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My picks for the 10 best videos of 2010
This year saw MTV drop the words "Music Television" from its logo, and perhaps not coincidentally this also happened to be the year that I watched the fewest amount of videos since the dark ages of my childhood when MTV played nothing but Huey Lewis clips. As a result, I'm sure I've overlooked some worthy videos but nevertheless here are the 10 best (in no particular order) clips of the year that fall within a very loose definition of "mainstream".
Yelawolf featuring Cyhi and Pill - I Wish (Remix)
Perhaps the only time a song has been improved in spite of having less Raekwon than the original, I Wish is easily my favorite song of the year.
Joell Ortiz - Kawl Me (aka Call Me)
Every year there seem to be fewer and fewer practitioners of the art of storytelling in hip hop, but Joell did his Slick Rick thing with this tale of Young Love. And that Al Green sample is perfect.
Meth, Rae and Ghost - Our Dreams
A lot of reviews dismissed the Wu-Massacre album as a hastily thrown together attempt to cash in on the buzz of the "New Wu" while it lasted, but I have to say it ended up being one of my favorite albums of the year despite the fact that it was recorded in less than a month's time. Sure, Method Man wasted too many of his verses venting about the record labels, but other than that the album had that classic Wu sound to it. Our Dreams was the best cut from the album, thanks in large part to Michael Jackson's We're Almost There (how important was the MJ sample? Just compare it to the Alicia Keys remix).
Big Boi featuring Cutty - Shutterbug
This song more than any other this year made me lament the younger generation's growing reliance on iPods and iPhones as their primary delivery system for music. Those tiny speakers just can't showcase the amazing beat on this track the way that a proper sound system can.
Earl Sweatshirt - Earl
Marshall Mathers may have released his most successful album in quite some time this year, but the OWFGKTA crew were the only rappers putting out songs in 2010 that sounded anything like what the real Slim Shady should be putting out. (Seriously, Not Afraid was exactly the same kind of sentimental pandering that Em was killing Everlast/Whitey Ford for back in the day. The only interesting thing Eminem did this year was diss Lil Kim simply because she happened to have the same name as his ex-wife.) I haven't entirely bought into the hype around Earl and Oddfuture - primarily because the same people writing positively about them are the same people claiming that Lil B is some sort of musical savant - but if they can put out more tracks like this I may have to change my opinion.
Joell Ortiz featuring Jim Jones - Nissan, Honda, Chevy
Between this, Kawl Me, and this past summer's Funkmaster Flex freestyle, Joell may have had the best year of any rapper as far as I'm concerned ("best" of course being something entirely different from sales figures).
Cam'ron featuring Vado - Speaking in Tungs
What Vado lacks in lyrical skills (quite a bit), he makes up for with his taste in women. The video is essentially a four minute excuse to film thick women in bikinis. Yes, it successfully fulfills the negative stereotype of hip hop objectifying women but damn if this video doesn't hold my full attention every time it comes on.
Pharaohe Monch - Clap
Not the most polished video on the list, but Monch's message - "fuck the police," essentially - is always timely no matter what year it is.
Aloe Blacc - I Need a Dollar
This song lost some points for its association with HBO's hipster dram-com How To Make It In America, but nevertheless this is Recession-era rap at its finest.
O-Solo - Straight Outta Jersey
I don't pay much attention to the "metrics" behind videos, as a video's hit count is little more than an indicator of the size of the artist's promo budget. It pains me, though, to see great songs slip completely under the radar. With a combined pageview count under 1000 for this video's youtube and vimeo page, and only one other website linking to it, this has to be the best song of 2010 that almost no one has heard of. Please tell a friend!
12/23/2010 1:00:00 PM posted by Fresh