Narrowcast watches MTV Jams
Dre - "Naomi"
Much as I like Cool & Dre as a production team (although they really came soft on the last Fat Joe album compared to their beats on Loyalty), I've been predicting and dreading that Dre was gonna try and get some shine as a rapper ever since he starting sticking his face in the camera in the "New York" and "Take You Home" videos. And what do you know, he got signed to Jive and they shot a video for his wack single "Naomi." Jesus, and I thought Pharrell was a terrible rapper. If this guy blows up you are officially not allowed to complain about Kanye's mic skills ever again. Christina Milian is cute in her cameo, although she still has the ill-advised blonde dye job. I can't quite tell if one of the girls at the end of the video is the song's namesake Naomi Campbell, but if so, hey, she was in the "Change Clothes" and "Nasty Girl" videos, too, and those were also wack songs.
Young Jeezy - "Trap Star/Go Crazy"
"Trap Star" might be my favorite record released off his album so far, although I think it's just kind of a video Jeezy got to make for a song he likes because he has a lot of pull at Def Jam right now, because there's already a video for "My Hood" too, which seems to be the official current single. The spelling on the chorus ("I'm a T-R-A-P S-T-R") makes me think of Homer Simpson ("I am so smart, I am so smart, S-M-R-T").
Jamie Foxx f/ Ludacris - "Unpredictable"
In the last couple weeks, suddenly they've been running a new version of this video that's about half new footage, half the same footage as the original version. I think maybe they shot some new scenes just so Jamie could show off Eva Longoria, or maybe because they wanted to show Jamie in his classic low key mustache look, and less of his creepy fu manchu and fake-tiger-stripe-tattoos look. I think I liked the old version better, though, mainly because the colors were more uniform and it fit better with the weird triple frame letterbox video style that Hype Williams has been using in every video except for "Gold Digger" lately (Slim Thug's "I Ain't Heard Of That," Beyonce's "Check On It," Twista's "Girl Tonite," Ne-Yo's "So Sick," Young Jeezy's "My Hood," etc.). They kinda messed up the look the video used to have, the original "Unpredictable" was probably the best looking video in that style next to Smitty's "Diamonds On My Neck." It's kind of funny how Hype is so into letterbox innovation, remember what a big deal it was when he premiered the white "milk box" look in the "Big Pimpin'" video?
Robin Thicke f/ Pharrell - "Wanna Love You Girl"
Yet another busy wide screen letterbox Hype video. And y'know, I liked the single off his first album, but I'm starting to get tired of this cat, it seems like people are way too eager to write about him and drop the "oh my god, did you know he's Alan Thicke's son?" bomb like anyone doesn't know by now. This song is absolute trash, like a bad parody of contempo R&B, saying "wanna love you girl" over and over in monotone and then layering a falsetto vocal. Another nu-Neptunes beat with unquantized drums that are supposed to sound "raw" and "live" but just sound like they were programmed by someone who doesn't know how to work a drum machine. Thank god the Neps aren't working on the new Timberlake album due to disputes with Jive, so they can pawn off their terrible would-be Justin tracks to their wannabe Justin.
Chris Brown - "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)"
The song has a nice quiet, intimate vibe, and his voice has less of that shrill, piercing tone than it does on "Run It," which makes my ears bleed, but oh my god, his dancing in this video is the most bizarre, embarrassing shit I have ever seen. It's like Usher's most ill-advised moves crossed with the Elaine Benes dance with the elbows and the kicks.
Much as I like Cool & Dre as a production team (although they really came soft on the last Fat Joe album compared to their beats on Loyalty), I've been predicting and dreading that Dre was gonna try and get some shine as a rapper ever since he starting sticking his face in the camera in the "New York" and "Take You Home" videos. And what do you know, he got signed to Jive and they shot a video for his wack single "Naomi." Jesus, and I thought Pharrell was a terrible rapper. If this guy blows up you are officially not allowed to complain about Kanye's mic skills ever again. Christina Milian is cute in her cameo, although she still has the ill-advised blonde dye job. I can't quite tell if one of the girls at the end of the video is the song's namesake Naomi Campbell, but if so, hey, she was in the "Change Clothes" and "Nasty Girl" videos, too, and those were also wack songs.
Young Jeezy - "Trap Star/Go Crazy"
"Trap Star" might be my favorite record released off his album so far, although I think it's just kind of a video Jeezy got to make for a song he likes because he has a lot of pull at Def Jam right now, because there's already a video for "My Hood" too, which seems to be the official current single. The spelling on the chorus ("I'm a T-R-A-P S-T-R") makes me think of Homer Simpson ("I am so smart, I am so smart, S-M-R-T").
Jamie Foxx f/ Ludacris - "Unpredictable"
In the last couple weeks, suddenly they've been running a new version of this video that's about half new footage, half the same footage as the original version. I think maybe they shot some new scenes just so Jamie could show off Eva Longoria, or maybe because they wanted to show Jamie in his classic low key mustache look, and less of his creepy fu manchu and fake-tiger-stripe-tattoos look. I think I liked the old version better, though, mainly because the colors were more uniform and it fit better with the weird triple frame letterbox video style that Hype Williams has been using in every video except for "Gold Digger" lately (Slim Thug's "I Ain't Heard Of That," Beyonce's "Check On It," Twista's "Girl Tonite," Ne-Yo's "So Sick," Young Jeezy's "My Hood," etc.). They kinda messed up the look the video used to have, the original "Unpredictable" was probably the best looking video in that style next to Smitty's "Diamonds On My Neck." It's kind of funny how Hype is so into letterbox innovation, remember what a big deal it was when he premiered the white "milk box" look in the "Big Pimpin'" video?
Robin Thicke f/ Pharrell - "Wanna Love You Girl"
Yet another busy wide screen letterbox Hype video. And y'know, I liked the single off his first album, but I'm starting to get tired of this cat, it seems like people are way too eager to write about him and drop the "oh my god, did you know he's Alan Thicke's son?" bomb like anyone doesn't know by now. This song is absolute trash, like a bad parody of contempo R&B, saying "wanna love you girl" over and over in monotone and then layering a falsetto vocal. Another nu-Neptunes beat with unquantized drums that are supposed to sound "raw" and "live" but just sound like they were programmed by someone who doesn't know how to work a drum machine. Thank god the Neps aren't working on the new Timberlake album due to disputes with Jive, so they can pawn off their terrible would-be Justin tracks to their wannabe Justin.
Chris Brown - "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)"
The song has a nice quiet, intimate vibe, and his voice has less of that shrill, piercing tone than it does on "Run It," which makes my ears bleed, but oh my god, his dancing in this video is the most bizarre, embarrassing shit I have ever seen. It's like Usher's most ill-advised moves crossed with the Elaine Benes dance with the elbows and the kicks.
Labels: hip hop, R and B, video
This entry was posted
on Monday, January 30, 2006 at 9:31 PM.
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And I think Chris Brown's dancing is mad awesome.