Videos of the Week August 3rd

Tis the season for music videos! It's a rare top five full of 100% music videos this week. Led by a few heavyweight efforts from K Dot/Rihanna and Jay Z, every other video seemed to easily fit in the shadow of the first two. That being said, neither were my favorite this week. That honor goes to Major Lazer's cutting edge interactive video for Know No Better. It's an interesting feeling being able to poke around at different camera angles and experience a video from different, unique angles. I'm sure this is only the tip of the iceberg with where technology is heading, but it's a trend I hope to see continue. A close second this week goes to Macklemore and Lil Yachty's video for Marmalade. They did a really good job casting their younger selves in the video and the cameos were fun surprises. Rounding out the top five was the trailer for Eminem's new rap battle movie titled Bodied. Something tells me we've seen something like this cough, cough 8 Mile. Fingers crossed for a fresh story line in Em's foray into film...#Bodied

Kendrick Lamar feat Rihanna - Loyalty (Video)

Jay Z - Kill Jay Z (Video)

Major Lazer feat Travis Scott, Camila Cabello & Quavo - Know No Better (Interactive Video)

Macklemore feat Lil Yachty - Marmalade (Video)

Eminem's New Film - Bodied (Trailer

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week July 14th

For whatever reason, this week was dominated by huge music video releases. It seems more like the exception than the norm for a week's top five to be so heavily skewed toward music videos, but such was the case this week. Led by the action packed visuals from Dillon Francis and G-Eazy's Say Less video, there was plenty of bottle smashing fun littered throughout. Then, Macklemore did a complete 180 on his video for Glorious where he took his grandma around town to celebrate her 100th birthday. In hindsight, the vibe of the track fits perfectly for the celebration of life, so kudos to Macklemore for sharing the moment with all of us.

Then things got a little trippy on Travis Scott's Butterfly Effect video. Don't care what the critics say, that track goes hard and I have a really hard time skipping past it when it plays. In case that first dose of Travis Scott wasn't enough, he made an appearance in the dance heavy video for Know No Better. I'm not exactly sure what story is trying to be told other than kids that are picked on can still get girls too through their dance moves? Last, but most expensive was literally everything about deadmau5's new studio. Such a cool behind the scenes look of all the bells, whistles, nobs, and keys the make up his arsenal of music making equipment. Not sure about y'all, but I was impressed by the amount of analog based sound machines and old keyboards he had. If you had an inkling that he cares about his craft, your perception should remain unchanged...#deadmau5Studio

Dillon Francis feat G-Eazy - Say Less (Video)

Macklemore feat Skylar Grey - Glorious (Video)

Travis Scott - Butterfly Effect (Video)

Major Lazer feat Travis Scott, Camila Cabello, & Quavo - Know No Better (Video)

A Behind the Scenes Look at deadmau5's Studio

Photo Credit: YouTube

"If You Don't Love Me No More, Then Lie, Lie"

In case you missed it, Halsey released her sophomore album late last week. Hopeless Fountain Kingdom is a follow up from her debut, Badlands, released back in 2015. If there's one thing you can count on from Halsey it's sexy vocals. Her raspy tone and angelic harmony make for a uniquely potent combo.

Her newest single off the album is loaded with relationship drama and has an overtly theatrical vibe to it. Yet again, we have another Quavo sighting, proving that everyone is still eating out the palm of his hand. Call me a hater, but is he much of an upgrade over auto-tune heavy Future or even T-Pain for the fans of Hip Hop from a decade ago? Love him or hate him, he and his Migos squad is running pop music right now, so you'd better get on the bandwagon soon as it's near capacity. At the very least, this new one has piqued my interest in Halsey's new album. If you need me I'll be diving deep on it the next few days...#HopelessFountainKingdom



Halsey feat Quavo - Lie (prod by Lido)

"Save That Talk for the Ones Who Don't Know No Better"

Just when you thought it would be an average Thursday, Major Lazer drops a new 6 song EP out of the blue. That news alone is exciting, but when you add to it a title track featuring the likes of Travis Scott, Camila Cabello and Migos' own Quavo, it gets much more exciting. It may not be the tribal, booty-shake anthem you were hoping, but it is a fun mish-mash of styles and deliveries. Led by Travis Scott and Camila's sing-songy vocals and some auto-tune mastery by Quavo, the beat finds a way to take a back seat to the talent on the mic. Like any self-respecting release, the song's release came equipped with a fun lyric video too. Check it out, as well as iTunes or Spotify if you're like me and eager to see what the other five songs on the EP sound like...#KnowNoBetter



Major Lazer feat Travis Scott, Camila Cabello & Quavo - Know No Better

Videos of the Week May 5th

This week's top five was unique in that it starts and ends with Jimmy Kimmel's monologue about the birth of his newborn son. If you don't get at least a little choked up over hearing the sadness in his voice over feeling helpless about the situation as a whole, then you need to check yourself. His story aside, I appreciated his story and how it directly relates the the healthcare bills that are being mulled over by the House this week. Let's just hope the listened and make the right decision, ultimately.

Aside from Kimmel's impactful story, there were a few videos in Hip Hop that had the internet collective pressing play over and over again. J Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only documentary was previously released via other outlets like HBO, but this week it got put on YouTube for consumption from the masses. The word real comes to mind when watching him go to the various cities in the South and hear stories from the people trying to make it through the day-to-day. Watching the documentary and then transitioning to DJ Khaled's star studded video for I'm the One was about as stark of a difference as you'll get in VOTW. Needless to say, everything about it was tried and true Hip Hop from the video girls to the pool parties to the immaculately trimmed hedges.

Making sure EDM got their contribution for the week was Gryffin and Illenium's Feel Good. The video is cool and all, but that candlelight version that features Daya's stunning vocals is officially where it's at. Speaking of where it's at, it wouldn't be a complete week without at least a few shennanigans. This time it came from Fallon's crew who put together a minute long mash up of Star Wars characters singing Smash Mouth's classic, All Star. It's kitchy, but it delivers the entertainment value you'd expect from a novelty like that...#AllStarWars

Jimmy Kimmel Monologue About His Son's Heart Condition

J Cole - 4 Your Eyez Only Documentary

DJ Khaled feat Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper & Lil Wayne - I'm On One (Video)

Gryffin & Illenium feat Daya - Feel Good (Video)

Fallon Mashes Up Smash Mouth's All Star With Star Wars Movies
Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week February 24th

Despite not being as jam packed with excellence as previous weeks, there were a few gems in this week's top five thanks to our friends from across the pond. In case you missed it, which you probably did, The Brits were this week. Normally that wouldn't be of huge interest to folks in North America, but The Chainsmokers and Coldplay performed their new single live for the first time and Ed Sheeran debuted his upcoming remix of Shape of You with Stormzy. Both were as stellar as you'd hope for when hearing a track performed live for the first time.

Moving along with Migos performance of their latest viral hit Bad and Boujee on Ellen. Maybe I'm late to the party, but I'm having a tough time getting on board with Migos. Totally grateful for Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset delivering us the Dab a few years back, but I'm still not sure why they're a "thing." One talent I'll never second guess is Snoop Dogg. He could take years off, jump back into rapping like riding a bike. Like for example his latest collaboration with Adidas on Original is Never Finished. Hot af, you can't question he's still got it. And last, but maybe least, I'd be remiss if I didn't give some sort of heads up that the Oscars are coming this weekend. In preparation for that, the Screen Junkies put together quite the montage of Honest Trailers to make sure you're up to date on all the movies that are up for nomination. Needless to say, hilarity ensues...#HonestTrailers
The Chainsmokers & Coldplay Performing Something Just Like This (Live at The Brits)

Ed Sheeran Performs Shape of You Remix with Stormzy (Live at The Brits)

Migos - Bad and Boujee (Live on Ellen)

Snoop Dogg - Original is Never Finished (Adidas Collabo)

Honest Trailers Pokes Fun at Oscar Nominated Films

Photo Credit - YouTube

"You Chase Them All Night, I Pick"

Anybody thinking that G-Eazy peaked with When It's Dark Out just got a rude awakening today when he released two new heat rocks. The one I'm most stoked about is the DJ Mustard and Quavo assisted In The Meantime. You know when Mustard is on the beat, there's going to be plenty of bass on deck. Maybe I'm late to the party on his flow and verses, but Eazy dropped more than a few witty quoteables. The start of that third verse is straight fire! This one might end up being the tipping point when it comes to attending one of his many Endless Summer Tour dates. See y'all at Shoreline in early July...#InTheMeantime

G-Eazy feat Quavo - In The Meantime (produced by DJ Mustard)