MUSIC

13 of the Most Controversial Music Videos Ever

From Kanye West to Madonna, these gory and graphic clips got people talking — for better or for worse.

Photo by Gordon Cowie on Unsplash

Music videos are a perfect opportunity to expand the story of a song.

The best music videos can showcase killer choreography, Halloween-ready attire, or movie levels of cinematic gold; others can spark controversies, no matter how well-intended. Whether centered around copious bloodshed or near-pornographic nudity (sorry, Mom and Dad), there's one thing all controversial music videos have in common: They get people talking.

Here are 13 music videos released over the past 30-plus years that have sparked disputes. Watch at your own risk.

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Culture Feature

12 of the Best Political Voices in Hip-Hop

There's a potent strain of leftist politics woven into the history of rap and hip hop, and these artists have been pushing it harder than ever in recent years.

A scene from Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” music video.

Via Vevo

With all the negative attention that Kanye West has been earning for himself in recent days...and months...and years, it's important to remember that he is a political outlier.

The vast majority of the time when rappers involve themselves in politics, they do not align themselves with figures like Donald Trump. There is a long tradition of hip hop artists using their platforms to call attention to important social movements and endorse liberatory left-wing politics.

These 12 artists are some of the most significant voices in hip hop and politics who have made serious efforts to spread important messages, and in some cases have done a lot more than that.

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New Releases

Country Music Has Never Sounded Like This Before

Musical mold-breaker Willie Jones is taking country music to unbelievable new places with his single "Back Porch."

Simon Cowell likes him. Demi Lovato likes him. 200,000 Spotify listeners a day love him.

He is Willie Jones: one-time X-Factor contestant, now full-time country music innovator. For the last eight years he has been delighting crowds with his blended sound, mixing R&B and hip-hop influences with firm country roots to create an explosive musical cocktail. The Louisiana native has been gathering an absurd amount of momentum lately, with a barrage of singles set to come out this year and show the world of music what you can do when you color outside the lines. That all starts with the first in this series of releases, the mesmerizing "Back Porch."

With an opening that feels equal parts Childish Gambino and The Avalanches, you immediately need to reconsider what you think a country song sounds like. This gives way to a blend of guitar, beat, and synth that gets you ready to jump up and go crazy. Where other crossover artists would lose their country influences in the mix at this point, "Back Porch" puts them front and center. The vocals are unmistakably in genre, the guitar chords hold down the song, and the lyrics, taken on their own, would feel right at home on a Luke Combs cut. All of that firm grounding allows the more fanciful production elements to take things out of this world. This song feels like a lot of people were finally let off the chain to really play, and at the centre of it all is Willie Jones smiling and having a good damn time.

"Back Porch" throws you. Often country crossed with other genres feels like the artist is playing with the simplest colors of both worlds. The results can still be fantastic, but what Jones is doing here feels like he's painting with every color of the rainbow, plus a few more that he invented just because he could. This track is a stone-cold jam, primed and ready for the enjoyment of swathes of fans that don't even know they're fans yet. Get ready, everyone; Willie Jones just might be your newest obsession.

Follow Willie Jones Online | Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

MUSIC

Donald Glover Shared Surprise New Album–Then It Disappeared

The artist best known as Childish Gambino shared a new album online...for a few hours.

Photo by FX/Kobal/Shutterstock

Now that his former client, Andrew Yang, is out of the presidential race, how has Donald Glover been spending his time?

Making new music...kind of. Over the weekend, the polymathic artist best known as Childish Gambino uploaded a collection of music to a website called DonaldGloverPresents.com, including his 2018 track "Feels Like Summer" in addition to a plethora of new tunes (with features from Ariana Grande and 21 Savage). But now, a few hours later, the music has disappeared.

Glover's last album was 2016's Awaken, My Love!, which received an Album of the Year Grammy nomination. He signed with RCA back in 2018, just before releasing his Internet-breaking hit "This Is America," which won both Song and Record of the Year at the Grammys. He's long maintained that he'd retire the Childish Gambino moniker, but it's not apparent which name he's using for his music going forward.

In dire times like these, he really couldn't have let us just have this one nice thing?

CULTURE

Donald Glover Is Andrew Yang's Creative Consultant, Which Is Weird

The actor/rapper endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate this week.

Photo by Brad Neathery on Unsplash

Donald Glover—the mastermind known for Atlanta, Community, and his musical alias Childish Gambino—has a new side gig.

The rapper/actor/comedian extraordinaire appeared alongside Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang this week, fundraising for his campaign by selling collaboration merch at an exclusive pop-up event. The endorsement alone was enough of a shocker, but it doesn't stop there: According to the Hill, Glover has officially signed on as the "creative consultant" for Yang's campaign. We have no idea what the job title entails, but things are bound to get interesting.

If we're just talking musical genres, we can't say this partnership is exactly in line with Yang's goal to be "the first ex-goth president," but to each their own. He's mentioned that he's a huge fan of the Cure and the Smiths, although if the latter's Morrissey were American, he certainly wouldn't be on the Democratic side of things—yikes!

This is America, I guess.

MUSIC

Beyoncé Brings Afrobeats to Mainstream Audiences with "Lion King: The Gift"

"Lion King: The Gift" may be a Beyoncé album, but she's not the standout in her own collaborative production.

Beyoncé in all her glory.

Columbia Records

Beyoncé's Lion King: The Gift is in direct competition with the live-action remake's 2019 soundtrack.

It's difficult to imagine Disney allowing any other artist to challenge the success of their latest production, but Beyoncé has surpassed celebrity—she is a movement, an icon, and a spokesperson for a generation, and her name being associated with the movie can only mean good things for the company, even if her Lion King-inspired album is separate from the movie in which she stars. After all, Disney's remakes have received criticism from the get-go. What was the need for a live-action remake of a movie conceived by a bunch of white executives who referred to the project as "Bambi in Africa?"

Still, Beyoncé's involvement loaned the project credibility, and clearly the artist saw the potential to reclaim the Africa-set narrative to create what she calls "sonic cinema." She worked with "some of her favorite artists [and] the most talented and important African artists of the day to both pay tribute to the iconic film and bring the authentic sounds of African music to the world." Although how authentically and accurately the star's achieved this goal is up for debate, there's no question that Beyoncé was able to use her influence to shine a spotlight on the diverse range of artists, some who even outshine her.

The album begins with James Earl Jones, backed by a soft violin, repeating Mufasa's iconic lines to Simba: "Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. You need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures. From the crawling ant to the leaping antelope. We're all connected in the great circle of life." This sentiment, that all African people are connected, is emphasized throughout the rest of the album. The interlude is followed by "BIGGER," Beyoncé's lyrical build up to the message,"If you feel insignificant, you better think again / Better wake up because you're apart of something way bigger." It's another reminder that every person is connected to each other and to the earth.

Columbia

Another poignant interlude spoken by James Earl Jones introduces "FIND YOUR WAY BACK," an R&B, Afrobeat version of Lemonade's "Daddy Issues." Unlike the original, "FIND YOUR WAY BACK" is a filler song with an infectious beat—it seems to exist just to add to the story of The Lion King. It has nothing on the songs that follow: Tekno, Yemi Alade, Mr Eazi, and Lord Afrixana's "DON'T JEALOUS ME" and Burna Boy's "JA ARA E." Both tracks are danceable but in distinctly different ways. The gritty and visceral "DON'T JEALOUS ME" produces a teeth-clenching, head-bouncing effect—it's captivating and mystifying, while "JA ARA E" is a hip-swinging, sexy summer anthem.

The Nigerian Afro-fusion artists highlight exactly what the Western world is missing out on, musically. The variety and simple good vibes could create a cultural moment for Afro-fusion in Western mainstream music, similar to what "Despacito" did or Latin Pop (minus Justin Bieber, thankfully).

Columbia

Next, "NILE" and "MOOD 4EVA" keep the album's soulful momentum going, despite the many interludes beginning to bog down the bops. Kendrick Lamar's classic rap delivery on "NILE" sets up another one of his iconic beat-drops. But, in the last thirty seconds of the track, Beyoncé's textured vocals end too quickly, making "NILE" feel incomplete. "MOOD 4EVA" captures all that was successful about The Carter's EVERYTHING IS LOVE album. Beyoncé's voracious performance and enchanting, oozing confidence outperform Jay-Z's. Beyoncé outdoes him with lyrics like, "Piña colada-in' / you stay Ramada Inn," and concluding with, "I be like soul food / I am a whole mood." Unfortunately, the song's low-point is Childish Gambino's feature, which only makes a minor contribution to the already electrifying mood.

At the album's halfway mark, the majority of the noteworthy tracks have already passed. "BROWN SKIN GIRL" and "MY POWER" are the only tracks left that stick in the mind of listeners. The sweet-natured, empowering "BROWN SKIN GIRL" begins with Blue Ivy Carter's first singing performance. Then Nigerian artist WizKid aids the celebratory track, which speaks directly to the brown skin girls of the world. The song separates itself from the rest of the album as an easier, mellower, lullaby-inspired song, while still positioning black people at the center of the celebration.

Columbia

Conversely, up-and-coming rapper, Tierra Whack, leads "MY POWER" with the declaration, "They'll never take my power / They feel a way, oh wow"—celebrating all black women and what they're capable of. On the track, South African artists—Moonchild Sanelly and Busiswe—gloriously sing African praises, injecting the song with an emboldened, unwavering verse.

The rest of the album has its individual, exceptional moments, like Beyoncé's almost holy vocals on "OTHERSIDE" and Jessie Reyez's ingenious verse on "SCAR." But, still, only six out of the fourteen main tracks succeed in creating something new, inspiring, and other-worldly. The other interludes strip Lion King: The Gift of cohesion and flow. But still, with The Lion King: The Gift, Beyoncé has cemented her legacy of celebrating black experiences and art by bringing African musical influences to Western, mainstream audiences. If there was any doubt left that Beyoncé is more than just an indomitable vocalist, surely it's been dispelled once and for all by this album. Lion King: The Gift demonstrates what is possible when collaboration occurs across borders to create cross-cultural, truly globalized music.

Columbia


The Lion King: The Gift