MTV may have decapitated the music video fan, but thanks to YouTube and NSFW personas, they’re still prominent with their own ingenious makeups. Action Bronson and Das Racist hid rap music behind crushing forms of humour, noisemakers Cloud Nothings and Killer Mike added confusion to creatively gutting scenarios and even some of hip hop’s biggest names reassured us it’s okay to have more swag than a flu-ridden Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals. For your viewing pleasure, here are our 30 favourite videos from 2012 that put an axe right through corporate media.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Action Bronson: “The Symbol” | Directed by Rik Cordero
_______________________________________________________________________________
Arctic Monkeys: “R U Mine?” | Directed by Focus Creeps
_______________________________________________________________________________
Ben Folds Five: “Do It Anyway” | Directed by Phil Hodges
_______________________________________________________________________________
Black Moth Super Rainbow: “Windshield Smasher” | Directed by Bo Mirosseni
_______________________________________________________________________________
Chairlift: “Met Before” | Directed by Jordan Fish
_______________________________________________________________________________
Cloud Nothings: “No Future / No Past” | Directed by John Ryan Manning
_______________________________________________________________________________
Danny Brown: “Grown Up” | Directed by Greg Brunkalla
_______________________________________________________________________________
Das Racist: “Girls” | Directed by Aristotle Athiras
_______________________________________________________________________________
Death Grips: “Double Helix” | Directed by Death Grips
_______________________________________________________________________________
Diplo: “Express Yourself” | Directed by @LILINTERNET
_______________________________________________________________________________