Music Tour Guide: Snoop Dogg

Assisted by Chris Brown’s vocals and amazing dance routines, Rhymes shines in the Hype Williams directed visuals. 

Birdman Speaks On Signing Busta Rhymes, Drake Remaking “Back That A** Up” & Nicki Minaj

Busta Rhymes & Chris Brown Shoot “Why Stop Now”

10 Fun Busta Rhymes Facts

Our friends at HipHopWired.com wrote a piece highlighting the 10 albums nobody will care about  in 2012. Check out an excerpt:

Busta Rhymes E.L.E. 2: End of the World

Jumping on Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now” with a standout, speedy 16 bars, reminded us of Busta Rhymes’ lingual fury, but  it did little to draw excitement for a new project. In November he was announced as the newest signee to Cash Money Records, but with a  roster consisting of the likes of  Nicki Minaj, Tyga and Drake, the competition is so stiff for Busta’s E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event) 2: End Of The World to shock the Hip-Hop globe.

Peep the rest of the list here.

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Oprah Winfrey launches her OWN TV network
Known for the cult-like following she established with her insanely popular TV show, Oprah Winfrey also spread her reach into all forms of media including her own magazine, books and acting. With a net worth of over $2.7 Billion  Oprah is easily one of the most successful and dynamic people in entertainment.

But of that upper echelon of moguls, very few if any can claim to have their OWN television network. By launching OWN this year, the big O took her star power to a whole other level. While the joint venture with the Discover Channel has had its growing pains this year, it’s an amazing milestone in remarkable career.

Jay-Z & Kanye West go out on Watch The Throne Tour
Many big stars ‘talk’ about making a collabo album (remember T-Wayne?) but few ever actually do the deed. But when Jay & Ye announced they would record an album under the group moniker ‘The Throne,’ not only did they deliver one of the best albums of the year, but they successfully wrangled their self-proclaimed big egos onto one stage to headline one of the biggest tours in hip-hop history-together!

No ID named VP of Def Jam
A testament to his long standing dedication to music, No ID had quietly produced some of the most important and memorable records in hip-hop. But when he was named VP of Def Jam Records this year, the Chicago native was rewarded for his years of true hip-hop service with the power to spark careers of countless new artists through the iconic label. That’s one man who SHOULD have all that power.

Busta Rhymes signs with YMCMB
Since ‘rah rah-ing like a Dungeon Dragon’ his way into the hearts and minds of fans in the early nineties alongside his LONS & ATCQ brethren, Busta Rhymes has remained a consistent force to be reckoned with and ultimately THE go to guy for guest appearances. This year, by popping up on records with Justin Bieber and Chris Brown and signing with the hottest label in the game right now, Young Money, Bussa Buss proves his staying power and opens himself to a whole new generation of fans-Whoo-Ha!

Beyonce takes control of her career & executive produces her new record
No longer a little girl, Beyonce fired her Longtime Dad-ager Mathew Knowles and took her career into her own hands this year. Despite early predictions that said her newest opus Four would flop due to a lack of singles, B’s self-executive produced new album debuted at #1 on The Billboard 200 thanks to undeniable  hits like “Run The World(Girls),” “Countdown,” and “Party. ” The icing on the cake for Bey was making the announcement that she and husband Hov were having their first baby during a live performance of “Love On Top” on the VMAs. Go head girl, its your B-Day!

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Take a Tour of Brooklyn

“I love Cash Money. We saw them when they first came into the industry,” says Danze. “They had chains that said ‘Cash Money’ with onyx and thin gold. Six months later them [chains] were ridiculous. They Spartans. They fought for their position.”

Watch the clip for their full thoughts and to see the funniest Bussa Buss impersonations we’ve heard in a long time:

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Check out my Blackplanet Radio playlist “Featuring Busta Rhymes”

1. He once held a record in the Guinness Book of World Records.

It’s no secret Busta raps at excessive speeds. I mean really, how many times did you have to listen to his verse on “Look At Me Now” to catch the first three lines of his verse? In 2000, Busta Rhymes was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for having said the most syllables in one second. The title belonged to voice-over actor, John Moschitta, previously. A little known rapper from Chicago stole the title back from the New York MC a few years later.

2. His rap name comes from a former football player.

When Rhymes began rapping, he went along with the trend of hip-hop. Everybody who was anybody had “Ski” in their rap moniker. Busta Rhymes was no different. His first rap name was Chilly-O-Ski. Soon after giving himself that name, he and plenty of other people decided it was corny. Chuck D of Public Enemy rechristened him Busta Rhymes after the former Minnesota Viking, George “Buster” Rhymes. Could you imagine saying, “Yo, did you hear Chilly-O-Ski’s new song? That’s dope, son!” No? Us either.

3. He’s been featured on more than 300 songs.

Remixes have become the norm in hip-hop. When a hot song drops, we sit and speculate who is going to be on the remix. More often than not, Busta is on the remix. Not only subjected to remixes, most of Rhymes’ biggest hits are tracks where he breezes in, drops a hot 16, and bounces. Case and point, The Pussycat Dolls’ first single, “Don’t Cha” got spins. However, when Busta hopped on it, the track became a Top 5 hit on the Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart in 2005. His collaborators range from people like house music sensation, Tiesto, to DMX. His wild energy and preciise delivery are a couple of reasons he lands on everyone’s track.

4. Busta Rhymes has only had one album debut at number one.

Out of the eight discs he has released, five have gone platinum. Out of the five that have gone platinum, none opened at number one. 2006′s The Big Bang is Busta’s only disc to sit atop the album heap for at least a week. Ironically, The Big Bang is one of his lesser selling projects. In spite of hits like “Touch It” and “I Love My Chick,” it’s only sold 613,000 copies after opening week sales of 209,000 copies. That means one third of total sales of this album came from the first week. Yikes!

5. He left Leaders of the New School before getting their record deal.

Busta hit the scene as part of the rap group, Leaders of the New School. If you remember, the group ended on the set of Yo! MTV Raps. Many don’t know Busta and Leaders of the New School broke up and got back together before they got their deal. In an interview with VladTV, Rhymes recounted the tale of getting kicked out for not giving Dinco D and Charlie Brown a ride. “Me and Leaders of the New  School weren’t getting along from before the first album. When you hear “Too Much On My Mind,” I don’t have a verse on it. They started recording while I was on the outs with the group and the person who wanted to sign Leaders of the New School didn’t want to sign us if it wasn’t the same members he saw perform months earlier. They asked me to come back and I agreed, but I had a few stipulations. The main one was that they had to let me use two of my solo songs on the album. So I did “Feminine Fatt” and “Show Me A Hero” by myself because of that.”

6. He was once a clothing designer.

Everyone knows Busta Rhymes can rap and act, but what they scratched their heads about was if he knew anything about designing clothes. Rhymes proved he had a little bit of knowledge when he debuted his clothing line, Bushi, in the late 90s. Like most start up businesses, profit was damn near invisible for the first few years. As the profits continued to find their way to the rapper’s pockets at a snail’s pace, he became increasingly bored with the venture. Rhymes decided to cut his losses and close up shop. He donated the leftover merchandise to local charities and went back to being a rapper full time.

7. Getting a record deal was the reason for growing his dreads.

Since entering the rap world in 1989, Busta has been seen with his trademark dreadlocks. Many attributed his locks to his Jamaican heritage. They would be wrong. The actual reason is far less cultural. When he got his record deal, he decided he wasn’t going top comb or cut his hair because he didn’t have to anymore. He hacked his locks off in 2005 when he left J Records to join Dr. Dre’s Aftermath stable. He said cutting his hair was symbolic of a new beginning at a new label.

8. Busta Rhymes is the Susan Lucci of rap music.

Daytime soap actress, Susan Lucci, is famous for having been nominated for an Emmy 18 times since 1978 and only winning once in 1999. When it comes to rap, Busta is in the same boat. Despite having some of the most creative videos of the 90s, Busta Rhymes has never won a MTV Video Music Award. He’s been nominated 15 times. He is second to Britney Spears in shut outs. She was shut out of 17 nominations until she went home with three trophies in 2008. The Video Music Awards isn’t the only place Busta has been left out. With nine nominations, the Grammys have never recognized Rhymes for his work. This year might be different, with “Look At Me Now” being such a huge record, it’s bound to get nominated in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category. He has a pretty good shot at winning that one.

9. He would’ve rather been a member of A Tribe Called Quest.

As mentioned earlier, the relationship between Busta Rhymes and the other members of Leaders of the New School was tumultuous. They fought over everything. Busta’s increasing popularity as a solo act was a big cause for arguments. Rhymes was getting so much attention as a solo act because he was featured on a handful of A Tribe Called Quest records without the other Leaders of the New School members. Busta gave an interview where he stated, “I always wanted to be in Tribe. I would always leave Leaders of the New School after a beef and call Q-Tip to find out what studio they were at. I have so many cameos on Tribe records without Leaders of the New School because Tribe always embraced me when I was going through my frustrations with Leaders of the New School. Tribe always considered me family.”

10. Sean Connery isn’t a fan of Busta’s lateness.

Oscar winning actor, Sean Connery, is notorious for being extremely punctual. When shooting the film, Finding Forrester,  Busta arrived on set two minutes late and was greeted by a late slip from the Scottish actor. Considering Sean Connery also served as one of the film’s producers, Rhymes couldn’t get too beside himself otherwise he would’ve been out of a job. The rapper did like 2pac when he got shot five times, he took the slip and smiled.

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Bryan “Birdman” Williams recently signed Rhymes to Cash Money Records which is the home to Lil Wayne, YMCMB’s Nicki Minaj and Drake. He says Busta’s album is finished and he is “Ready to go!”

Birdman breaks down, to TheUrbanDaily, how he plans to reinvent Busta’s career and why Nicki Minaj has no competition.

What was the motive behind signing Busta Rhymes?

I think Busta Rhymes did his thing. He stayed on the grind and himself relevant; you have to always respect the hustle. It’s time for the machine to take him where he needs to be! We a great family, are are all excited about working with him, we always did work with him on all our projects, just about. He got the talent and the creativity to do what we need done.

Do you think he will be able to sell the way he used to?

That’s the whole point, that’s what I tell him everyday, we did this its all good but I want the numbers. My whole motivation for him is to get the numbers and he has everything it takes to get them. We have to do what we have to do.

What is the plan to get his album to those sales?

First of all, let’s go! Let’s get them records, he already had a record with Chris Brown. Top of the year we gon’ drop another one. I let the youngsters go and just do them and with him–he’s just an animal like that, I think that he would be amazing. The major labels, they allow you to do so little. In my case I just want to let him go… he’s a rapper, a phenomenal rapper– he should be rapping. Green Light!

Has he started working on his album yet?

We been working together for like three weeks now (we just put the blast out). I have his next single, his album is finished, we ready to go. We been at the studio everyday, that’s what we about over here- working. He already know how we do, he works a lot himself. I think on this album I want to try something different, lets try some different music.

What does different mean for Busta Rhymes?

I ain’t going to mess with his flow, rap how you feel I think it should be a different sound.  I think he’s a great rapper one of the best to ever do it but I think it has a lot to do with the sound and what people are listening to now-a-days.

Can we expect collaborations with Drake, Lil Wayne or Nicki Minaj?

Of course, him and Drake are pairing up about songs right now, Nicki, everybody-we work together all the time.

Nicki Minaj beat out Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne last night on the American Music Awards for “Favorite Hip Hop Album, your thoughts?

Nicki deserve everything! She is a great student, she is a hard worker, I’m so proud of Nicki and she’s one of the most talented female probably to ever touch a microphone. Just her work ethics and what she brings to the table, no matter who you put her up against, she gonna win. She has charisma, she got swagga she got style, she makes hit records, she is a beautiful person and beautiful young lady. It’s hard for a male to beat her because she’s up to par, cause she got the attraction. She’s an all around artist for me. I’m happy I got a chance to work with her from birth and watching her grow is just amazing. She’s back in the studio about to come with a new album!

When Drake told you he wanted to redo the Cash Money classic “Back That A$$ Up” what was your response?

Me, myself, I just like to support an artists vision. Drake has also been a fan of our old music, he “knew us,” before he knew us. He been a Cash Money fan from way back so you might hear anything like that from Drake. I thought the way he did, he did a great job with. He another kind of animal to me!

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“This whole experience that’s getting ready to happen is probably going to be one of the most defining moments in hip-hop and probably in entertainment overall,” said Busta. “This alliance with the Conglomerate and YMCMB and me and Bird and Wayne, the whole family, is something that’s been a long time coming because we just always had a respect level and a genuine friendship for a very long time.”

“It’s something that’s been brewing for a long time and now people gon’ really get to see it come to fruition in a whole ‘nother kind of way,” he added. “This is a golden moment personally and I think it’s a golden moment for hip-hop.”

Spotted @Rap-Up.com

Busta Rhymes Joins YMCMB

Busta Rhymes “You Ain’t Gotta Wait Till I’m Gone” [Heavy D Tribute]

Busta Rhymes is the latest addition to the YMCMB family, now that he’s signed to Cash Money Records. In addition, his next album E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event) 2: End Of The World will debut through Google Music. Congratulations to Bussa Bus … these are two great looks for him!

Get more details about Busta Rhymes latest moves here.

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“You inspired me my whole life. Amazing your last tweet said, ‘Be inspired.’ You inspired this one, playboy. Rest in peace,” said Busta.

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Busta Rhymes allegedly gave a woman herpes and she is telling all via her blog. Busta’s real name Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr. is mentioned in the message.

“Busta needs to be arrested!!! How can someone get away with spreading a infectious virus that they know they have. He is cruel and the most disgusting person I’ve ever met. This is a warning, warning, WARNING stay away from him!!!!!!Be back later, I have a lot more to blog about like meeting Busta infector, my efforts to rid my body of this disease (I don’t believe in drugs), etc…The Worst Day of My Life I consider meeting Trevor or Taheim as I called him the worst day of my life. I’d known him for a few years prior to him infecting me. Not that it matters but it wasn’t a one night stand scenario. I’ve grown a lot since then and my perception of people has changed. I was young, naive and trusting.

So I’m at a party and Bustas road manager Fab comes up to me and says Bus wants to meet you. Okaaayy so he was tall, handsome, suited up and polite. I was attracted to him. He looked nothing like the hot dog neck, bloated gut, washed up rapper that he looks like now. We talked for a little while and he asked me for my number and we exchanged.”

How can she be so sure Busta gave her the disease [side eye]?

Spotted @MTO

Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj & Wiz Khalifa Lead Hip Hop Award Nominations

Check out the audio to one of the many “Otis” freestyles below.

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“Earl has a new album about to be released, a new video game, touring opportunities, even a new reality show,” says Ms. Walker, the CEO of Built For War Management.  “He is signed to United Music & Media, a division of WEA, the video game prototype was done by Mojo Bone Studios, and as soon as he gets out, I have a production crew who will fly out to Arizona ready to begin production on his new TV series. There are millions of dollars on the table for him…”

Walker says DMX has been working on the album over the past year while in and out of jail and that the record is 85% complete. “Swizz Beatz and Dame Grease have produced it. Scott Storch and Tyrese have also been involved.”  The lead single, “Y’all Don’t Really Know” is produced by Swizz and features Busta Rhymes.

Walker fears many of these plans will be on hold however, until X can get clear of his legal issues.

“It’s likely DMX will remain incarcerated until August 25, but he may also face additional charges. X has a disease and that’s all his incarceration is about.  He has not hurt anybody but himself and his family in years.”

To download DMX’s new single, “Y’all Don’t Really Know,” click here

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Listen to the audio below!

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Cherrelle & Alexander O’Neal performing “Saturday Love”- Why would BET pull Alexander O’Neal on stage to perform straight from Dr. Drew’s Rehab center.  This performance was very crack-ish. Where are his teeth?

Rocsi Diaz all purpose dress- Is it just me, or was Rocsi dressed like she was the star of Lion King on ice.  I don’t know but everyone on twitter said she got the fit from Wet Seal. Maybe they gave her some free wears for the promo.

Busta Rhymes brain vest- Now Busta is known for wearing some weird fits and last night was not unusual. Busta went rap Lady Gaga on us yesterday wearing a brain vest in the audience and becoming a human accordion during his performance with Chris Brown. Look at him now.

Chris Brown Onesie Tuxedo- Yeah Chris Brown made the list again. Breezy played himself two times over when he joined Big Sean on stage wearing a onesie tuxedo. Chris Brown’s BET Awards fits were just awful. And what was he doing on that damn bike??

Lil Wayne American Flag boxers and One Sock- Weezy F. clearly does whatever he wants to do and during his “I’m On One” performance with DJ Khaled, Drake and Rick Ross Weezy skipped around the stage wearing American flag boxers and one black and white checker sock.

Cee-Lo Green dressed as Patti LaBelle and cussing- Cee-Lo Green literally came out dressed like Patti Labelle. I mean even down to her permed out spike hair. You can tell Patti was loving it! Things went a bit south when The Dungeon Family member started cussing up a storm. BET didn’t catch any of the cuss words and I don’t think they intended on it.

Viewers Choice Award- Tiffany Greene, a big Nicki Minaj fan, was chosen to give out the BET Viewers Choice Award. Things went left when the tablet said Chris Brown but the teleprompter said Rihanna.  Then Drake ended up winning the award. However, at the end of the show Kevin Hart revealed that the winner really was Chris Brown. Once again the EBT awards know how to start some mess to keep their ratings up.

Trey Songz drooling and slurping on Kelly Rowland’s neck- Trey Songz and Kelly Rowland just may have had one of the hottest performances of the night. I know I am not the only one who caught how Trey Songz had become a perverted old man at the end of the performance, trying to nibble on Kelly Rowland’s neck as they went down.

Diggy Simmons dance number- I did not know Diggy Simmons had big plans to become the rapping Chris Brown. We were all hype about Diggy coming into the rap game because he could actually flow. Now he just totally put himself into the category of being a popcorn bubble gum artist.

Nicki Minaj pretending she had competition- Nicki Minaj accepted her award and tried to deliver a speech pretending there was competition in the female rap category. The audience did not buy it one bit. They broke out into laughter after Nicki started her speech off with “Wow, I can’t believe I won.”

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In the interview below Jay-Z tells Myspace Music about his days with his rapping classmates. (2:15 mark).

MySpace Today meets Jay Z Part 1

Myspace UK | Myspace Video

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We wonder what’s up with all the white people getting their Busta on these days…

Can’t we have anything for ourselves???

*Sigh*

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Fortunately we found video of three white girls covering the song on YouTube, and with mixed results…

First up is Cassiieamanda.

Honestly we weren’t paying much attention to Cassiieamanda’s skill at first.  We were uhhh… distracted.   But once we heard her drop the N word, she got our attention.  For all the wrong reasons…

Score: 3/5

Next up is Codilinko:

Codilinko gets bonus points for skipping Chris Brown’s verse altogether and going straight for Busta’s verse.  Yet another bonus point for taking a shot at Twista’s verse from the remix.  Though she struggled with Twista’s verse, she did better than we’ve ever done at “Slow Jams” on Def Jam Rapstar.  Despite all of that, we’re revoking all of her points for letting the N-word fly.

Score: 2/5

Last up is Karmin…

Not only did Karmin *MURDER* each verse, she did it without dropping the N-word, something her counterparts were completely unable to do.  She wins by a landslide.

And her voice kinda reminds us of Nicki Minaj…

Score 5/5

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Check it out!

Who had the best verse?  Who should’ve been left off?  Let us know your thoughts!

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Top 9 Music Videos Of The 2000s

Top 9 Music Videos Of The 1990s

By now we all pretty much know that Busta Rhymes destroyed this beat, leaving Weezy with scraps to play around with.  Chris Brown, unsurprisingly, is superfluous on his own track.

Watch the clip and let us know what you think!

UPDATE: Here’s the FINAL cut of the video.

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Top 9 Music Videos Of The 2000s

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2Pac feat. Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman “California Love” (1996)
Based on Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Busta Rhymes “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” (1997)
Based on Coming To America (1988)

Busta Rhymes “Dangerous” (1997)
Based on Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon (1985). Also parodies scenes from Lethal Weapon (1987).

Nas “Street Dreams” (1996)
Based on Casino (1995)

Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Got Your Money” (1999)
Uses scenes from Dolemite (1975)

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Primo and Busta talk about how they were never able to get together to work, and they play a snippet of the song they recorded together as the video fades out.

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The documentary features interviews with the likes of Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Common, ?uestlove, and Busta Rhymes, all of whom worked extensively with J Dilla.

The 39 minute documentary is available for viewing for free online.

Watch below!

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Joe Budden’s first single dropped in the summer of 2003. The
subsequent video for the Just Blazed produced track featured elements
of the Naomi Watts horror flick, The Ring. Instead of a deranged
twelve year old girl climbing through our television sets, it was the
light skinned rapper from Jersey. Can we also pinpoint this clip as
the inception of Joey’s love for video chicks?

9. Ludacris – How Low
Chris Bridges is known for taking established concepts and turning
them on their ear. He and director, Dave Meyers use the basis of
Candyman as inspiration for the clip. Women no longer needed to
whisper Candyman’s name three times in front of a mirror for his guest
appearance. Drop it low enough and Luda would show up and watch her
bend over to the front and touch her toes.

Erykah Badu established herself a visual artist with her premiere
video. “On & On” is a Cinderella story set against The Color Purple
backdrop. We find Ms. Badu folding laundry, chasing after dogs, and
struggling to get a comb through a little girl’s tough hair. The best
part is when Erykah finally gets her Shug Avery on and the woman
snaps,” I know that ain’t my table cloth she got on!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CPCs7vVz6s

Hov drew a line in the sand with “D.O.A.” He wanted artists to get
more creative in their music making. However, video director, Anthony
Mandler, lifted the concept from the ’70s Italian film, Zabriskie
Point. The stark contrast between the dark lighting of the background
juxtaposed with the garish look of exploding objects pays homage to
Michelangelo Antonioni’s vision. Sidenote: Thank heavens Jigga had the
clippers grace his scalp in the clip. He had dudes walking around
looking wreckless following behind him.

6. Ashanti – Foolish
For Ashanti’s first solo outing, she wrote a song many women could
relate to. Nothing drove the message of being foolish for staying with
a partner who mistreats you home more so than the Irv Gotti helmed
flick. Gotti’s affinity for mob movies is further proven as he places
Ashanti and Terrance Howard in the role of Henry and Karen Hill from
Goodfellas. Howard gallivants with jump offs without regard,
while Ashanti is the dutiful wife at home, stuck.

5. D-12 – Fight Music
“Fight Music” is a rambunctious anthem to get listeners hyped. The
video matched the spirit of the record. Based on the ’70s classic, The
Warriors, the video features a mob of men carrying different kinds of
weapons with the intent to harm the dirty dozen. The group call on
their allies and the video ends with an intense face off. Can you dig
it?

4. Redman – Whateva Man
Redman and his partner in crime, Method Man parody The Blues Brothers
in the visual for “Whateva Man.” We follow a day in the life of these
two cool guys after one is released from the state pen. Think of this
as the precursor to their weed comedy, How High.

Bussa Bus has made of the most incredible videos this side of the
’90s.One of his best is the joint for the 1997 hit, “Put Your Hands
Where My Eyes Can See.” Directed by Hype Williams, the clip was a
spoof of Eddie Murphy’s classic, Coming To America, with Trevor Smith
playing Prince Akeem. Despite the the eye popping graphics and
visuals,fans commented immensely about the high energy African
choreography by Fatima Robinson performed at half speed. Pure genius.

2. Nas- Street Dreams
Based on Casino, Nas parallels life on ghetto blocks with the plot of
the Scorsese drama. This is Hype Williams during his pinnacle. A video that
features ostentatious colors and the stacking effect is classic Hype.
The cinematic style only added to its mystique. But no matter how good
the video is, everyone will constantly refer to it as the one where Nas wore a pastel pink suit.

1. 2Pac & Dr. Dre – California Love
In 1995, 2Pac had just gotten out of prison and was itching to record.
When he heard the Dre production, he knew this was going to be a huge
smash. While Pac was right, the video is sits right alongside it in
the pantheon of hip hop greatness. Add it up, a young Chris Tucker and
Tony Cox acting a fool and Roger Troutman’s cameo set in a
futuristic Mad Max Beyond The Thunderdome world and you have a recipe
for success. No matter how hard anyone tries, this video remains king.

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Here are our top 9 music videos of the 1990s.

9. The Roots “What They Do”
The Roots’ perfectly skewered the fantasy world of hip-hop music videos in their 1996 clip for “What They Do,” but found themselves at odds with The Notorious B.I.G. who, according to Roots drummer ?uestlove, thought the video was retaliation for a line in his “Flava In Your Ear” remix verse that many perceived to be a dis towards the group. Big Poppa passed before both sides could set the record straight.

8. The Pharcyde “Drop”
Directed by famed video director Spike Jonze, The Pharcyde were able to pull off the backwards “Drop” video by learning the song in reverse, and shooting the video in reverse. Hands down one of the most creative music videos in hip-hop, and one of the first videos we wrote down when putting this list together.

7. The Notorious B.I.G. “One More Chance”
Not since the classic Kid & Play film had a house party been captured on film so well that everyone who watched it wished they had been in attendance. Sporting cameos from everyone from Heavy D & D-Nice to Mary J. Blige and Aaliyah, “One More Chance” was an instant classic.

6. Snoop Doggy Dogg “Doggy Dogg World”
Snoop’s final video from his debut album took everyone back to the 1970s with cameos from The Dramatics, Pam Grier, Rudy Ray Moore, Ron O’Neal, Fred Williamson, Fred “Rerun” Berry and Antonio “Huggy Bear” Fargas. This was definitely another one of those video shoots we wish we had been at.

5. TLC “Waterfalls”
TLC’s special effects heavy video for “Waterfalls” earned the group the 1995 MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year. The video features cameos from actors Ella Joyce and Bokeem Woodbine plus Wu-Tang affiliate Shyheim.

4. Wu-Tang Clan “Triumph”
Wu-Tang Clan kicked off their second album with the “Triumph” video which featured the clan (and some Wu-Tang killer killah bees) invading New York City.

3. Busta Rhymes “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See”
Director Hype Williams parodied Eddie Murphy’s classic 1988 film Coming To America for Busta’s 1997 video for “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See.” Williams’ unique style of direction became synonymous with music videos in the 1990s.

2. Michael Jackson “Remember The Time”
Boyz N The Hood director John Singleton shot the second video from Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album, “Remember The Time.” The video takes place in ancient Egypt and stars Eddie Murphy and Iman as the pharaoh and his queen. Magic Johnson, Tom “Tiny” Lister, and Imani from The Pharcyde also appear in the video.

1. Missy Elliot “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”
Missy Elliot’s reign as queen of weird music videos began with this Hype Williams directed clip. The oversized garbage bag suit, the fish eye lens, the distorted mouths and eyes… “The Rain” proved that hip-hop videos could be more than just a bunch of dudes mean-mugging the camera.

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