Juvenile's "Ha", a video that dropped in 1998 with little more than a murmur of praise, is in hindsight a definitive video for the former Cash Money star, one which brought true New Orleans patois and unabashed ghetto imagery to MTV audiences nationwide. In "Ha" we are given a stick-thin Juve, very much at home in the Magnolia projects. He raps on street corners and from porch steps; in alleyways and on sidewalks framed with graffiti.

Though there is action in the video, it is not a traditional southern bounce jam. The lyrics are charged, and yet for a majority of the video, viewers are presented with still images in a slow series: a shirtless man by a telephone pole, EMT's posing in front of an ambulance and the boys and girls of NO standing long-faced and wide-eyed amid the neighborhood; in "Ha," there is nothing much to hide.

The purity of this video is apparent in every cut, and the authenticity of Juvenile and those that surround him is a testament to the quality of storytelling presented within. Much as a book of portraits can tell a story without words, "Ha" presented on mute also provokes a very visceral reaction.

Many listeners--particularly the backpackers and NY hip-hop heads--dismissed "Ha" as being inundated with slang and possessing very little lyrical quality; not betraying the song's title, Juvenile does indeed spit the word "Ha" to end almost every line of every verse. Those who object to this lyrical form are disregarding the song based on a flimsy criteria: repetition has always been a key component of rap music, and yet there is still something new to be discovered in "Ha", because unlike much of southern rap today, the song is honest to its core. With "Ha" Juvenile betrays neither himself nor his community. His speech remains unaltered and deep while his community provides a backdrop for the music.

"Ha" is very much a cultural video, and the pictures provided inside are brilliant. Take for example the children at 18 seconds, the man at 22 seconds, the group photo and EMTs (at 29 and 30 seconds respectively) and Juvenile himself at 44 seconds. These are the pictures in which the first verse is framed, and none is more poignant than the open shirted Juvenile standing alone near a chain link fence. In this image (44 seconds) he isn't rapping about the ghetto, nor is he flashing gold teeth. He's standing, dressed in his regular street duds, looking slightly downward with urban decay surrounding him--this image alone says more than most hood rappers did in 2007. How many of them can even return to the projects to film a shot like this?

The pictures continue for the duration of the video, and as a cultural artifact "Ha" is brilliant in this regard: it is the rare combination of music reflecting culture in both words and images. There is also a tension inherent in "Ha," with sports cars being placed in the ghetto setting. These symbols of wealth and achievement are out of place and yet celebrated by the entire community as groups of men lounge on them. Though Juvenile has chosen to add these vehicles to his video, he has also chosen to present them to us in a certain context: that from whence he came.

In "Ha" there is something unique and very New Orleans. I love to give this video a play every now and then, though I must admit that at first I never understood it.