs, Chicago/LA songstress Lee Woods is back with a taste of her own personal music with the video for "Playing With Fire." Produced by Garrett Eaton and vocals mixed by Elton Cheung, "Playing With Fire" is a great introduction to Woods' musical style that mixes her deep, soulful voice with pop-rock sensibilities and a ska-influenced rhythm and horn section (featuring Kids These Days/Frank Ocean's touring horn player JP Floyd and The O'My's trumpet player William Miller). The music video, directed by Justin Jones, features the singer in a collection of different scenes, including a pseudo-hostage situation with the implied subject of the song (an unsavory ex) to intercutting, well-shot BDSM-esque scenes. Also, have you ever seen someone look so fierce throwing a Molotov cocktail?
Check out the video for Lee Woods' "Playing With Fire" below, and be sure to keep an eye (and ear) out for FIRE when it's released on June 27th.
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[Video] Jerzee Tha Icon: "Give You More"
Billboard Canada Hot 100 artist Jerzee “Tha Icon” launches his official music video for “Give You More,” coming through visually and melodically as a smooth transition into summer 2014. The song itself has a dance feel with a quick beat, blended in with evocative rhymes and vocals, and a resonance of electronic rock. The vibe of the music video presents us with the musical hybrid fittingly, combining playful silhouettes, sunset-like colors alluring to the eye, and a fusion of summertime-in-the-city elements.
Jerzee “Tha Icon” has been headlining and selling out his own shows, while also performing with artists such as Pitbull, Nelly, Sean Kingston, The Roots, T-Pain, Trey Songz, and many others. The music video for “Give You More” provides a taste of what he has planned for us, and we’ll be on alert, waiting for him to give us more in the meantime.
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