Top Ten Hip Hop Videos

"Summertime" by Will Smith

Some Hip Hop heads clown Will Smith for not being negative and making feel good music, but let this video play, and even the hardest knucklehead will bob his head. This song was on constant rotation at family events, and the video and song were both kid friendly and adult friendly for those adults who just weren't ready to believe Hip Hop was here to stay. Will Smith celebrate(s) summertime, family, flirting, hanging out with friends, and Hip Hop being positive. And for the old school heads, it's always cool to see DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith collaborating on music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W9kcxdPPjk

NUMBER NINE TOP VIDEO

"Been There Done That" by Dr. Dre

A lot of long-time Dr. Dre fans were not enthused about Dr. Dre dropping the gangsta rap lyrics and instead saying, "A million motherfuckers on the planet Earth / talk that hard bullshit / 'cause that's all they're worth" but I surely was. Dr. Dre drives past loud smack talking women and men playing dice while sitting in a limo. He schools women saying, "Ladies get your paper too / Don't expect for no man to support you," and proudly talks about his wife being independent. Dr. Dre shows off his grown man status, his beautiful home, and welcomes his wife with a hug. It was and still is rare to see a rapper not surrounded by half-naked women and hiding his wife, but Dr. Dre welcomed his other half with a kool-aid grin. Gangsta rappers said Dr. Dre sold out, but in actuality, this video and song showed that he'd grown up. The violins playing Hip Hop with African American couples doing ballroom dancing sealed the deal, and the couples even gave the traditional dancing a funky twist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiSmYYOu1W4

NUMBER EIGHT TOP VIDEO

"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See" by Busta Rhymes

Busta Rhymes is an entertainer 100% of his rapping career, and this video showcases his talent in all of its glory. Taking ideas from the movie, "Coming to America," a woman brushes his teeth to the beat, women throw roses at him, and one woman ducks into the water to bathe him. Although it sounds risqué, it's comical with the good-natured way that Busta reacts to all of the attention. Off-the-wall scenes like Busta Rhymes being spray painted in red and war paint, running with an elephant, and having a sword fight are perfectly normal entertainment for an all-around attention getter like Busta Rhymes. The end of the video with African dances was just as entertaining as the first half, and when the beat to this song dropped in Hip Hop clubs, people ran to the dance floor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1chIpba4yQ4

NUMBER SEVEN TOP VIDEO

Missy Elliot "Get Ur Freak On"

Missy is the only Hip Hop artist who has listeners scrambling to translate Asian languages (ex. "Work It"). According to VIBE magazine (June 2008), Missy asked a janitor who happened to be in the building when Missy and Timbaland were recording to come in and speak Japanese into the mike to say, "From this point, everyone's going to be dancing recklessly. Let's make some noise, let's make some noise." If that wasn't unique enough, the video starts off in an area that looks like a sewer, but people are dancing and doing splits like they don't realize water is dripping all over the place, cobwebs are everywhere, and corpses hang upside down as they dancee. Ludacris, Eve, L.L. Cool J, Nate Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Spliff Star, and Ja Rule make guest appearances, but viewers are still trying to get over Missy extending her head like a snake, hanging from a chandelier, and the repulsive scene when a dancer swallows her floating spit. Missy Elliot rhymes, "I'm the best around/With the crazy style." Yes indeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVMDyJrAyZE&NR=1

NUMBER SIX TOP VIDEO

"Freedom" by Queen Latifah, Yo-Yo, Patra, Left Eye of TLC, MC Lyte, Meshell Ndegeocello, Salt n' Pepa, and Da 5 Footaz

The best part about this video is female rap superstars coming together, talking about social and serious issues in the community, shouting out political icons (ex. Rosa Parks), and the video gives graphic scenes of police brutality during the Black Panther era. These were all phenomenal artists who didn't have to take their clothes off or rely on a man for the hook in order to sell their work. As Yo-Yo said, "Sistas got to stick together."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8JyXhoUDjE

NUMBER FIVE TOP VIDEO

"99 Problems" by Jay-Z

Although I would've preferred the fictional shooting of Jay-Z to be excluded (I don't even like the thought of that because Jay-Z is such a talented emcee), the video and the words are something that viewers need to pay attention to. Not only does Jay-Z school viewers about the legal precautions to take when being pulled over by a police officer, but he also makes a point of saying that when faced with confrontation, he doesn't immediately sink to violence. He rhymed about trying to pray for loudmouths, which was widely unheard of in Hip Hop today. Jay-Z included a little bit of dancing (fraternity stepping and breaking), in addition to some artwork, but what may throw a viewer who is not familiar with prison is the officers spraying inmates like dogs. This video isn't the type of filming that you look away from because if you do, you'll miss something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhAzW7AM-38

NUMBER FOUR TOP VIDEO

"Crossroads" by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony brought melody into Hip Hop. They rapped fluently and fast, but they also brought topics that were extremely relevant to the state of Black America. In this video, a man in a black hat and black trench coat (Death) appears out of nowhere to collect the spirits of Black men while mothers cry, friends watch their friends disappear, and parents watch their newborns die in the hospital. Angels walk up the path of a mountain, including Easy E (the mentor of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony), This was a video that made people reflect on past loved ones and friends. It also made people not take life for granted, specifically when an older gentleman was just sitting on his porch steps, and Death came for him. The most powerful lines were simple: "See you at the crossroads so you won't be lonely" and "I don't want to die" to show the vulnerability of men who really do want to live but are taken too soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpmr8Shy_UA

NUMBER THREE TOP VIDEO

"Hate Me Now" by Nas featuring Puff Daddy

This video automatically gets viewers' attention by watching Nas drag a cross through sand while people sneer and yell at him. Yes, he played the role of Jesus, and this definitely created some head turns and controversy. "Hate Me Now" was the national anthem to all of those crabs-in-a-barrel folks who were jealous of a man who worked his way to the top. People complained about the cars, the clothes, the jewelry, the nonviolence, and the intelligence of a man succeeding, and Puffy promptly responded with, "You hate me! I hate you too!", and both Nas and Puff Daddy (now Diddy) said they refused to stop their success to drag themselves back down to doing nothing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TlKEQ2nIyo

NUMBER TWO TOP VIDEO

"Mosh" by Eminem

With all of the patriotic craze going on after 9/11, Eminem making this video just before the presidential election was brave. The video starts off as an animated scene with a George Bush lookalike reading a book upside down to students. An animated Lloyd Banks is stopped by police for no reason, and after being searched, he throws up a middle finger to the cops as the officers drive off. Heading home, Lloyd Banks sees a man watching the Ku Klux Klan on TV. Then, an animated soldier named Private Kelly has just come home from the War on Iraq only to be met with a letter to return. Eminem snaps, "Fuck Bush!" and "Let the president answer a higher anarchy / Strap him with an AK 47 / Let him go / Fight his own war / Let him impress Daddy that way / No more blood for oil / We got our own battles to fight on our own soil." This is what so many people have been saying, including Hip Hop lovers, but Eminem was the only one to make a video about voting and the presidency in that year. (Note: Kanye West was just as outspoken during the Hurricane Katrina terror.) Thousands of animated people storm a building in what looks like an attack on the White House but is really a line to register to vote.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOLMVQa0KD8

NUMBER ONE TOP VIDEO

"Fight the Power" by Public Enemy

Contrary to popular belief, Hip Hop used to be about progression, social and political issues, and reaching the masses. Public Enemy was a front runner in making this happen with songs that brought up history, such as the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. Flavor Flav (before the buffoonery) and Chuck D rhymed about fighting against racism, elitism, and oppression while the Black Panthers and hundreds of people from Miami, St. Louis, Philly, Brooklyn, and all over followed along down the street. Red, black, and green surfaced the crowd celebrating celebrate African ancestry, and Malcolm X a target were the only decorations for this video. "Fight the Power" relied on the message, and the message was clear-speak up if you want change and fight against those who try to shut you up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jym-RtHHG0s