So we've sort of gone away from single-link OnSmash videos here at WG, but this was too good to pass up: Three 6 Mafia's latest song, "Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body)"

DJ Paul, Juicy J and Project Pat fucking rule, Memphis represent. The meta-reference to their own music at the end is classic.

Like Barack Obama said: it's time for a change.

Saying that some good rap videos came out this week would be a lukewarm understatement. Between Prodigy and Icadon are about 5 other rappers who put out dope videos within the past 7 days, the most important being Bun B's. "That's Gangsta" featuring Sean Kingston ranks as his first high-quality solo video, stylized to a point that seems almost too mainstream for the only remaining Underground King.

The authentic street shots, filmed from a car driving through Bun B's home of Port Arthur, really make this video pop. You can tell that half of the guys caught on camera are real dudes from the city chuckin' up a deuce in mad respect. Also, you have to love the Bun B tour bus, the UGK graf mural, and the "Smart Is the New Gangsta" black-tee. II Trill is shaping up to be a stellar fucking album.

The next, almost equally important video, comes from Gilla House's Icadon. "Cock Back (Dump A Clip)" appears on its face to be a shoot-em-up track that has gone way over the top: witness the chicks in bikinis firing automatic weapons, donut-spinning in European supercars, and the stoned gun-waving. At the end of the video, though, Icadon does something unexpected. The title, "Introducing: Back To Real Life (Rap Life Is Fake)," pops up, and then Icadon gives a short interview about how a Discovery Channel show on gun violence changed his perception of firearms. I'm not sure what the takeaway is from this whole thing, but I generally like it and think I respect Icadon.

The other big deal this week in rap videos is of course Kidz in the Hall with hip-hop's newest reimagining of the Beastie Boy's classic, "Sabotage." The hit, "Drivin' Down the Block" could have taken any form as a video, but somehow Naledge and Double-O settled on a tongue-in-cheek used car commercial for their theme. Hipsters and nervous white people are feeling great about this video. It's everything the borderline rap fan wants: hipster kitsch with bleeding edge beats. That's what its all about, right? (No disrespect though, song is hot.)

And then there's this: Keak Da Sneak, "That Go (Remix) f. Prodigy and Alchemist," What a fucking beat on this thing. The video is nothing really, just low budget nonsense, but the song is hot as hell, and Keak Da Sneak actually sounds decent. Pay attention to his voice, it's freaky. If he moves over to these darker, sparser beats, he might have a chance at the mainstream.

Hot Dollar comes hard with "I Luv Tha Streets." The short intro, full of mean mugs and guns, represents the video to be something grimier than it actually is. The beat is a soft, spaced out loop that seems inappropriate with all of the gun imagery. Yet somehow, the scene--Hot Dollar and his sign-flashing comrades parading around with guns--comes out feeling eerie and eulogistic. The best part of this video must be the final 2 minutes of local gang-member cameos. WG fucks with Hot Dollar for sure, been down since "Streez on Lock."

Last but not least is R. Kelly and his most recent hit/style change, "Hairbrader." I can't say that I'm feeling the song, but Kels and the director must have had fun getting bent and experimenting with studio lighting. Just to be clear, I love the new hairstyle. R. Kelly is an icon; let the haters keep on hating.

Finally, Prodigy put out four videos this week. Seems efficient enough to me--if you're headed in for a bid, why not film some shit for your forthcoming album? H.N.I.C 2 is a winner, by the way. P comes hard and sounds a lot like his old self. I'm keeping this one in mind for year-end lists.

Update: Yeah, I left off the most recent vid by the Roots, as well as B.O.B. and Rich Boy's "Haterz Everywhere." The beat for that song definitely reminds me of the stuff Wiz Khalifa has been spitting over lately: heavily influenced by trance. A new rap subgenre emerging, perhaps?

Does it sort of weird anyone else out how fast all the old people got this reference?:

Jigga, this is exactly why no one gives a toss about your albums anymore.

Surprise! The video for Fresh is as boring as the song. Props to the lighting crew I guess.

Hot Spitta's got some lines (Cut short like cesarean? Come on, that's great) but everybody else's mediocre rapping makes up for it. The first guy uses the word "block" three times in his verse (the most sterile sixteen I've heard in a while) and please, we all know "killers" rhymes with "drug dealers."

If my cat's not perturbed, you can bet it's a song that goes nowhere pretty much the whole time. Curren$y, if this is the direction in which you are heading, I will be way disgruntled.

...this is still a decent jam. Maybe I'll post a translation or something--but it would probably be unnecessary. Peep this, the Teriyaki Boyz with "ZOCK ON!"

J-Music is great, but it won't ever crossover. I love that not only is Busta on this track, but his old-ass gets down into a six-step toward the end! What's up, breakers? As fun as this is, ultimately Pharrell is just trying a bit too hard. That, combined with a lame group name, ensures that the Teriyaki Boyz will probably be a big hit.

Teriyaki Boyz, man. That's great. May as well start a rap group out here in Cali and call it the Ketchup Kidz or some such nonsense. Gotta love condiments.

Who wanna lick the rapper? Seriously, how much fun is Weezy having in this fucking video? I was skeptical when I first heard the song--I mean, the vocoders are still going on after Bad Ass Grasshopper--but truth be told, I'm addicted to it now. Wayne haters, don't argue with me, argue with the following:

This is going to be a mega-hit. Think ringtones and remixes. Think club single of the year. This is one of those historic marking posts in a career--it's so absolutely over-the-top as to be unforgettable. Weezy's energy is just ridiculous--and he knows it!--but the guitar part takes things to an entirely new level. What the fuck is going on here, and does anyone care?

Also: single black glove on the right hand? This is classic.

I think I speak for the rest of my bloggers when I say: fuckin' midterms.

But in real news it seems like Tha Charter III may not be rap's Chinese Democracy after all! See, there's a video that's going to premiere and everything! I am totally not holding my breath, but hey, Lil Wayne:

Also when is someone going to make a DJ Khaled alarm clock? Just think about--what would wake up in the morning better than heading this: I MAKE HIT RECORDS! DIS FOR THE HOOD! WE RICH! WE NEVER GONNA STOP! WE GOT MONEY! WE THE BEST!!!!!

Props to Panda Toes for the hookup on a dope UK rapper I've never heard of: GoldieLocks. Shit is grimy, with clear garage influence. God, they are doing some nice shit on the other side of the pond; peep the overalls:

The kid Frisco can flow, too. Before signing on to this, though, a small caveat: I went bonkers over Lady Sovereign when her singles were dropping everywhere, but Public Warning was a lukewarm letdown. Ever since Dizzee Rascal's Boy in Da Corner I've been hungry for hot UK bangers, and admittedly have a tendency to over-hype the next hipster chick out of London.

That said, GoldieLocks is worth peeping. More tracks over on MySpace. I particularly recommend "Drug DeeLa." Also, check out the greatest play on a Jay-Z album title ever. What a flier.

Update: It has been pointed out to me that the word 'banger' is now retired from usage in rap blogs. Anything to say about this, Jessica?

I'm fucking in love with Kid Sister.

My hero. And a sweet remix, too. These kids are so Chicago hipster. This is what's going on. Some day, we will look back on the late 2000s as we look back on disco--I can't wait.

We all thought the most insane thing we had ever seen was Rick Ross jumping of a bridge, but allow me to submit Rick Ross...shirtless:

And if that is't enough note that Rick Ross' piece is his own face. In gold. Amazing!

Didja guys know that Wiz Khalifa has a new video? Didja? Didja, didja, didja!? Well if you someone managed to miss it, here it is:

This may just seem like some blog sheepery, because damned if everyone isn't posting this bitch, but I'm choosing to turn it into an educational opportunity instead, which is to say that based on my limited ability to speak Arabic, that shit definitely looks accurate. Sure, it's hella formal, but none the less, I commend you Wiz. Most people can't transliterate Arabic, let alone use it correct, so well done. Though, I would note you'd be hard pressed to find an actual belly dancer who looked like that. Sorry man.

I want summer now and I want it in Brooklyn. I'm sick of falling on the ground when I walk:

I've had this joint stuck in my head all day, which seems as good of a reason as any to post this:

Even though it happened on Saturday, I just found out that Tony Silver, director of the seminal Style Wars, has passed away. Fortunately we live in the internet age and so you can spend some time today being able to watch one of the best presentations of hip-hop in the '80s for free:

If you don't like guns, gunshots or bullets, then this video isn't for you. If, however, you're in the mood for some heaters, peep LA the Darkman & Willie The Kid with "Dumping the Ruger."

There's no website I despise more than Myspace (Geocities for the New Millennium!), but if it helps get some buzz for stuff like this, I guess that's ok:

The latest issue of XXL which goes over the greatest moments in hip-hop since their inception, is making me reminisce, because it seems that me and XXL hit hip-hop around the same time.

So in honor of me and Sunday and some nice weather finally hitting the Midwest, here's the first rap video I ever saw. Shiny suits and dancing, what! It totally blew my pre-teen mind:

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.

I just found out about this kids show Yo Gabba Gabba! which may be he most delightful and entertaining program I have ever seen. Beyond the insanity of things like this, the show also features a regular segment where Biz Markie teaches kids how to beatbox: