It may be the unofficial end of Summer but it looks like a lot of artists have been busy as of late. Since our last music video round-up, the following clips made their way in front of our eyes over the course of the past week. There’s a little Hip-Hop, some Pop, some EDM, and Pop-Rock all throw in there to give you a fair bit of variety. And of course, what would it be without our humble opinion thrown in the mix too?
Heejun Han x Pusha T – “Bring the Love Back”
Heejun Han finally makes his post-Idol debut. The video is your typical party-it-up-in-the-summer video fare but more importantly, how’s the song? Does it cater to Heejun’s talents? Not really. Is it over-produced? Definitely. How is Pusha T’s feature? OK but half-assed. Is it radio ready? Yes, but if Jessica Sanchez couldn’t get air-time with “Tonight“, I’m not sure this one can either.
AJ Rafael – “I Just Want You” (ft Amy Pham)
This isn’t so much a music video as it is a video lookbook set to AJ‘s “I Just Want You”. So you can expect pretty people wearing stylish clothes and AJ making appearances throughout to woo the girl. It’s not the deepest visual, but it was never meant to be. I imagine a fair number of you will enjoy this.
Shogunna – “100 Bars”
Shogunna is beginning to sound like his old, hungry self again, and it’s good to hear him start to build things up after his “hiatus“. The dude even has a Vevo channel set up, which means he’s doing something right. So it’s a solid Hip-Hop track with a unmemorable video. The quality is clean but there’s nothing that sticks out save for the shaky-cam effect that makes me think I’m watching a Matt Damon action film.
DJ Yup – “Nail It to the Head”
If you’re into EDM this is a fair entry from DJ Yup though the video isn’t an official music video. It’s more of a way to promote/preview the track with footage that blatantly tries to remind you that he’s having more fun than you are. But I guess that’s par for the course for the genre.
AMP – “In Your Hands”
When’s the last time you saw a rap video shot in a pottery shop or a farm? That alone makes the visuals noteworthy. Then you realize it’s all enforcing the themes and imagery of AMP‘s song and it all makes sense. It’s a good track and should be encouraging to those that share the Faith. PS, it looks like Sam Ock has been doin’ some down sizing!
Andrew Huang – “Trash”
This was done for a compilation/collaboration project by hitRECord. And of course if creativity calls, Andrew Huang will answer. Stomp eat your heart out, cause one man’s trash is this man’s treasure. Made completely out of pre-recorded sounds from garbage, Andrew Huang crafted the entire song (relying heavily on the percussion elements). Not too shabby.
AM Kidd – “The Wonder Years”
I’m loving how artists these days are being more creative with their lyric videos. It’s not enough to just throw up static text anymore. Musicians are incorporating animation and typography and more to help give their promotional clips a little more pizzazz. AM Kidd‘s whiteboard approach is a novel and enjoyable way to do it.
Azure x Na(T)ive Son – “Deadstock”
Azure is back to promote another joint off Mint Condition. While the song is expectedly solid and a good, laid-back Hip-Hop record, it’s video does nothing out of the ordinary, making it a forgettable experience. It’s one of those times I’d have the song on repeat but not the MV. Not much to see here.
New Heights – “Someday”
While New Heights has mastered churning out these studio session videos of songs from Something to Believe In, the longer time passes, the more it seems like these are just holdovers until the band can get back in the studio together and put out some new material. Does it look and sound good? Sure, but I’d be hard pressed to say it’s any significantly different than any of their other similar releases.
a-Tunes 