HHNM 2013 Year-End List: Best & Most Disappointing Music Videos

MOST DISAPPOINTING VIDEOS

Jay Z – ‘Picasso Baby’ (Directed by Mark Romanek)

Yes, even Jay Z can end up on the “Most Disappointing Videos” list here at HHNM. ‘Picasso Baby’, off of the platinum-selling Magna Carta Holy Grail album, was a great song, but got an awkward and disappointing video treatment. We appreciate Jay’s effort of trying to tie together music and art, as well as bringing together the fans, but the attempt seemed phony and the “actors” involved were odd. For someone of Jay’s stature, we feel the final outcome of ‘Picasso Baby’ was rushed, lazy, and weird; especially since the song was top notch.

Kanye West – ‘Bound 2’ (Directed by Nick Knight)

If you thought ‘Bound 2’ wasn’t going to end up on this list just because we listed it as one of the best songs of the year, you were sadly mistaken. Did ‘Ye purposely make ‘Bound 2’ seem like a ridiculous and effortless visual production for the sake of making headlines? Who knows but a well made video could have helped take the brilliant song to another level.

French Montana – ‘Gifted’ (Feat. The Weekend) (Directed by Eif Rivera)

You can’t be even surprised that the video for French’s Weeknd-assited track ‘Gifted’ is as bad as it is. The laziness that Excuse My French entailed must’ve made its way behind the lens as well. The lighting was off, the setting was creepy, and again, you felt like French didn’t really want to be there. It was difficult to sit through this one. A rare miss by Eif Rivera.

Birdman, Lil Wayne & R. Kelly – ‘We Been On’ (Directed by Hannah Lux Davis)

Rich Gang tends to put out music videos that all look the same and ‘We Been On’ fits right in. The song is pretty dope, but the video is literally nothing. There comes a time when you need to see more than just women, flashing lights, and jewelry/money — especially when you’ve already done that multiple times in videos from the same album; You can try new things Birdman — your pockets are big enough to do so.

Drake – ‘Hold On, We’re Going Home’ (Directed by Bill Pope)

Number 1 hit? Absolutely. Incredible record? Of course. Great video? Negative. Drizzy, this song was supposed to be an example of your softer side, not an episode of Hostages. A kidnapping plot for this song? It was completely misguided and not appropriate for one of your most sincerest songs to the ladies. This was an attempt to use the literal sense of the song title, “Hold On, We’re Going Home” to make a movie-inspired music video but it was quite a fail.