Damn, Robin went ahead and cast his wife, Paula Patton, in this video, completely sonning the rest of the industry. You win my friend, you win. Game, blouses.
Talking with a director buddy of mine and we agreed that Hype Williams’ visuals here are not very impressive, but I must admit, this song has grown on me the past few months. Kanye’s verses are poor for his standards (almost sounds like the corny cameos he’ll make on big pop records like Katy Perry’s “E.T.” remix), but overall, the song works.
Besides…”BLOOOOOOP BLOOOOOOP!“
As I’ve mentioned numerous times, I’m a sucker for flashing lights. It’s a good thing I’m not prone to epileptic seizures, since this video is clearly going to cause a few of those. This is an epic anthem and ‘Ye’s partnership with the NBA for All-Star Weekend is working flawlessly.
Best artist alive.
I could write an essay on Kanye’s Runaway film, and the ensuing debates it sparked, but what’s the point? There will be a million analytical pieces by Monday, and none of them will be any more “right” than the others. It’s art…and I’m really not looking forward to hearing other people tell me how to consume it.
Personally, I’m satisfied with an interesting concept, some beautiful shots & colors, and some really dope music. The intro scene with “Dark Fantasy” and the “Devil In A New Dress” segment were flawless, though part of me wishes this was the first time I ever heard any of these songs. That’s always been one of my least favorite aspects of the internet age and I may have to revert back to avoiding music from my favorite artists until it’s officially presented. Even with all the live performances, interviews, and song/artwork leaks spoiling much of Runaway, I thoroughly enjoyed the film.
Regardless of how you felt about it, you have to agree: no mainstream MC puts more effort and care into his music than Kanye. Sure, it can come off pretentious at times (ok, much of the time), but he’s really trying to express something in his art and take it to new places. He doesn’t always hit the mark, but musically, he’s never disappointed me.
A toast to Yeezy.
I have mixed feelings about this song and video. First off, since switching to a job where I see hundreds of music videos a week, I’m afraid Hype’s clips just don’t do much for me these days. Perhaps he was at his pinnacle when I was younger and I was easily impressed by the old super glossy, big budget videos he shot, but I haven’t seen anything from him lately that’s absolutely wowed me. This one is cool visually, but nothing too special and I see more innovative clips every day at the office.
Secondly, you will never, ever…[old school Jay] eva eva eva eva [/old Hov]…look cool/hard playing the piano in a video. So while Alicia is quite possibly the hottest girl out there right now, I still think the piano shots look hilarious. I don’t care if you’re a guy or a girl, you just can’t try to look cool in a video while playing the piano. Sorry, just how it is.
Lastly, this song is overrated to me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, but it seems like everyone is trying to make it some epic, classic record. Sorry again, it’s not. The beat is cool, but not great, and there’s a horrible glitching sound in the loop from where they cut off the tambourine that comes around every time and annoys the hell out of me. Jay’s lyrics are dope, but that sing-song flow gets old real quick and makes for boring repeated listens too. Being one of the best songs on Blueprint 3 doesn’t mean it’s an incredible record. It just means it’s not “Forever Young.”
I think this is a classic case of the music industry being a bit too NYC-centric. With a lot of the labels, magazines, websites, and TV stations centered out there, they automatically assume what’s big in NY should be big all over the country (and the world). NYC isn’t the center of the hip-hop universe anymore and just because this record is a great anthem for them, doesn’t mean it’s going to resonate with everyone else throughout the country. Or if it does, not nearly to the extent they think.
It’s kinda like when XXL pressed up this cover:
There’s no way in hell…in 2009…that cover ever should have been made for a national publication. None of those artists are remotely hot or popular outside of the Northeast. I’d say 90% of people who listen to hip-hop on the west coast don’t even know who Freekey Zekey is, let alone like him. Anyway, I get a similar feeling when I hear all these magazines, TV hosts, and label dudes tell me how classic “Empire State Of Mind” is.
If you’re from NY? Sure. Bang it.
If you’re not from NYC? It’s cool, but it’s not a classic hip-hop record and nowhere near one of Jay’s best.
And this video isn’t either.
Man, it’s a shame this video didn’t drop a little earlier because the song and visuals would have been perfect for the summer. I’m not sure I really like the stutter video effects, or if I really understand highlighting the hair spin maneuver, but I still dig the video and the song is flawless. I could listen to those drums all day.
Honestly, this video is a little bit of a hot mess. Hype’s shots just seem so boring these days, the performances aren’t anything special, and the clips from LeBron’s movie just make it all look odd. Definitely would have been better served to not appear on the soundtrack and perhaps have a little more creativity with the scenes. With my day job involving music videos, I see 10 cooler clips than this a day…which is pretty sad when you think about all the major players that were involved with this project.
That said:
“she insists she got more class…WE KNOW“
is one of the hardest lines of the year. Drizzy!
I’ve never been a huge fan of this track (the “maven” line always makes me cringe), although the drums are fire. Hype Williams’ visuals look great, but I’m not sure they add much to the record. They really just make me want to go to Hawaii…stat.
So apparently this Little X directed video for Com’s joint may not be the official version, since the BBC blog posted that Hype Williams did the real thing. In the meantime, this looks fresh to me! Even though Com has a couple shaky lines (“you’re better than that Lonnie” – Mark Jackson), I still like this song. It’s no “U.M.C. (Universal Mind Control)” though. Hopefully they decide to make a video for that too. It has so many crazy possibilities. If you need “Announcement,” here you go:
Common ft. Pharrell – “Announcement”
Courtesy of OnSmash.