Visual Hip-hop
I think it's safe to say that the 90's were a much different time when it came to hip-hop, and a defining feature of hip-hop at the time were music videos. They were almost required for singles, making debuts on MTV. Since that time, the art of music videos in hip-hop has been lost by some and upheld by others. Many artists have employed some pretty amazing directors to give their tracks some cool visuals and some directors have adapted tracks to their own creative expression. I've collected a few videos that have either caught my eye as creatively unique.
Pharcyde - Drop (Directed by Spike Jonze)
You can't talk hip-hop videos and not bring up Spike Jonze. The man behind a lot of the beastie boys videos, he is a creative genius when it comes to visual representation of music. This video is one of my favorites. Also he directed Her, which is really really beautiful, check it out.
Outkast - Hey Ya (Directed by Bryan Barber)
I don't know about you, but I can't talk about hip-hop videos and not bring up Outkast. These dudes had some crazy shit that defined my high school years, and the one that sticks out in my mind is the video for Hey Ya! Directed by Bryan Barber. Barber is the mind behind other Outkast videos like Roses and So Fresh, So Clean and has had his hand in a few other hip-hop videos, including Wouldn't Get Far by the Game and Kanye West and Stunt 101 by G-Unit.
Overdoz - Pasadena (Directed by CALMATIC)
Overdoz continually puts out dope videos for a lot of their tracks. These guys get real creative with both their lyrics and their visuals for their tracks. Always fun to see new shit from them. You can also check out more from director CALMATIC here.
A$AP Rocky - L$D (Directed by Dexter Navy and Co- Directed by A$AP Rocky)
Rocky is known to be that dude thats up on culture, whether its style or art. His new album, although I can't say it is a favorite in terms of rap albums of 2015, its definitely got some creative juices behind it, but really nothing more creative than his video for L$D. The camera angles and colors in this are really beautifully done. Reminds me a lot of the movie Enter the Void, very trip shit.
Also cool to know, the director of the video, Dexter Navy, was also the creator of the album cover for A.L.L.A.
Post Malone - White Iverson (Concept Video Directed by Justin Escalona)
Every once in a while an artist or director will take a track and apply their own artistic interpretation. Post Malone's track White Iverson got a lot of buzz when it first came out, and director Justin Escalona added his own spin. Check out more of Escalona's stuff here.
Post Malone - White Iverson (Directed by Van Alpert)
Also wanted to share the official video for the track which is filmed much less like a storybook but has some of the most beautiful wide shots I have seen in any video in a long time. This video was directed by a really creative dude, check out more of his stuff here.
The Social Experiment - Sunday Candy (Directed by Austin Vesely, Ian Eastwood & Chance The Rapper)
I mean this is just so well done. The community that Chance and the Social Experiment have built is really inspiring. It makes me smile. Enjoy.