There’s a lot of music videos to unpack heading into the first part of May. Videos form artists like Imagine Dragons, J. Cole, Future, Ed Sheeran, Big Sean, and more. So let’s get right to it. Check out everything I rounded up below, along with my reactions.
Imagine Dragons – Thunder
Imagine Dragons have always been a more pop leaning rock band, but this go around they seem to be going even more commercial. “Thunder” is a straight up pop song, not necessarily a bad one, but there’s no rock to this one at all. It doesn’t really help that the whole video feels like an Apple commercial either.
J. Cole – Neighbors
J. Cole is easily one of my favorite artists out today and I really think he does a good job of carrying the hip-hop torch. However, I can’t deny that 4 Your Eyez Only was a pretty disappointing album that just wasn’t all that enjoyable to listen to. “Neighbors” was one of the only songs off the project to have any type of bounce to it and it also had a literal meaning to it’s lyrics as his neighbors actually called the police on the residence where he was recording the album. Leading to it being raided while they were busy at SXSW. So in that context, this is pretty dope that he actually put out the footage of the raid to go with the song.
Rick Ross – Triple Platinum
Back visiting his ninth album, Ross drops a video for one of my favorite cuts off Rather You Than Me. It’s classic Ross material and the video is really just footage of a recent trip and show out in the South of France as he flaunts the boss lifestyle with enough slow shots of Belaire bottles to count as a commercial.
SiR – The Canvas
Now that the dust from Kendrick’s assault on the industry is finally starting to settle, it’s safe for his label mates to reappear without getting pulled into his vortex. SiR revisits the extremely smooth song “The Canvas” with a video that features a pool, a beautiful woman with a gun, and a dead or soon to be dead SiR. It’s a short romp that doesn’t seem to have much to do with the song itself, but who doesn’t love a good femme fatale.
Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl
“Galway Girl” was probably the most annoying song off Divide and one that receives an automatic skip from me, but I had a feeling this would be a song he pushed as a single. “Shape of You” grew on me, this one definitely won’t. The video is a POV night out with…you guessed it, a Galway girl. That’s gonna be a no from me dog.
Migos – Slippery
Migos are really blowing up right, landing features with some real pop heavy hitters. They were some of the last artists I thought would crossover but they’ve proven me wrong once again. Lest people begin to think they’ve gone pop, they’ve returned with the decidedly non-pop “Slippery” off their surprisingly good album Culture. Migos with Gucci Mane talking about you know what, leads to this predictably borderline NSFW video featuring dozens of video vixens. Honestly, it’s probably one of their most boring songs off the project.
YG – Pop It, Shake It
Damn, I need to get to the Trinidad and Tobago carnival one of these days. Every time I see a video of it, it looks like pure madness in all the right ways. YG must have felt the same way becuase he heads down there for the video for his sure fire strip club hit “Pop It, Shake It.” I can see this making noise in the clubs this summer and the video goes exactly as you expect it to.
Linkin Park – Good Goodbye
Linkin Park? They’re still a thing? Ok, easy jabs aside I’ve never been a fan of theirs and this song only reaffirms that sentiment for me. Not feeling the generic attempt at a pop rap anthem. The video for this mess of a song is just as bad as the song itself. Featuring a dunk contest for their basketball overlord who happens to be Kareem Abdul-Jabar. Huh? Wtf is going on here?
A$AP Ferg – East Coast
Not sure where this one is landing but it’s your typical A$AP hype track at this point with a pretty flames verse from Remy Ma. The visual is also your typical high fashion music video with lots of distortion, lo-fi effects, and guest appearances. There’s some shades of an old school shiny suit Diddy video and that’s dope.
Jamila Woods – Holy
I’ve heard the name Jamila Woods for quite some time now but this is the first song I’ve actually heard a song in it’s entirety. She’s got a very unique voice that immediately stands out and an almost spoken word delivery that sets her apart even more. The video is almost Solange-esque in it’s neo Afro-soul vibes. Definitely need to check out more of what she has to offer.
Paramore – Told You So
Again, I thought they were much more of a punk band but this is their second new song I’ve heard and it definitely sounds like some indie-pop. Not that that’s a bad thing, just not what I was expecting. It’s an alright song and she’s still got a great voice so there’s not much to dislike here. The video is the typical colorful, artsy affair you’d expect from an indie pop act.
Big Sean – Light
Big Sean’s last album just got certified gold and rightfully so as that’s been one of the best albums to drop this year and my second favorite album from him thus far in his career. “Light” might be my favorite song off the project so I’m glad to see it getting the visual treatment. I loved it’s positive vibes and message and the video nails that perfectly. The imagery of Sean driving around and picking up young souls lost too soon in tragic events that play out far too often these days is really gripping. He’s really grown and come into his own as an artist.
Future – Mask Off
As if you didn’t know by now, “Mask Off” by Future has been everywhere these days. No doubt helped immensely by social media, people seemed to be drawn to it’s hypnotizing flutes as if he was Pied Piper himself. It’s a great song with an immediately catchy hook but I didn’t think it would grow as big as it has now. Well here we are and he finally hit us with the official video for it. It’s a moody ride through an almost post-apocalyptic world with Amber Rose riding shotgun. Why? Beats me, but it is high production.
What’d you think about this week’s videos? Which ones were your favorites? Did I miss any that I should check out? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to subscribe to stay up with all the new content.
