Welcome to FACT’s weekly video round-up.
As we note at the end of every year, music videos have never been better. But too often, music videos — along with documentaries, live sets and interview clips — get lost in the shuffle of news and new music.
With that in mind, FACT is doing what it does for mixes, mixtapes, vinyl and more: rounding up the internet’s best videos on a weekly basis. And to remove our bias, we won’t be including our own content — you’ll have to stay tuned to FACT TV for all your Against The Clock, FACT Freestyle and Big Narstie needs.
Nicki Minaj feat. Beyonce
‘Feeling Myself’
Dir: Nick Walker
Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé cannot be outdone on the first Tidal exclusive to actually matter. The queens of rap and R&B, respectively, do Coachella better than anyone else, swapping leotards, sharing candy and eating burgers, effortlessly establishing the lookbook for Summer 2015 and raising the bar for BFF antics.
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Taylor Swift
‘Bad Blood’
Dir: Joseph Kahn
Taylor Swift goes overboard in her S&M action film, parading her “BFFs” — who happen to be pop stars and supermodels — while cribbing liberally from The Matrix, Fifth Element, Sucker Punch, Tron and any number of shoot-em ups. Take that Katy! And like our parents said: while we’re not mad at Kendrick, we’re just disappointed.
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A$AP Rocky
‘LSD’
Dir: Dexter Navy & A$AP Rocky
The Fashion Killa, on a steady diet of trip-hop and T. Rex, throws his hat in the Eastern fetishization game with one of the week’s two Tokyo-based acid trips. When the psychedelics hit, colors get supersaturated and speed is elastic; the city’s technicolor dreamland proves the perfect place for a trip.
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David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha & Afrojack
‘Hey Mama’
Dir: Hannah Lux Davis
The song might be immediately-forgettable, EDM-by-numbers, but the video is another entry in 2015’s parade of Mad Max homages, which is turning out to be the year’s best bit of silver screen synergy. Nicki shows up in hologram form as Guetta and friends take-over Burning Man — intellectual property theft optional.
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Snoop Dogg feat. Stevie Wonder and Pharrell Williams
‘California Roll’
Dir: Warren Fu
Set in a movie palace-cum-Disneyland ride circa 1946, Snoop and friends (Stevie Wonder! Pharrell Williams!) present a black-and-gold alternate future of Los Angeles that is Metropolis via ancient Egypt. Flying cars, weed-o-vision and one of Snoop’s best songs in years.
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Rone
‘Acid Reflux’
Dir: Ilan Cohen
More a short film than a music video, Rone’s ‘Acid Reflux’ is a more thoughtful entry in the “Tokyo acid trip” sub-genre. Natural disasters and end-times anxiety give this hypercolored, digitally distorted trip a hint of body horror, but all is well once our protagonist reconnects with nature.
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Haunted
‘Budder’
Andrew Litten
Haunted lives up to his moniker with a slice of eerie electronic-R&B, and the video sees a relationship end in a battle of creation and destruction. The bell jar is the only prop, but it’s not the only vacuum in the room.
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Keiya
‘Work’
Dir: Keiya & Jaime Mariscal
Chicago newcomer Keiya co-directs the video for the standout title track on her debut EP, giving astral visual effects to her lovelorn ballad.
