This year-end list takes aim at the best visuals of 2016. The music was already great as is, but these are the music videos that made you check out the song on YouTube instead of Spotify and Apple Music (TIDAL, if you’re down with them).
So look below for our list of the Dopest Videos of 2016, with artists like Chance The Rapper, Kanye West, David Bowie, and more.
Beyoncé – “Sorry” – Directed by Kahlil Joseph, Beyoncé Knowles Carter
Queen Bey delivered her best work of her career in Lemonade, which she unveiled to the world via an album film released on HBO. The hyper introspective music and visuals were filled with symbolism and references that fueled plenty of anti-Jay Z sentiment, but it also made for some powerful art pieces in Beyoncé’s work catalogue. Favorite clip from the album/film has to be “Sorry.” The black and white sets the tone right off the bat (“Hold Up” pun intended…) and there some cool shots of dancers in tribal makeup… But this one also has Serena Williams doing some fine “interpretive dancing”… Beat that, rest of Lemonade.
Chance The Rapper ft. Saba – “Angels” – Dir. Austin Vesely
No year-end list about music videos should go out without including the awesome visuals from our favorite working partners, Chance The Rapper and Austin Vesely. The long-time collaborators connected once more for the “Angels” music video, incorporating Hebru Brantley’s flyboy imagery for animations and even Chano’s attire. The Chicago af video not only features Chance riding on top of a El train, but we also see Saba plus Ian Eastwood and crew take over a CTA train car for some dope choreography there too. The dance sequence at the end, in front of the Chicago Board of Trade building, also delivered the moves the shorties would go on to imitate when they jammed to the song throughout 2016.
David Bowie – “Lazarus” – Dir. Johan Renck
As with anybody in the music world, my appreciation for this video increased exponentially in the aftermath of David Bowie’s passing. Though at first glance the haunting visuals for “Lazarus” worked finely to express the lyric’s dark theme, one could originally assume the chameleonic artist was simply portraying another character, but the visuals took a whole other meaning when it became evident that this was more so Bowie interpreting his own impending fate. The music video is filled with symbolism that we are seeing the final days of one of the best artists we’ll ever see in our lifetime: at first we see him on his deathbed with a blindfold and button on his eyes as a metaphor for his fading humanness as he sings “Look up here, I’m in heaven/I’ve got scars that can’t be seen,” and on the second half we see this other side of him where he still is lively, dancing, and writing for as long as his soul could. Chilling and fitting farewell to the Star man.
FIDLAR – “Why Generation” – Dir. Ryan Baxley
This emoji onslaught of a music video is just pleasant as hell to see. Making use of every kind of emoji around to personify the theme explored in the “Why Generation” lyrics is my kind of satire!
Frank Ocean – “Nikes” – Dir. Tyrone LeBon
Frank Ocean – ‘Nikes’ from DoBeDo Productions on Vimeo.
The kaleidoscopic video was a fine intro to the highly-anticipated new music Frank Ocean was soon to drop. The music scores a barrage of artfully assembled clips of everything from a naked woman in a fish tank, to a devil prancing through an empty theatre, to the aftermath of a wild party, and much more that are all connected as they bring to life the song’s lyrics.
Kanye West – “Fade” – Dir. Eli Linnetz
Kanye’s visuals for TLOP‘s “Fade” took a page out of Beyoncé’s dance choreography-powered video for “Single Ladies,” which some would say is the best video of all time, starring Teyana Taylor. Taylor is absolutely mesmerizing, for the looks as much as the Flashdance-worthy performance. The moves were spectacular and exquisitely coordinated, giving dancers something to strive for.
Kaytranada – “Lite Spots” – Dir. Martin C. Pariseau
I know they say children are the future, but I’m leaning more for robots after seeing this video. Kaytranada is a POD fave for his extra dope production, but the visuals for “Lite Spots” elevates him to a whole other level of creative dopeness. This day in the life style clip showing Kaytranada and his robotic pal will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face and will make you wish that finding a dance partner that just gets you would be this easy.
Rihanna – “Needed Me” – Dir. Harmony Korine
Though “Work” may get all the attention for its Pop appeal and the Drake-Riri romance tale it portrays, “Needed Me” is doper in every way. Rihanna expertly portrays the line from the song “Didn’t they tell you that I was a savage” with a badass display of guns, motor bikes, and ballin at the strip club. Oh yeah and it’s pretty damn NSFW because she got it like that.
The Strokes – “Threat Of Joy” – Dir. Warren Fu
The Strokes surprised the world with their first batch of new music since 2013 with an EP titled Future Present Past. The only track from that EP that got a more formal music video over a lyric video was that for “Threat Of Joy,” which proved to be worth not getting visuals for the other tracks. Warren Fu turns this clip into a mini movie about an evil organization stealing the footage for what should have been the “Oblivius” music video, charged with political commentary throughout. Also, you get to see Julian dancing, so that’s enough to add it to this list IMO.
Vic Mensa – “There’s Alot Going On” – Dir. Jake Osmun and Vic Mensa
With no exaggeration, the music video for “There’s A Lot Going On” is my favorite of the year. Though the execution is far from intricate or complex, a simple target shooting photo sliding into frame feels like a great visual to reflect the next deeply personal and intimate feelings Vic will be opening up about.
Vince Staples – Prima Donna Short Film – Dir. Nabil
The short film Nabil put together with a number of tracks off the Staples’ Prima Donna EP is a bizarre mind-fuck. If you’re in the mood for a trip down a twisted road, look no further than the video above. But it’s not weird for the sake of being weird, the short film paints a pretty dope story too with a journey worth embarking on.
The Weeknd – “False Alarm” – Dir. Ilya Naishuller
This one plays more like a scene from a summer blockbuster than a music video, and that goes a long way for us. The action-packed bank robbery is in first-person POV and it shows plenty of violence as the subject and his partners do their best to escape from the cops, all while handling a hostage in their getaway car. Make sure to see the reveal at the end. This is definitely the most entertaining video of the list by a long shot.
