Steering clear of the shops this Friday—after all, I value my life too much to risk it for a sale (how despicable is that story?). Instead, we’ve got a little tradition of our own here at Chez Mama Bear: It’s time to fire up Luther Vandross’ This Is Christmas, bar none the greatest Christmas album ever recorded. Happy “holidays”!
This is not meant to be a hating post, because I am big fan of Rik’s and will post his new Jake One and Q-Tip projects after the jump because they’re dope. But everyone has a saturation point, and I’m getting a little worried. Three/21 Films drops videos like Weezy drops mixtapes, and it’s starting to feel like Nah Right wasn’t being metaphorical when it called Rik “the only Hip Hop video director on the planet.” How many gritty, noir-ish videos can we watch? Do you ever see the Spike Lee-style color filtered images roll by and think, “Damn, I wouldn’t mind some bright lights and big titties!” It’s just getting ridiculous.
Let’s give credit where credit’s due: Rik rose to prominence at a time when there was a needed backlack against the tired “bling, booty, and babes” format, and his videos are both visually and thematically interesting than a lot of what he helped move away from. But all homogenity is boring, even when it’s of a high quality. It’s gotten to the point where every rapper from Busta Rhymes to Brother Ali heads to Rik when he needs a video. Remember what happened when all production went to Timbaland (with slightly different clientele) in the lead-up to Shock Value? Or when Hype Williams let his brand get bigger than the artists he was shooting? I wouldn’t say these were positive developments, nor would I say that Rik inserts too much of “the Rik Cordero brand” into his videos (he also works with an impressively diverse lineup of artists, and not just in hip-hop). But while his signature style is a nice counterpoint to the over-the-top rap videos (as well as the other, different ones for that matter), it shouldn’t be the only thing popping.
Another random point: it’s sort of ironic and unfortunate that Rik’s ascent to the top of the hip-hop video scene came during the fall of music television. His videos are cinematic, and I don’t really think the Web browser does them justice. That said, I wouldn’t mind seeing an end to the “theatrical trailer” for a video or album trend. These can stop immediately.
Ok, that’s my PSA. Rappers, find some new directors. And directors, get on your grind. The time is now—here are some great Rik Cordero videos to inspire you…
In the history of rap beef, through all the years of ridiculous diss tracks and pointless taunts, is there anything as absurd as T-Pain calling out all the people who “stole” Autotune from him? Could it be any more fitting to have DJ Khaled, world’s most annoying nutcase, to be helming this track? If the autotune effect really is an “instrument,” isn’t this like Les Paul calling everyone who played an electric guitar after him a swagger-jacker? Utter, utter clownery…
I’ve been incredibly lazy on the technology front recently, taking ages to do simple things like get a new USB cord for my digital camera, move my PC stuff to my Mac, etc. etc., but I’ve finally got on the ball and have a bunch of photos from some trips I’ve taken over the past few months that I hope you’ll enjoy. First up is Seattle, WA, home of fresh coffees, shredding, and wearing tee shirts with down vests. I only had one full day to explore the city during my West Coast jaunt last week, but my boy French and I put in work. Check it out…
Doesn’t get much better than this. Word to the wise: McVite’s digestive biscuits are still as delicious as ever even when they’re marked down and sold in foreign packaging.
Having a pretty leisurely morning, as you might have guessed. Been writing some ish and listening to “Johnny Reggae” by The Piglets on repeat. This was my jam when I was about 8, and it’s funny in retrospect how I had no clue wha ska was and basically just thought this was a cut off one of my kids tapes. The type of song you’d hear on Children’s BBC or at a pantomime. Still does it for me to this day.
I take back my previous claim that Yeezy needed to link back up with Hype Williams. If they wanted to capture the cartoonish, gimmicky sound of Auto-Tune in visual form, I guess they hit the nail on the head. If they wanted to make a good video, they have failed. First American Psycho, now American Pop!?!? Is the sampling epidemic going to take over the videos as well as the music?
In honor of this historic election day (as a opposed to all those inconsequential ones), there’s a lot of free stuff on offer today. I just walked into Starbucks, sidled up to the barista, and said, “I’m here to announce the completion of my civic duty and celebrate America by accepting the noblesse oblige of the world’s largest coffee chain. Please fill ‘er up with a ‘tall’ measure of your finest roast.”
No, of course I didn’t say that. Instead, the conversation went something like this:
Me: You guys have free coffee for people who voted, right?
Super Amped Barista: Who’d you vote for?
Me: Will that affect the answer?
SAB: No, I just like to ask.
Me: Um, ok. Barack Obama.
SAB: (Fist pump.) Yay! Enjoy your coffee!
The bloody nerve! This is the same barista who, a few weeks ago, told me I look like this dude. (For the record, I don’t go to Starbucks that much, it just happens to be mad convenient to my apartment and this girl’s boldness is particularly memorable.) When Dunkin’ Donuts had a free iced coffee promotion in the summer I walked to as many franchises as I could, downing those joints until I felt physically ill. But I’m not going to take advantage of Starbucks’ “Election Day” free-for-all because I don’t like their attitude enough to be bothered. Plus, I already have to take a dump three sips in.
Yeah, that’s my new MacBook it’s sitting next to my Starbucks. Today I am “that guy.” But at least I am not that guy who paid for a “bar drink” (aka everyone in front of me) instead of cashing in on a free regular coffee.
One of the things that always stunned me about MTV, which I presumed to be a relatively young company with some sense of “what kids want,” was its inability to put together a user-friendly website. For years, MTV.com was a nightmare—impossible to navaigate, flash heavy, and low on interesting content. I would never open a link from MTV.com because I knew it would either freeze my computer or feature enough ads that no 30-second clip could possibly be worth the wait. This online ineptitude, combined with the rise of programming like The Hills and death of TRL, made it pretty easy to make the argument that MTV had turned its back on the music video—the very artform that its empire was built on. If you wanted to watch music videos, you logged onto TouTube. And when Viacom filed a $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube to take down the videos it owns, you thought to yourself, “Wow, these a-holes really don’t want me to watch The Humpty Dance.”
But now, it’s possible that the recently launched MTV Music could single-handedly resurrect the company’s role as the curator of the music video. The site has opened up MTV’s massive archive of videos to the public, all for free. Most refreshingly, there are very few ads (the site’s simple design aesthetic only incorporates banner ads and you don’t have to watch any pre-roll video advertising). In addition to the music videos, the site offers rare footage from Unplugged shows, live performances, and other special events.
The site’s slogan is, “I want my MTV music,” and it seems MTV, for the first time in a while, has actually served a genuine desire in the music community. We’ll see how it develops (there are definitely a lot of videos missing at this point), but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
Proud citizen of the US and UK. Currently residing in Chinatown, NYC. Self-published author and aficionado of music videos, quality ales, and nachos. Join me as I discuss these three hot but differently shaped potatoes, as well as anything else that I deem interesting to strangers. Hit me on Twitter.
