Received wisdom tells us hip-hop music videos are wastelands of mediocrity: artists waving gang signs and rented bling in front of the camera while scantily-clad dancers bounce their booties to beats recycled from old soul records. Hell, if Clive Stubblefield had a dime for every time some DJ sampled his 'Funky Drummer' groove, he'd be richer than Elvis.
Well not so fast, Sunshine. Animation has crept into hip-hop culture as a means of illustrating music videos beyond the tried-and-true gangsta's paradise images. Although the heyday of Aardman animating Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' is long gone, music videos are still an opportunity for animators to do something a little different . . . as long as the artist and the record company are willing.
The 2011 Ottawa International Animation Festival, in association with MuchMusic and Musique Plus, presented Don't Stop: Animating Hip-Hop, a compendium of some of the more compelling animation in the genre.
Ottawa International Animation Festival & MuchMusic's Don't Stop: Animating Hip-Hop
Flying Lotus' 'Zodiac S**t' plays with astrology as a mandarin offers a vision of Chinese astrological signs melting in and out of one another. It's a cool appetizer for what follows next: the opening credits for the 1960's Iron Man TV show.
Someone was on the ball when the set segues into Ghostface Killa's 'Daytona 500'. Ghostface has recorded under the pseudonyms Ironman and Toney Starks, and even appeared in the 2008 film with Robert Downey Jr. But 'Daytona 500' breaks up the Iron Man love by featuring vintage clips from the original Speed Racer anime. Ghostface is considered one of the best rappers out there, and this is possibly my favourite mix of song and image.
Madvllain's music video for 'All Caps' has a note off the top: "Inspiration & apologies to Stan (the Man) Lee and Jack (King) Kirby." An homage to vintage Marvel comics, it casts the rapper as a Hulk-style superhero taking on a never-ending stream of baddies. A smart spin on the classic comics of yesteryear.
The video for 'La Da Da' features an animated Biz Markie hunting for that perfect LP (remember those?) to complete his latest mix. It's a fun narrative that unfortunately suffers from some outdated sexism when our boy Biz gets a ride from a hottie who ain't what she initially appears to be.
Kid Koala's 'Fender Bender' starts out promisingly enough with its old-school animation style but it sets up a story it never bothers to finish. At the end, you're left with a feeling of "WTF?"
Mos Def is another rapper with a spectacular lyrical style. His video for 'Casa Bey' features words literally spilling from his mouth. The video's concept gets old fast but Def's flow saves it.
J Dilla's 'Geek Down' is a lysergic nightmare where a an old hippie type gets ripped apart by various beasts and devils while a female neanderthal with floppy tits runs across the savannah. Yeah, that's my feeling too.
The Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode 'Flipmode' features a visibly stoned Busta Rhymes giggling at the mayhem occurring onscreen. Hey, I was giggling too and I had nothing stronger than orange juice.
Eskmo's 'We Got More' literally has to be seen to be believed as a cityscape is deconstructed to stunning effect. My favourite visuals of this set; nicely done.
Dibiase's 'Skullcrack' was likely influenced by copious amounts of herb, and the actual song has a very strong electronica influence. I'd probably have liked it more if I'd burned one down too.
Finally, Shad's 'We, Myself and I' takes the classic "rappin' in the studio" footage and manipulates it. The images are pretty pedestrian but the song saves it.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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