Video...Suckers Never Played Me

Status Ain’t Hood sparked debate in Hip-Hop's blogosphere with his list of the greatest videos of all time. But nobody should be surprised. Whenever you attempt to rank anything as subjective as music, you’re bound to upset someone who believes their favorite song or artists was slighted. So, I decided to compose the Kam’s Favorite 18 Videos List. This is not a ranking of the greatest hip-hop videos ever; it is simply a compilation of my personal favorites with links, explanations, and a total disregard for your opinion.

18. Geto Boys - My Mind’s Playin’ Tricks on Me :: It’s simple, but it works. It makes you feel the paranoia, frustration, and borderline schizophrenic episodes of each Geto Boy. Not to mention that Bushwick Bill’s Street Fighter-style super punch is one of the greatest moments to hit the small screen.

17. Wu-Tang - Triumph :: Deck’s verse is one of the greatest opening rhymes ever and this video didn’t live up to that, but I love it anyway. The Killa Bees swarm seemed a little cheesy at first, but it grew on me.

16. Busta Rhymes - Woo Ha! (Got You All In Check) :: There was a time when being called over-the-top was a good thing, and nothing illustrates that point better than “Woo-Ha!” I have to give Busta his just due because no other MC back then had the energy to pull this off.

15. Nas - If I Ruled the World :: There isn’t much in this video that I don’t like except for the fake gambino scene. “The Message” as an intro - great; Nas and a pre-Marleyed Lauryn singing - great; the Queensbridge scenes - great. This was the last time I saw Esco, Mobb, and Mega in the same place at the same time.

14. Notorious B.I.G. - Sky’s The Limit :: The worst types of videos usually involve gimmicks and a dead MC. This has both but is surprisingly good. Using kids to represent Big, Puff, Kim, Faith, and 112 was a great idea. Extra points go to the director for having Kid Big watch Kid Busta Rhymes on TV. Great attention to detail.

13. Xzibit - What U See Is What U Get :: Before he helped make awful car modifications for nerdy Californians, Xzibit made one of my favorite clips ever. X had continuous motion despite explosions, police stings, chaos and Flava Flav’s terrifying grill.

12. 2 Live Crew - Pop That Coochie :: Tipper Gore had a point when she started the Parental Music Resource Center. This video corrupted my young mind and I loved every minute of it. All 2 Live Crew videos are essentially the same, but this always stood out more than the rest.

11. Redman - Time 4 Sum Aksion :: The year was 1992 and a young Kam rushed to his aunt’s house in East Orange, NJ expecting to see afternoon cartoons. Instead, he saw this tribute to dementia that warped a once promising mind.

10. Busta Rhymes - Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See :: Coming to America is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I just had to include this video. The African dancers, night vision colors and fish-eyed lens gave a larger-than-life feel to aide Busta’s already animated character.

09. Kanye West - Through the Wire :: Don’t front – ‘Ye had one of the greatest introductions in history. I’ve never seen any artist debut with a video as creative, especially considering the “hoes + cars + jewelry + entire neighborhood behind the rapper = rap video” formula dominant right now.

08. Mobb Deep - Quiet Storm :: Oh, how the mighty have fallen. There was a time when the M-O-B-B could just show up and make something classic. "Quiet Storm" is full of little things (rain, pen flicks symbolizing gunshots, P under the desk, explosions) combining to form one great piece of work. It's almost good enough to make me forgive Blood Money.

07. Public Enemy - Fight the Power :: 1989 - the number, fuck another summer. I was too young to see this video when it first aired, but that only reflects its greatness. A young buck could see this years later and still marvel at their movement. Reading CSWS and learning about the social climate when this was filmed made my admiration even stronger. With all due respect to the Dips, this is powerful music.

06. Common - I Used to Love H.E.R. :: If I even need to explain to you why I like this, close the browser and never return to this site. Whenever people constantly tell me how much Hip-Hop sucks or how it's dead, I watch this.

05. Black Star - Respiration :: Black and white videos don’t rate too highly with me, but I couldn’t imagine this classic use of personification any other way. The city “breathing” with the smoke and the tunnel representing life and death were both great touches.

04. Ghostface Killah - All That I Got Is You :: ATIGIY is arguably the most-touching Hip-Hop song ever written, and the video almost reaches a similar height. It follows the “act out the words” format a bit, but Ghost’s material is so profound, how could it not? Two at the foot, two at the head.

03. N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton :: Whoa! I never knew what Compton was until I saw this and it was one heck of an introduction. I once read someone refer to this as “rap nihilism at its highest peak” and that’s a very accurate description.

02. Pharcyde - Drop :: Pharcyde pulled a Memento before there was one and made a backward-going-forward video. From start to finish, this grabs the viewer and leaves you stuck watching. What I wouldn’t give for rappers to start being creative again.

01. Nas - One Mic :: Chris Robinson, don’t let the negativity regarding ATL get you down. Just tell all critics, “I directed ‘One Mic,’ so your words are meaningless.” The lights following the volume level of the beat and people mouthing the third verse are a great touch. This video gets progressively better with each verse (just like the song) and is truly flawless.

Honorable Mention: I couldn’t decide on #19 or #20, so here are a few songs that were close to making the main show.
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♦ 2Pac - I Ain’t Mad At Cha :: Prophetic irony or a deliberate set-up, you can’t deny that this was a great video.
♦ Nelly - Tip Drill (Uncensored) :: If you argue that hip-hop is misogynistic, this would serve as a great thesis.
♦ Scarface - My Block :: Another dope continuous motion video.
♦ Notorious B.I.G. - One More Chance (Remix) :: Big got a cameo from every entertainer who wasn’t in jail at the time.
♦ Naughty By Nature - Hip-Hop Hooray :: I was living in Jersey at the time and this was big.