13 Music Videos They "Put A Bird On It"

Mad props are due to Bird from Rhymesayers but this is about the kind of birds with feathers like this one I saw in Lisbon at the São Jorge Castle (they put some birds on it). Shoutout to the geniuses of Portlandia for the inspiration.

I took this photo in Lisbon, Portugal in December 2016

1. Prince - "When Doves Cry" 1984  To those running Prince's YouTube channel; thank you and I love you all for blessing us with Prince videos in our latest time of need. Please can we keep them and can we have some more?




2. 18+ - "Crow" 2014  This is the birdiest of them all by way of the crow sample.




3. Awkwafina - "Queef" 2013  Queen La-queefa is the queefiest of them all... you'll see what I mean. I just discovered Awkwafina yesterday and life's been way more hilarious.




4. Myke Bogan - "Mango Tree" 2017 EYRST/PORTLAND Myke Bogan, of PAC DIV with Like, has been working his ass off lately and it sounding pretty damn good.




5. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie" 2011  I have nothing but love for RHCP and would be stoked to see them doing their thing on a rooftop or anywhere really.




6. Michael Jackson - "Leave Me Alone" 1987  This may possibly be one of the best music videos ever...which is good because it's one of the weakest pre-HIStory songs Michael left us with.




7. DJ Shadow feat. Run The Jewels - "Nobody Speak" 2016  This crew did so much more than just put a bird on this masterpiece of a music video. A Killer Mike quote from the YouTube credits:  "It's such a dope video. It's what I really wish Trump and Hillary would just do and get it over with...And even in that fight I think Hillary would win - and that's not an endorsement."




8. Santigold - "Banshee" 2016  This also appears on a YouTube playlist of Music Videos with Puppets alongside Quasimoto, DRAM, Tool, Madvillain, and a bunch of other artsy weirdos I love.




9. Hail Mary Mallon (Aesop Rock + Rob Sonic) - "Breakdance Beach" 2011  I'm definitely trying to hit up Breakdance Beach...which could be anywhere with the right crew.




10. Abstract Rude feat. Slug + Brother Ali - "The Solution" 2015  This reminds me of the Grieves and MC Type video for "My Girlfriend Beats Me" (it's a must watch) but this one has a Kitchen Aid Mixer cameo sooo.




11. Mount Kimbie feat. James Blake - "We Go Home Together" 2017  This song is from the upcoming Mount Kimbie album, Love What Survives, due out this September. Thanks for being you James Blake (le sigh). FYI, this is not a dance party cut but Give Slow Jams A Chance.




12. Berner + B Real with Snoop Dogg + Vital - "Faded" 2015  These enterprising stoners managed to make a lifelong career and millions of dollars off of their love of weed. There is a bird in this video, it happens quick. Smoke some weed and look for it while cringing at the weak chorus.




13. Wizdumb - "L.A.fternoon" 2011  SEATTLE HIP HOP  It warms my heart to watch music videos by artists currently residing in Seattle. I'm of the opinion that creating/finishing music videos will help propel musicians out of the realm of "local artists" and into the music industry.

10 Animated Music Videos Part VI

My Animated Music Videos YouTube playlist is up to 78 videos and counting...


1. Jay-Z - "The Story Of OJ" 2017  I can't mention this Jay-Z album without mentioning that Grape God did it first. That said, this song/video is awesome.




2. Sevdaliza - "That Other Girl" 2015  Sevdaliza stays weird in the very best way.




3. Chelou - "Halfway To Nowhere" 2016  Still can't decide if I love this song but since I've watched the video at least five times, it must be aight.




4. theMIND Feat. Mick Jenkins, Noname, Jesse Boykins III - "Animated Ambition" 2016  Noname for the win...




5. Mndsgn - "Alluptoyou" 2016  It's nearly impossible to be smoother than this.




6. King Reign - "Santa Romeo" 2017  This video was released posthumously by those who wanted to see this track get the love it deserves.




7. Jonwayne - "LIVE From The Fuck You" 2017  STONES THROW  Leave him alone, he's with his boys!




8. Dabbla feat. Graziella - "Psychoville" 2016  UK HIP HOP  "Thanks for being here. Theres lots of cool shit to see and free music to download and share so enjoy yourself, have a gander, buy some shit and help me continue to make music until it transmorph's into an actual job enabling me to escape the social grid and become a revolutionary pillar of the global community."
- Excerpt from Dabbla's Soundcloud bio




9. Gorillaz - "Sleeping Powder" 2017  The Gorillaz team is trying harder than most musicians out there and it's totally working.




Here's the Gorillaz episode of MTV Cribs for good measure.




10. Nick Hakim - "Roller Skates" 2017  This has also been added to the Roller Skating Music Videos YouTube playlist for obvious reasons.

13 Music Videos with Household Chores

I really can't tell you why I've compiled a list of music videos featuring household chores over the last few years...but I did and Sade is the Queen. This has the least Hip Hop of any list I've made since forever.


1. Sade - "Babyfather" 2010  Sade's been making doing the dishes (and everything else) look superfly since pre-2010.




2. SZA - "Drew Barrymore" 2017  SZA is doing laundry in this video...or at least looking fly in front of some dryers. "Go Gina" is my favorite track from SZA's latest; in case you were wondering.




3. Old Man Saxon - "The Perils" 2016  In the video, Old Man Saxon portrays (maybe he does live in his car, many artists do) a man living in his car. I tried it, it's not that cool in a Subaru. In my opinion (as is the rest of this website), this is one of the best songs on the list.




4. Jehst - "Nuke Proof Suit" 2005  UK HIP HOP  Jehst and his team truly went all out for this video. He released a new album in the last few weeks; you should probably check it out.




5. Sun Ho feat. Lady Saw - "Mr Bill" (Produced by Wyclef Jean) 2009  It's really too bad that this song is so lame because Sun Ho is killing the chore game.




6. Snakehips feat. Kaleem Taylor - "Forever (Pt. II)" 2015  You'd never catch me listening to this song but the video is awesome.




6. Grimes - "California" 2016  I'm an unofficial member of the Grimes fan club for life even if her music isn't doing it for me lately. She's taking care of the sweeping in the art studio herself; that's classy.




7. Reva DeVito - "Deeper" 2016  Catch Reva's Portland crew doing mannequin challenge type stuff then doing the dishes in this pro-cassette music video from last year.




8. Damian Marley - "Welcome To Jamrock" 2005  They gotta do laundry in Jamrock too.




9. EARTHGANG feat. J.I.D. - "Momma Told Me" 2016  The EARTHGANG Mom is cooking breakfast and doing the dishes while they rap and chill hard in slow motion.




10. Pomo - "How I Feel" 2015  I don't want to ruin the surprise but you should probably stick around to the end of the video to see who the ladies final visitor is.




11. Hilltop Hoods feat. Maverick Sabre - "Won't Let You Down" 2014  I love the video but think the song is pretty weak but since it came all the way from Southern Australia, I still feel lucky to have found it.




12. The Black Keys - "Weight Of Love" 2014  This song gets all Pink Floyd-y and it works for me.




13. Weezer - "Say It Ain't So" 1994  As Weezer does their thing, their squad goes about their business...doing laundry and shit. The realest.

11 Music Videos With Cops Part III

Found in London December 2016

Here's all the videos with cops/law enforcement on a YouTube playlist...

1. Joey Bada$$ feat. BJ The Chicago Kid - "Like Me" 2015  Joey Bada$$ managed to make a culturally relevant banger...we could really use a lot more of these right about now. The police continue to take innocent black lives almost daily in the United States and they're getting away with it. It's can be hard to know how to help such a horrific reality so you can start by making a formal complaint to the Seattle Police Department for the murder of Charleena Lyles, a pregnant woman who called the police for help and was murdered in front of her children just days ago. There's also a Go Fund Me set up for Charleena's family if you're in a position to help.




2. OCnotes - "Hum Drum Killa" 2015  Another amazing Stephan Gray creation. In general, I hate guns but slow motion underwater gunshots are kind of amazing. I sincerely hope OCnotes stays weird for all of his days on this planet.




3.  The Beatnuts - "No Escapin' This" 2001  There are so many times in which I think JuJu AKA Jerry Tineo looks like he could be Redman's brother...this is one of those times.




4. Kool + Kass - "Peaceful Solutions" 2013  If only the police were trained in peaceful solutions...




5. Run The Jewels - "Oh My Darling (Don't Meow) Just Blaze Remix" 2015  The USA needs some giant cats with laser eyes to come pull some superhero shit right now.




6. Denmark Vessey - "Think Happy Thoughts" 2016  It can be hard to think happy thoughts when there's so many dark forces against us right now but messages of love are vital to get us through this without losing our minds.




7. Jorja Smith - "Blue Lights" 2016  Shout out to Jorja Smith for creating art that sheds light on the terrifying reality of black people in America today. In her words, “It questions why you should have a guilty conscience if you've done nothing wrong." She explains. "The video is about a black male who portrays three different paths he could've gone down in life... as a boxer, a police officer and just a guy in a hoodie. This man is fighting with himself and the perception that society and authority have given to him. How can a young black male run away from the stereotypical stigma and hatred towards police if it is on every screen or paper they see? The boxer is quite literally being beaten up by society's perceptions. The video's narrative is just one example of the negative stereotypes many people suffer each and every day."




8.  Brockhampton - "Heat" 2017  No actual cops in this video but the song is inspired their dark presence in our country.




9. Silent Lambs Project - "Mic Choke" 2002  SEATTLE MUSIC  Silas Blak has been doing it bigger than you for decades.




10. Cadenza feat. Jorja Smith + Dre Island - "People" 2016  Here's some ideas about what to do instead of calling the police...




11. BADBADNOTGOOD feat. Snoop Dogg + Kaytranada - "Lavender" 2017  The police, media, and (not my) president really are clowns; very scary clowns. Fortunately, Snoop's gonna take em out for us.




Here's the link to the first two volumes of Music Videos With Cops.

The New Hotness Vol. 7

For a good time watch The New Hotness playlist on YouTube.

1. Jorja Smith - "Teenage Fantasy" 2017  I can't stop listening to this song; it even prompted me to kick off a New Hotness playlist on Spotify. I'll be updating it as I find new favorite songs...which is almost every day. If the link doesn't work for you, search "Liz Rowe" on Spotify to find ALL the lists of song's I've overplayed since Spotify became a thing. She first caught my eye/ear last July with her song/video "Where Did I Go?"

2. Muzzy Legault - "Filles Well (Nomadini 2015)" 2015  I found this incredible artist from Ottowa, Ontario because she appeared on one of my favorite Noo/10.4 Rog songs "Without You" (no longer on Soundcloud). Listen to "Filles Well" and more on the newly inspired The New Hotness Soundcloud playlist.



She just did a brief interview with CBC Radio 91.5, this is how I learned to pronounce her name (it's way classier than I originally thought).




3. Princess Nokia - "Anomaly" 2017  Princess Nokia really is an anomaly (def. something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected) and I love that about her.




4. Shabazz Palaces - feat. The Shogun Shot - "Julian's Dream (ode to a bad)" 2017  They're releasing their new album, "Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines," is being released as a 32 page special edition illustrated album with a download code via Sub Pop. It's a limited run of 1000...so you should probably pre-order it now.




5. Washed Out - "Get Lost" 2017 STONES THROW  This video really does it for me; shout out to the Director Harvey Benschoter for keeping it weird.





6. Kendrick Lamar - "DNA" 2017  We love you Kendrick; congrats on making a full album I'll happily listen to on repeat all year long. You too Nabil, your art is vital in the rise of those you've worked with.




7.  Kiefer - "Tubesocks" 2017  STONES THROW  Upon first listen, I can already tell that this man's head nod rivals that of Swarvy...which is likely part of the reason the universe has united them with the Stones Throw crew. I was fortunate to see Kiefer when he came through Seattle with Mndsgn but wasn't aware he did solo work until now.




8. Jessie Reyez - "Gatekeeper" 2017  Sad that Jessie had to go through this but hopefully her misfortune will help others to avoid douchebags like this. Thanks for sharing your art Jessie, we love you!




9. The Mouse Outfit ft. Ellis Meade - "Bring Me Down" 2017  UK HIP HOP  I'm still trying to build a bridge between Europe and the US so musicians from both continents have the opportunity to travel with their art. It's an epic mission but one post at a time and we'll get there eventually.

10. Taylar Elizza Beth - "Fresh Cut Flowers EP" 2017  I was blessed to attend the "Fresh Cut Flowers" Release Party at Timbre Room a few nights ago. Not only did Taylar solidify her place as one of Seattle's most promising artists, she also hand chose the other amazingly talented women who shared the stage with her; DoNormaal, Guayaba, and PSA.




11. NxWorries - "Get Bigger" 2017  Anderson.Paak has joined the rooftop rappers movement; not a real thing but alliteration is tight.




12.  J'Von - "lil phantom yellow tune" 2017 SEATTLE MUSIC  J'Von stays steady killin it softly while the rest of the world is watching Netflix. He's grinding so hard, he's on this list twice...see below.




13. Tricky - "The Only Way" 2017  I've been a Tricky fan since Maxinquaye and I always will be.




14. Sa-Roc - "The Soundset 2017 Experience" 2017  I was blessed to spend six weeks in a van with Sa-Roc and Sol Messiah and I loved every minute of it. She is exactly what the world needs right now and one of my new favorite superheroes.




15. Ibeyi - "Away Away" 2017  These ladies caught my attention with their "River" video back in 2014...glad to see they're still grinding.




15. Zack Villere - "Cool" 2017  I finally looked closer at the credits of this and saw one of my favorite Seattle producers in there. J'Von has always approached his art in such a way that he's transcended the local artist label; keep it up J'Von!




16. Lojii + Swarvy - "Due Rent" 2017  I've been a fan of Swarvy since I saw his head nodding at Barboza in Seattle when he opened for Mndsgn (he was also part of Mndsgn's show along with Kiefer from above). Fresh Selects is the independent Portland label smart enough to represent lojii and Swarvy.




17. SZA feat. Kendrick Lamar - "Doves In The Wind" 2017  SZA'snew album is whoa; hope to see a video for this track soon.




18. Brother Ali - "Never Learn" 2017  I've recently returned from my 1st Tour Adventure with Brother Ali, Last Word, Sa-Roc, Sol Messiah, Amal the Photo/Video Guru, and Paul the Tour Manager. My latest job title is Merch Manager for Brother Ali (I also helped out with the driving)...it was a truly epic adventure and I learned at least 1,111 things and instantly became a touraholic. They are some of my favorite people on this whole planet; it was an honor to spread messages of love throughout the US and Canada with this crew. This video is truly beautiful; here's what Brother Ali has to say about it (from the YouTube credits). #AllTheBeautyInThisWholeVideo

"This is another presentation made possible by community. We shot it in New Mexico at Dar Al Islam, a beautiful worship and healing center built mostly by American Muslims in the Adobe style prevalent in the Southwest. Spiritual and wisdom tradition holds that buildings should be designed in harmony with the natural beauty of the location, as well as the culture of the people in that area. Many of my elders built this place, and many of my friends grew up there. 

One thing interesting about this location is that after the death of Tupac Shakur, the Dar Al Islam community opened its doors to film his “I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto" video there. 

The dancers are Al Taw’am from Minneapolis. You may recognize them from the "Mourning In America” video, as well as their own international videos and news pieces. The twins are dear family friends and leaders in our cultural and spiritual community. Their movement speaks of their family legacy of dignified regality. I believe them to be royalty. They choreographed this incredible piece and brought the entire song and video to life. 

The video was directed by Kron, whom we've worked with in the past. He and his crew did an incredible job and I'm deeply grateful. 

Of course, Ant made the track with G Koop playing the instruments and deM atlaS added some additional operatic vocals at the end of the song. Special thanks to: Siddiq, Sidi Hakeem Archuletta, La'kisha Raeesah Holloman, Amir Sulaiman, and anyone else I'm forgetting.
Please enjoy."

– Brother Ali