The Mid-Week Music Video Reviews Round-Up – 11/18/15

Welcome. It’s another fine week and as we reach the mid-way point, you know we’ll deliver the freshest batch of music videos to you. And as always, whether you like it or not, you’ll get this author’s two cents thrown in there to add just a little bit of commentary and context. Now, it’s just up to you to give them a viewing.

JL x Lyricks – “Seven Rings”

You may have wondered what has become of the Beautiful Cycle crew, just know they are alive and well. And 2/3rd of ’em are doin’ their thang in the mecca of Hip-Hop – New York City. This is where we pick up with JL & Lyricks and their new release, “Seven Rings”. Video wise, it’s a bit dark with uneven lighting, but it’s sharper than anything we’ve seen from the former Virginians and serves it’s purpose well. That purpose is just to promote the song which is some classic, boom-bap, gritty, blast-this-off-a-PA-system-on-the-subway-platforms-of-NY, type of unadulterated Hip-Hop. If you’re a fan of the fundamentals, this is your tune. Also, check the cameos from Dumb, DC, and others.

DNCE – “Cake by the Ocean”

If you were to tell me we’d ever feature a Joe Jonas led group here on a-Tunes, I’d probably call you crazy and that’d be the end of it. But since the famous brothers have disbanded, they’ve gone in their own musical directions and the new group, DNCE, is Joe’s new gig. So why are they in this MV round-up? Check out their guitarist, if you can catch her limited screen time. Her name is JinJoo Lee, and she’s the guitarist in this quartet. It’s a fun song with an all too literal but lyrically and thematically appropriate video. I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing more from JinJoo and co.

28k (Timothy Flu x Passda) – “Charlie Sheen”

I was actually wondering the other day what some of the artists that we follow from down south are up to. To see that Flu and Pass decided to team up to form a new project only makes sense – so what’s the verdict on their new drop? Song is aight, video is not. The sound is consistent with current trends and the two artists fit it fairly well but the video is full of shaky-cam, bad lighting, and jumbled footage. My advice? Give it a listen but skip the video.

XL Middleton – “Psychic”

XL is another artists who we haven’t heard from in a while. His latest is an amusing throwback to the 80’s with a funky, electornic infused, lo-fi sound and the purposefully cheesy visuals to match. I can appreciate the nod to decades past but the noise/distortion filter is clearly a quick filter they found in whatever video editing program they used. I wouldn’t say I loved this, but I was certainly entertained.

Andrew Huang – “The Gift of Sound”

By now, you know the drill with these type of videos. Andrew can make a song out of anything, and so why not make some money too. By watching this, you’re just helping the dude pay some bills – so take it for what it is and enjoy this sponsored extended ad filled with Huang music.

Mike B – “Can’t Hold You”

I think this is one of those tracks that doesn’t initially stand out, but it grows on you. With some fun choices from a production stand point, and a fair but safe performance by Mike, it equates to a pretty decent record. I can appreciate the small amount of character exposition, although it’s never really fleshed out – still, the fact it has any is better than most rap videos.

Sam Ock featuring for Jooheon and I.M – “Flower Cafe”

Sam and his AMP brothers have really made the most of their recent trip to South Korea, and this joint is the fruit of their efforts. Sam does his patented, jazzy crooner routine and sounds more polished than ever. It’s a pretty decent listen if you’re a fan of softer, more instrumental Hip-Hop. The video ain’t a whole lot to look at but has some footage from the studio. Not bad at all.

The following are lyric videos. Standard fare and not much to comment on.

Stevie Hoang – “Cry”

Jhameel – “Moment”