Rewind: Our 5 Favorite Music Videos of the Last Week
While it’s far too easy to lose ourselves in the deluge of new music releases that grace us every week, one thing that cannot and should not be overlooked is the art of the music video. With the heyday era of MTV long behind us, Rewind sees us taking a look back at a handful of our favorite music videos of the past week.
Joyce Wrice, KAYTRANADA - "Iced Tea"
Tarantino movies in general, Kill Bill especially, is a good place to start for a compelling video, especially if it is interspersed with excellent anime. Directed by Xavier Tera, featuring an excellent song, short narrative, and backed by a compelling protagonist like Joyce Wrice, this ridiculously well-choreographed visual piece for "Iced Tea" is akin to a short film.
Lojay - "LEADER!"
It's no secret that Afrobeat is staunchly claiming its supremacy for global pop, merging the best of dance and hip-hop effects and joining choruses to make its mark. In "LEADER!," directed by Uax, Lojay applies a version of that formula: Puff Daddy-worthy wardrobe and lighting, cartoon thematics that blend Wakanda into the Matrix, and a stoically sexy dance routine that electrifies the eyes.
Jeremy Zucker, BENEE - "i'm so happy"
Great content at times can feel transgressive, an invasion of privacy, too close to home to see into someone else's emotions. In this video directed by Zucker himself, the tight camera work, POV feels, and natural lighting makes this painfully honest song about breakups feel intrusive unless you are a friend… and we are definitely friends of this video.
Zolita - "20 Questions"
Sometimes you are at your best, creatively that is, when you are on your worst behavior, a vengeful fit of anxious questions that only occurs when a lover scorned tries to intellectualize a loss. The video for "20 Questions," self-directed by Zolita, sees her parading down a pop-trope cornucopia of amazing imagery to find an act of fitful revenge.
Jean Dawson - "SICK OF IT*"
A master of energy and emotion in a way that screams generational talent, Jean Dawson takes the song's title and makes a video mosh pit of imagery and surrealism circling around his impressive costume design self. Directed by Bradley J. Calder, this "GTA meets The Ring" apocalypse of frenetic cuts gives us but a small glimpse into the mind of a visionary being realized.
