Video of the Day: Freddie Gibbs “Thuggin”

Remember when hip hop was “the CNN of the streets”? If you were born in 1990 or something you probably don’t, but there was a time in the history of rap music that being an MC meant that you were relating the struggles of those who were struggling in the inner city rather than detailing just how impossibly different you were (and yes, I’m talking to you Jay-Z and Kanye). This video is the closest I’ve seen to anything even moderately approaching the CNN of the streets.

What’s strange about Freddie Gibbs is he’s clung to his gangsta persona despite the fact that it’s probably cost him millions and millions of dollars. Back in the day, not being gangsta was what would have cost you. Today, if you aren’t hyper-materialistic and throwing money everywhere you really can’t get on in the rap game. It’s been a strange paradigm shift in hip hop. Somehow rapping about shooting and killing isn’t popular anymore, unless it’s directly related to drug trafficking, and even then only if it is directly related to what a baller you are and how many hoes you pull.

There have been a lot of reactions to the video saying that it glorifies violence and encourages illicit behavior, etc., ad nausem, but what the video really depicts is a way of life – street life – that we no longer see in rap music. Today rappers claim they all came from the street, but the object of every video and every song on mainstream radio seems to be to glorify moving away from that lifestyle and into one obsessed with the glorification and glamorization of unbridled capitalism.

One could suppose that such a lifestyle is preferable to the lifestyle depicted in “Thuggin,” but the unlike what every other rapper is talking about (and making videos about) Freddie Gibbs isn’t trying to be aspirational. He’s not rapping (and making videos) about where he is, but where he came from. He’s making songs and videos that relate to a life that people actually live, rather than a fantasy created by record executives and European car rentals.

I was reminded of this video when Gibbs’ latest video for “Shame” with Madlib dropped earlier this month. “Thuggin” is just such a simple, beautiful and brilliant video that it just had to be shared first, though.

Video of the Day: Faith Evans “I Love You”

Faith Evans is apparently part of some new awful reality TV show that’s going to “uplift and encourage” black women on TV One (the words are actually ours and not hers, so it doesn’t actually make sense to put them in quotes, but go with it). That reminded us of how insanely, stupidly hot this stupid video from 2002 was.

This is an amazing video. It’s possibly one of the best ever made (in my humble opinion), and its massive success as a video calls to mind one question: was the video always designed to center completely around Faith’s spectacular tits or did they initially set up a shoot in some faux Japanese geisha house with Faith and some shirtless guy walking around in the fake snow and making tea, and realize that unless faith upped the wet dream fodder they were going to have nothing?

If it was the former (all about Faith’s tits to begin with) how did they pitch it to her? “Faith, your new album isn’t really getting that much buzz and your single isn’t that good, but if you show off those massive jugs for four minutes I think we can get this thing in high rotation on MTV!” Or did they just lure her to the set and offer nothing but low-cut satin dresses available for her to choose from?

Questions like these always come to mind when I see images that are blatantly and unrepentantly dirty like this (and I mean that in a good way). Like the wet t-shirt photos Kate Upton took. Did the photographer somehow convince her it would be artistic? I’m just under the impression that you can’t sell women on the idea of dressing like prostitutes on its face in something that’s intended for mass consumption. But maybe I’m wrong.

If it was the latter (a terrible video concept saved by the presence of Faith’s beautiful bosom) did Faith just show up on set in the dress or was there some crafty marketing agent lying around who talked her into it? These are the questions we would ask Faith if we got to interview her. Sure, we’d never get to interview her again, but the cost/benefit on that one – if she actually answered – would totally be worth it.

Either way, this is one of the all-time boner jam videos that you can watch over and over and not be called a pervert.

Video of the Day: The Offspring “Cruising California (Bumpin’ In My Trunk)”

This song is admittedly kind of terrible, but whatever maybe the kids will like it. This is what they’re listening to these days, right?

Also, apologies for the delay between Videos of the Day. We should probably start calling this Video of the Week or something. Or we could just make more of an effort to update the blog. One or the other will almost certainly happen.

I’ve been listening to the album on Spotify and I can unequivocally say that it’s much better (and much less pop) than this song might intimate. The Offspring have always made pop-y jams that everyone sang without really knowing who the band was (“Pretty Fly For a White Guy,” “Come Out and Play,” “Kristy are You Doing OK?,” “Self Esteem,” “Why Don’t You Get a job” to name more than a few). But this one easily takes the cake as their most unrepentantly desperate attempt for a pop hit. I guess when you get old it gets harder to say no to certain things and easier to risk alienating your fan base. They have, after all, supplied us with the good shit for about 20 years now.

The video, in typical Offspring style, is nothing special. Like the song, it’s an ode to summer time in the OC where the band is from. Despite the serious failings with this song, the album is actually really good. It’s nice to like something from a band you grew up worshiping. The new Garbage album is positively fucking terrible.

Video of the Day: OK Go “You’re So Damn Hot”

This video is actually lazy and pretty unoriginal. It’s just recycled tour footage of the band singing the song with a bunch of gay flowers popping up for no reason in particular. The song, itself, however, is divine. It’s brilliant in that in a completely nonscientific way it totally explains how the male mind operates.

It’s a song about a girl who’s a liar and a cheater and from the sound of things is flat-out mean. But the lead singer can’t break up with her, in fact, he’s completely infatuated with her because, well, she’s “so damn hot.” This is the ethos of man in a two minute, 38 second soundbyte.

OK Go – You’re So Damn Hot from OK Go on Vimeo.

Casual fans of OK Go know them from their Youtube single-take video exploits on treadmills or more recently driving through a musical concourse that plays their new single. But back before internet fame, these guys were just a cool band that made funny songs that were hauntingly honest. Your girlfriend liked them because she didn’t really listen to the lyrics and they were clever.

It seems like with the creativity ante upped for the videos, the songs have lost a bit of panache, but I guess you can’t have it all.

Video of the Day: Kanye West and Jay-Z “No Church in the Wild”

Admittedly, we’re a little late with this one, but there’s been so little talk about the video that maybe a Video of the Day co-sign from Lothario Magazine will be just the push these two (not-so) young men need to really get their careers rolling. This video is interesting for one big reason: it’s an allegedly Illuminati song with a decidedly anti-Illuminati, anti-establishment video. The video ends with a wild elephant rearing up on its hind legs in the middle of the street. There’s little in the world more anti-establishment and counter to the system of rules and law and order than a wild elephant roaming the streets, right?

Aside from all the idiots on your facebook timeline who are absolutely certain that Jay and Ye have been riding with the Illuminati for years, few people actually pay much attention to Jay-Z’s lyrics, which is sad, because this song is one of his deepest and most intellectually complex. There are references to Plato, Socrates, Pope Pious (though he never quite specifies which Pope Pious), Plato’s Euthyphro, the Holy trinity and much, much more.

What’s even more impressive is how it perfectly lays the backdrop for director Romain Garvas’ video. The song is such a beautifully smooth confluence of subdued, bass-driven music that it’s somehow perfectly contrapuntal to the video. It doesn’t seem like it should work, but it does. You like how I threw in a bunch of completely unnecessary big music school words there? Yeah, you do.

 

What’s also great about the video is how deep Jay’s lyrics go and well they relate to the video – in a very subtle way. Check out this analysis from RapGenius. It’s also interesting because of the London riots that happened last year. Even though the video was shot in the Czech Republic, it’s eerily representative of the idea that a large enough group of people, well enough armed and who are undeurred by the brutality of the police, can unleash anarchy successfully.

If the Illuminati are controlling everything Mr. West and Mr. Carter do, I’m not sure how they got away with this one.

Also, if you’re interested in following this whole stupid (yes, it’s stupid) Jay-Z, Kanye West are in the Illuminati thing there are some good resources here and here

Video of the Day: Beyonce “Countdown (Snuggie Version side-by-side)”

Normally we’re not fans of Beyonce or Snuggies or videos with people lipsynching to top40 songs. As much as it hurts our manly pride to admit it, this video is amazing. This gay little adopted Asian boy (all assumptions) made a parody that hits the original on all levels. If he did this on his own, someone should really give him a call and offer him a job editing videos or something.

The editing here is great. It’s cut about as close to the original as you could get. It also manages to be funny on a level beyond, “Aw, isn’t that cute!” which is an accomplishment in itself. We can almost promise that unless Beyonce gets totally naked in a video she won’t be making many more appearances here. But this was just too good.

Video of the Day – Nas “Daughters”

In honor of Nas’ latest album finally dropping, today’s VOD is his video for “Daughters.” The new album, called “Life is Good” is his first since that 2008 album that white people have to call the Untitled album. Nas is one of my favorite rappers and I genuinely believe the “Nigger” album is one of the best and most important albums of the decade/century/millennium.

Probably the coolest thing about this video is that you actually learn something about the artist from it. Nas has always been one of the few MCs who was willing to tell you the truth about his life instead of making ridiculous boasts about his hoes, clothes, rims and all his damn tennis shoes.

I’ve been listening to the album since yesterday and a review may be forthcoming. Did I go buy it? Fuck no. I choose to believe the fable that Spotify actually pays the artists when you listen to their music.

SIDE NOTE: If that’s actually true, I’ve made a lot of people a lot of money. In fact, I sometimes just leave Spotify playing in hopes that I can make up for all the music I’ve stolen over the years via Napster, Youtube, LimeWire and every other free program that’s been in existence the last decade. I wonder if sometimes my favorite artists that are no longer making new music and not really famous get 35 cent checks from Spotify because of my listening habits. I can only hope.

The “Daughters” video also works as a good transition to the rest of the album. Here’s hoping it doesn’t suck.

Video of the Day: NSYNC and Justin Bieber “Boyfriend Girlfriend”

We’re sure your girlfriend will be orgasming about this video and telling you that you have to watch it – you just have to – any day now. (Especially now that Perez Hilton posted it on his page.) The most unfortunate part is that whether you’re 11 or 31 it will probably happen to you. And you’ll get to go back and relive the days when you had to listen to every female on the planet talk about NSync.

So why is this our video of the day? Call it a public service. Now you can tell her you’ve already seen it and it was “so much better than you were expecting.” And you don’t need to watch it again. Ever.

There’s even a great unintentional 10-years-later comedy moment.

The best part of the entire video is Lance Bass at 0:46 in the backseat of a car with a girl. He has that awkward, “Oh my God, I want to get out of here but I can’t tell anybody. Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. Somebody help me!” look on his face that didn’t make sense in 1999, but now we totally understand.

It also makes abundantly clear to anyone who was unsure that Justin Bieber is just recycling shitty music and videos from the past to make the shitty music and videos from today. If Nelly hadn’t sold out and started churning out sentimental drivel I’d feel sorry for him for being associated with this. (But I will always remember him fondly for the great things that happened to me when “Hot in Herrrrrrrrrrre” got played in dark clubs.)

Another reason picking this video is justified is it’s honestly a really well done video. Justin Bieber obviously helped by ripping NSync off (we could make a joke about everyone NSync ripped off here, but we won’t) for his song, but even so it’s remarkably well edited in both the song and video.

Video of the Day: V.I.C. “Wobble”

As much as I love a good, ignorant hip hop dance track, there’s just something unsettling to me about the idea that when a song comes on everyone has to jump in line and start doing the exact same dance. Anytime I go to the club anywhere and V.I.C.’s “Wobble” comes on it’s like all the black folks have to start doing the dance.

I understand it’s part of the thing black folks have about being cool and hip and up on things and wanting to prove that you know the latest dance steps and aren’t a square, but is it really necessary to become a lemming and do EXACTLY what everyone else is doing? It’s creepy and unsettling. It reminds me of Nazi Germany or something.

With no prodding or encouragement whatsoever, just by playing this song, people at a public venue will drop whatever they’re doing and get in lines to do the synchronized steps that go with this song.

This has actually bothered me for a while, but last night I was out with a group of people and of course this song came on and of course everyone got up and started doing the wobble. It’s like it’s instinctive. And when I wasn’t doing it, people just looked at me like I was crazy. Or maybe they figured that I didn’t know how to do it.

I really want to ask people at some point when I catch them wobbling, “Don’t you find it odd that because this particular song comes on, you feel absolutely compelled to do a choreographed routine?”

It was cool when we had the Electric Slide, but even that dance made me a little uncomfortable because of the necessity people feel to do it. I’ve been at outdoor events where folks have literally stopped eating, playing games and cooking to go do the Electric Slide. Dancing isn’t something that should be compulsory, right?

Recently a friend of mine decided that he was going to start doing The Hustle when “Wobble” came on in public. I think this is a great idea. A rock thrown in the fight against dance-floor fascism. (It only works because we’re black; if we were white people would just assume we were lames who didn’t know how to do that dance.)

Hopefully we can start a revolution here. If you’re tired of being a pawn at the mercy of bad dance songs that tell you what to do, learn how to do The Hustle and do that dance every time one of these socially engineered “dance songs” comes on where you are.

SIDE NOTE: The absolute best thing about the video “how to” for the Hustle is how hard the guy in it worked to keep his identity secret. The camera never gets above his neck, even when he moves backward in the shot, and he has a blanket thrown over the back wall of the room. It just makes me wonder, does he live somewhere where dancing is illegal? Does he not want his friends and family to know he knows how to do The Hustle? Is he that ashamed of the outfit he’s wearing? Why all the secrecy.

I digress. This is gonna be the start of something big. I can feel it.

Video of the Day: Machine Gun Kelly “Wild Boy”

Waka Flocka is probably the worst rapper ever.

I want that statement to stand alone. Despite that fact, we have to say we respect him and it’s 95 percent because of this video. And 5 percent because “Oh Let’s Do It” was kind of amazing.

The turning point comes at about 2:40 in the video when this exchange happens:

Waka: Kelly, you think you a hard rapper?
MGK: Hell yeah! You think you a good rapper?
Waka: Fuck no!

The video is also spectacular because of Katt Williams and other generally spectacular things that happen throughout. There’s not much about this video that isn’t great. It’s kind of an oldie, but still pretty dope.