The Good: “The Origins of the 50 Cent/Onyx Beef” by Fredro Starr
At this point, 50 Cent probably has more beefs than he has hits—which is saying a lot considering the tens of millions of albums he’s sold. Leave it up to Fredro Starr to come out of the woodwork and explain the origins of the Onyx vs. 50 Cent beef. You can’t help but laugh at the fact that grown men were beefing over a song which had an accompanying video featuring rappers playing ice hockey. Luckily, Curtis and his Queens brethren buried the hatchet. The reconciliation resulted in both camps working to release the Jam Master Jay documentary, 2 Turntables and a Microphone—which unlike the long lost “React” video is something we can all enjoy.
The Bad: “Drug Dealer Girl” by Mike Posner
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If you like Hip Hop, it’s your duty to hate all things associated with Duke University. You don’t even have to rep Michigan or The Fab Five. Elton Brand, Corey Magette and Grant Hill are the only exceptions. That said, Mike Posner isn’t wack. Unfortunately, he’s looking straight up Duke LaCrosse team meets Christian Laettner in this clip. There’s the falsetto and the general campy feel of the song, both of which are made worse by the Elton John-style piano solo at the beginning. I just don’t get it. Posner’s had some dope cuts thus far. But this is one of those times when you need one of your alpha-male, weed-carrier homeboys, to tell you to scrap this video as soon as he looks at the treatment. At least we get to see some Rosa Acosta though.
The Ugly: “Rollin/Say You Will” by Big Sean
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Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music camp has released some of Hip Hop’s most creative visuals. You can pick at least a dozen of Kanye’s videos as well as memorable ones from Common, John Legend and Consequence. All of which, makes Big Sean’s clichéd clip for “Rollin'” more surprising. The fake Grey Goose guzzling and half a dozen video “vixens” all add up to a video that looks like it just missed the deadline for BET’s “Uncut.” You get the feeling Sean was about to transition into something better when the teaser for “Say You Will” begins, but I guess we’ll have to wait a while to find out. No matter, there’s plenty of asses in this video to keep everyone occupied until then.
The Not Safe For Work: “Pyrex Vision” by Raekwon
Use caution if you’re watching this video at the job, because The Chef has his chicks bagging up work butt naked like Nino’s workers locked in The Carter. Raekwon is really going in this year! He made what seems to be hands down 2009’s best Hip Hop album, and he seems hell bent on releasing a video for every song. I’ve got to agree with DINODEEN from the comments section, who suggested Rae use this as a teaser for “10 Bricks” and just combine both tracks into one video. Add in a dope live performance on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” that saw Black Thought drop a crispy 16 on “Catalina” and Rae is having one hell of a week. Now all I want for Christmas is a video for “Kiss The Ring.”
