Selecting the top 10 hip-hop music videos of all time is no easy task. That’s why we at OGHH decided to take on the burden of sifting through decades of dope music videos to come up with our selection of the Top 10 Hip-Hop Music Videos of All Time. That’s right, while most of you are slaving away in your cubicles, or knee deep in books, we took it upon ourseleves to watch one music video after another from the comfort of homes while sipping orange juice and deciding which videos should be considered the best of all time.

Keep in mind, the music videos were judged as music videos. Not just for the song, not just for the video. We put an emphasis on originality (with respect to the times) as well as story-boarding and plot. Without further ado, the staff of OGHH present to you, the Top 10 Music Videos of All Time:

10. Dr. Dre – Nuthin’ but a G Thang feat. Snoop Dogg

Directed by Dr. Dre himself, this video embodied the second wave of the G-rap era with the release of Dre’s The Chronic. “One, two, three and to the fo’ Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre is at the door…” Need we say more?

9. Madvillain - All Caps

An animated music video in the style of a comic book? We’re all about that. Don’t get it twisted, the song is dope too, putting this unique music video on our top ten.

8. Jay-Z – Big Pimpin’ feat. UGK

This video is the epitome of Hype William’s style as a music video director. With a lot of white in the camera shots to give a clean, cool feel to the video and flashes of the classic booty shots from various cultures, this video makes the top ten because it does exactly what the song asks for. The Timbaland beat helps too, taking the Abdel Halim Hafez flute and turning it into one of the hottest summer jams ever. Oh, we also liked how Hype gave the video a little back and forth scratch effect to highlight the scratches in the Timbo beat. It’s in the details!

7. Nas - One Mic

This video sends a clear message of Nas‘ internal turmoil and how that translates through his flow and a microphone, going from the mic to the speakers to individuals across the world, inciting them to fight injustice and stand up against the status quo. This is a powerful video that will remain so for a long time to come.

6. Jay-Z – 99 Problems

This video has it all. Cinematography, bboys, and a great story line for the independent tales Jay is telling in the song. This is a video that captures the times of the modern day hustler, where situations are so complex that you may not know where your enemies stand, or even who they are.

5. Bone Thugs N Harmony – Crossroads

Dedicated to Eazy-E who fell victim to AIDS, the video is an introspective and serious look at death and the impact it has on those still living. The shots jump back and forth in time as the rappers reminisce about the loved ones they lostas Death comes and goes, leaving a trail of grief behind him. “Can somebody, anybody, tell me why, we die, we die?” This video was played, overplayed, played out and now, we’re playing it back in.

4. The Roots – What They Do

The music video for “What They Do” is a satire on pretty much any hip-hop video that came through MTV’s airwaves in the late 90s to the present time. The video emphasizes originality by pointing out the redundant marketing tactics employed by most Billboard chart-topping rappers. I think the following line from emcee Black Thought summarizes the video best:

“The principles of true hip-hop have been forsaken
It’s all contractual and about money makin’
Pretend-to-be cats don’t seem to know they limitation
Exact replication and false representation
You wanna be a man, then stand your own
To emcee requires skills, I demand some shown…”

3. Sway and King Tech - The Anthem feat. Eminem, KRS-One, Kool G Rap, Chino XL, Xzibit, RZA, Tech N9ne, O.C., DJ Revolution, Pharaohe Monch, Jayo Felony

The Anthem was one of the most slept on videos of all time. Scroll up and digest the idea of having RZA, Eminem, KRS, Chino XL, Kool G Rap, X to da Z, Tech N9ne and Pharaohe Monche on a single track. Then watch as they put a different video theme behind each unique style of rap (Chino XL in a block of ice, Eminem in a cartoon house!?!), adding legendary bboys such as Kujo and Ivan for full effect. This is a video strictly for the hip-hop heads and there was no compromise; that’s what makes this video so incredible in our hearts.

2. Tupac - California Love feat. Dr. Dre

“California Love” (released in 1996) takes place in 2095 with the words, “He who controls the dance floor, will control the people.” With cameos from Chris Tucker, Roger Troutman (Zapp & Roger) and George Clinton, this video is pretty close to Hip-Hop version of “Thriller.” Bold statement? The costume design is very detailed and director Hype Williams does a great job of portraying a realistic future scenario where impulse reigns supreme in this Mad Max parody.

1. Wu-Tang Clan – Triumph

This video is dope for so many reasons. The storyline is great. A news feed informs the audience that “NYC is under attack by swarms of killer bees…” Then a news bulletin arrives letting us know that an “Old Dirty Man” is atop a sky scraper. The impact of the video starts with ODB pushing the button on a detonator, releasing the Wu-Tang Clan from the inferno upon NYC. All of the Wu members represent to the fullest and as Big Pun said it best, The instrumental will “turn your brain into a pretzel.” This video was far ahead of it’s time across all genres of music when it came out in 1997 and remains at the top of the best hip-hop music video ever made.

Well, that tops off our selection of Top 10 Hip-Hop Music Videos of All Time. That being said, there were a lot of videos we considered that are still dope and barely missed the cut. Check those out below!

Runners up (in no particular order):

Puff Daddy – Victory feat. Notorious BIG, Busta Rhymes

Puff spent a top of money on this video, complete with helicopters, fake rain, special effects and Busta’s crazy-ass costume. Oh, we can’t overlook Biggie’s ridiculous verse, “Anyone, Tyson, Jordan, Jackson…”

DJ Shadow – Six Days

Amazing story line and very well-directed; compliments the music and paints a gruesome picture of our ideas on love in general.

Herbie Hancock – Rockit

This video is hilarious. The 80s should probably never be brought back, but the jam is funky and the concept is very fresh. Not sure what the guy is doing in the bed at the beginning of the video but some interesting commentary on the future of music as it heads aggressively towards electronic music (turntables, synths, keyboards, etc.) and away from acoustic. Also, this was one of the first tracks to ever feature a turntable scratch (from Grand Mixer DXT), so a lil’ something for the DJs.

Ice Cube – Today Was a Good Day

Classic video with a great feel. A perfect video to put on on a Saturday morning (or a late Sunday morning). Complete with helicopters and low-riders, this video was one of our favorites of all time.

Dr. Dre – Forgot About Dre feat. Eminem

We debated hard between this and “Guilty Conscience” which was the other dope video starring Em and Dre but decided to go with this primarily because the video style is more mature and the song is just better. Both videos were dope though and had a flair of creativity to it that we would expect from the two.

Ludacris - Stand Up

This video captures the lighter side of hip-hop. Sometimes life is about fun and games and Luda brings that to light. “Feels like a midget is hanging from my necklace!”

Kanye West – Good Morning

We featured this video a few weeks ago on the site for a reason. It’s tastefully created using the characters and artwork of Haruki Murakami and infusing it with Kanye’s imagination.

Public Enemy – Night of the Living Bassheads

Back when Flavor Flav had dignity, this video meant a lot to hip-hop heads around the world. It’s often listed as a favorite amongst hip-hop heads, we didn’t think you anyone should overlook this classic.

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