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 Freestyles and Confessions needs.
Read more: The 20 best music videos of 2015
Sevdaliza
‘The Formula’
Dir: Emmanuel Adjei
Sevdaliza pairs three new songs with this heartbreaking short film. The Formula works backwards from a rainy, twilight drive and follows a troubled relationship marked by nightmares and emotional distance. Undoubtedly conceived without Beyoncé’s visual album in mind, The Formula certainly feels like part of the Age of Lemonade.
Mitski
‘Happy’
Dir: Maegan Houang
Mitski follows up her striking ‘Your Best American Girl’ video with ‘Happy’, an equally powerful video that turns the post-war infidelity of Mad Men into a horror film.
Bat For Lashes
‘Sunday Love’
Dir: Natasha Khan & John DeMenil
Natasha Khan continues the narrative and style established in her video for ‘In God’s House’, playing the titular bride of her new album and haunting a leather-clad lover before he ascends (to heaven?).
Clams Casino feat. Lil B
‘Witness’
Dir: Lil B
Reunited and it feels so good: Clams Casino and the man that made him famous team up for ‘Witness’. Lil B directs the living-large video and makes an “extremely rare” appearance (as does Keyboard Kid) while Clams passes out mixtapes in San Francisco.
Chance the Rapper feat. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne
‘No Problem’
Dir: Skim Nasty & Lil Chano from 79th
Chance and frequent collaborator Austin Vesely try their best to capture the pure joy of this swaggering Coloring Book cut, smoking, drinking, skating and dancing through Chicago joined by a handful of hip-hop stars.
Slayter
‘Still Me’
Dir: Ashani Allick
Slayter’s ‘Still Me’ clip shares a slice of New York life that has an old school feel thanks to the throwback title card, sample-heavy Thelonious Martin production and Pulp Fiction MacGuffin.
Saint & UNiiQU3
‘Yo (I’m Lit)’
Dir: Saint & Uniiqu3
Saint and UNiiQU3 have countless friends in the music business, and plenty of them appear in the high concept clip for ‘Yo (I’m Lit)’ thanks to a camera-to-hand transition that keeps the action moving.
Bankroll PJ
‘Jump In’
The kindergarten-aged nephew of the late Bankroll Fresh launches the summer’s latest dance craze with a lemonade-and-bounce house block party. Cute, precocious and the track actually goes.
ASAP Ferg feat. A$AP Mob & Tatiana Paulino
‘Yammy Gang’
Dir: J.A.T.H.A.N
Just two weeks after ‘Yamborghini High’, A$AP Mob is back with another tribute to A$AP Yams (who appears in old VHS footage), with the same outdoor antics and glitchy video effects of their last clip.
Craig David
‘One More Time’
Welcome to Miami: Craig David edition. The resurgent UKG legend shows off his South Beach home and throws an Instagram-ready party. Not too deep, but what did you expect?