Song: Homecoming
Artist: Kanye West
Director: Hype Williams
Year: 2008

Hype Williams is pretty much the only person making hip-hop music videos that aren’t exhibitions of stupidity with a side of degraded women. He’s an excellent director, really standing alone in the hip-hop scene. I had my doubts at first, and he’s made some slips early on in his career. But as time went on and he’s been able to choose his clients and impose his visions over the artists’ his work has gotten better, and in the last couple years he’s just cranking out gem after gem.

Next we have Kanye West who considers himself above other rappers, and most importantly understands the value of music videos, and their ability to tell a story. He’s also an artist who has crafted an image along with his music and seems to sell himself as a whole package with his albums.

So what happens when you put these two together? Some excellent music videos, and one of the best artist director relationships since Michel Gondry and Bjork.

I’ll admit they have a bit of a black and white fetish, (Not only this video, but also: Good Life, Heard Em’ Say, and Diamonds From Sierra Leone) but everything they collaborate on really works. Kanye loves the camera and he’s a lot of fun to watch, and Hype really excels at making everything look really good.

This video is really simple, I just posted it as a small Hype Williams intro and because I really like the song. There’s a couple of things that are worth noting, for example, the cool silhouette mask effect. There’s also some really nice shots of Chicago, including Millenium Park and the bean. I also love the shots of Chris Martin. I think Hype got his mannerisms and gestures down on camera really well, and he barely shows his face. I also enjoy that last dark shot of the piano with the fireworks.

There’s a handful more Hype videos I want to post about so you can expect to see more in the future. But if you can’t wait, you can check out his website, and watch them there: Hype Williams

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