A lot of hip-hop videos have been tainted with the excesses of the 1990s trend for blinged out rappers surrounded by firearms and gyrating women in bikinis. Nothing wrong with that, you might say, but one label that never conformed to that aesthetic was Ninja Tune, home to Roots Manuva, Jammer, Wiley and loads more UK artists. In addition to being home to experimental artists, it’s also a place that champions experimental moving image work by new talent, combining innovative audio with equally innovative videos. And continuing this tradition is the video for DELS’s latest single, “Capsize” (above).The video is directed by Chloe Hayward and is a black and white geometric journey that mixes elements of surrealism—like a giant, watery beating heart surrounded by a maze—with a general politicised space theme featuring floating satellites in a black expanse and the CCTV cameras they control. It even manages to fit in a little bit of glitch art aesthetic, all united with some great VFX work, to make it one of the best and most refreshing rap videos we’ve seen in years.Don’t agree? Share your favorites with us in the comments below.
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The Best Rap Video Visuals We've Seen In Years
Forget the bling and the girls, it’s all about translucent planetary hearts.