Best Music Videos of 2016
The music video has been surprisingly resilient in the face of upheaval in the music industry. We haven't gotten tired of seeing our favorite stars face down the camera, and they haven't stopped innovating.
2016 was a blockbuster year for music videos. Beyoncé's Lemonade is the only place to start, and, as you might expect, where this list will end. Frank Ocean's "Nikes" was more than a video, it was a reunion with our long lost ally. Solange made murals so vibrant you could feel the fabric, and David Bowie said goodbye in classically elegant fashion.
Still, some of 2016's best videos came from new faces. Obongjayar's "Creeping" and Lil Yachty's "1Night" proved that style will always trump a big budget, while Sevdaliza continued further down the digital rabbit hole with the surreal, metallic universe of "Marilyn Monroe." 2016 proved that the music video can be a work of art—or it can deliver a message, as DJ Shadow and Run The Jewels proved in the unforgettable "Nobody Speak."
Here are the 25 best music videos of 2016.
25. Aesop Rock - "Rings"Director: Rob Shaw
Since his debut on the underground hip-hop scene 20 years ago, Aesop Rock has always stood out from the crowd. Though vocally gifted and creative with the flows, Rock really shines lyrically and conceptually—the Rhymesayers emcee has laced his tracks with poetry covering everything from personal tragedy to his favorite video games. On “Rings,” he eulogizes his former career as a failed visual artist; ironically, the video is anything but a failure.
The video depicts the rapper’s brush with death after a car accident. He narrates in live-action from the operating table as a surgeon performs something between an autopsy and a heart transplant.
This scene is cut with stop-motion dissections of the rapper’s brain and heart, wherein a wooden mannequin representing Aesop as a visual artist does battle with a serpentine beast, a veritable tape-worm of creativity bent on destroying his work. After the surgeon removes the mannequin, Rock comes back to life and must face the world without that vital part of his creative self. Though the lyrical message is one of resignation, the video feels positive, like a warning against abandoning whatever it is that inspires you.
24. Baauer ft. Novelist & Leikeli 47 - "Day Ones"Director: Hiro Murai
For all the violence that plagues modern society, it's nothing compared to the barbarism of the Revolutionary War, when British soldiers would line up opposite their American counterparts and shoot at each other straight on. That's the backdrop for Baauer's collaboration with director Hiro Murai—the song is "Day Ones," and features bloodthirsty verses from Novelist and Leikeli47.
The massacre happens in a modern-day parking lot, the anonymity of the space made all the more surreal by Murai's carefully placed objects: a parked car here, a chandelier there. The result of this warfare, however, is depressingly familiar: there's no one left to fight by the song's end. It's a truly chilling and statuesque piece of artwork that brings Baauer's record to life.
23. Boogie - "N****a Needs"Directors: Gina Gammell and Riley Keough
Rihanna isn't the only one who loves Boogie's "N***a Needs" video.
There are two versions of the Compton rapper on display at a museum exhibit: one with a bullet wound and another with bruises holding a child. The record is already intense but hearing it while looking into the eyes of a battered Boogie will captivate any viewer. There are guests at this strange museum too, and while we feel Boogie's passion and pain, those observers remain curious but unmoved.
It's a reminder that artists go through real life pain while many of those who enjoy their music do not have to experience the same struggle. It isn't just abstract art, it's real life.
22. A.CHAL - "Round Whippin"Director: Max Vatblé
With so many emerging artists vying for attention, there's a tendency among many newcomers to amplify their personalities and present a larger-than-life image. This means non-stop social media, in-your-face videos, and an emphasis on immediate. This isn't A.CHAL. There's a subdued vibe to his music and persona, but also an intense, almost spiritual connection. These things are on full display in the dreamlike, black-and-white "Round Whippin'" video, all filtered through a sleek, stylish lens. More than an attention-grabbing advertisement for his album, this is an extension of A.CHAL's vision.
21. Rocks FOE - "Law"Director: Quba Tuakli
The video for London rapper and producer Rocks FOE’s “Law” makes a statement. The black-and-white visual opens with honest portraits of a motley South London crew comprised of all walks of life—men and women, adults and children, black and white. All are united by a common frustration with the law, the police that enforce it, and the justice system that claims to act in accordance with it. The mob turns violent as the song’s wild beat drops—the squelching bass, horror-movie strings, and abrasive hi-hats are the anthem by which the mob arrests, tries, and sentences a police officer.
Blood meets concrete as Rocks’ lyrics foreshadow an execution, but the mob elevates itself above villainous justice system, and in a magnanimous twist the cop’s life is spared. As the eerie piano riff fades away, Rocks places his hand on the officer’s soldier in an act of solidarity. The anger of the lyrics leaves the listener charged even after the video has ended; although the cop’s case has been tried, the system he represents must still answer for its crimes.
20. Grimes - "Kill V. Maim"Directors: Claire and Mac Boucher
The visuals for "Kill V. Maim" play out like an IRL cartoon—the colors and movements are all hyper-real, smearing the screen with a rainbow of creative power.
We first join Grimes speeding through the city in a pink convertible, its windows replaced with Grimes' writhing squad, our sherpas through this underworld. They lead us through a series of subterranean cyber-punk dystopias—an empty subway is transformed into a battleground, while an industrial warehouse turns into a bloody jungle gym.
The costumes deserve first mention—it's a dominatrix's fever dream, complete with fishnet stockings, wigs, masks, smeared makeup, and a mass of leather that would put the cast of Mad Max to shame.
There are cute little animated creatures that creep into the frame's edges (created by Grimes herself), a blood rave with increasingly aggressive strobe lights, and a convulsing style of dance that matches the song's searing energy. Grimes carries the day, as usual, with an onscreen charisma that has made every one of her videos unmissable. "Kill V. Maim" is no exception.
19. James Blake ft. Bon Iver - 'I Need a Forest FIre"Directors: Matt Clark and Chris Davenport
The otherworldly video for James Blake and Bon Iver’s “I Need a Forest Fire” begins with mysterious array of papier-mâché-esque shapes. Slowly, the fragments take form, and a forehead, then a jawline, eyes, and a full face appear. Much of the video continues on this course, with shadowed, abstract objects gradually becoming familiar: feathers, an eagle, a rose, the artists' faces. The UVA-created video is just as hypnotizing and strangely beautiful as the song itself—moody, melancholy, and undeniably gorgeous.
18. Obongjayar - "Creeping"Director: Frank Lebon
It can all be so simple. London artist Obongjayar strips things back in his lo-fi video for "Creeping," creating an end product that perfectly matches the song's content and feel. Rather than a video studio or elaborate set, London city becomes Obongjayar's stage as he takes the spotlight to perform.
It's a simple concept, but the use of the spotlight at nighttime on a variety of seemingly unsuspecting individuals provides captivating footage, and proves Obongjayar's lyrics true. Indeed, the city doesn't sleep. After the grim clank of the music and slow-paced menace of the video, there is some relief—a beautiful sunrise frames the artist in the closing shots.
"Creeping" was Obongjayar's debut, and in terms of providing a cohesive audio and visual introduction to an artist, few matched him this year.
Read our interview with Obongjayar and listen to his debut EP here.
17. Radiohead - "Daydreaming"Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
"Daydreaming" is true to its name—the wandering piano and Thom Yorke's nihilistic mumbles ("It's too late/The damage is done") are paired with Yorke's wanderings in the video. The doors he opens lead anywhere, and while it's easy to get caught up in the people and places Yorke traverses, there are hidden layers to uncover.
After all, this is a collaboration between two creative forces fiercely dedicated to their craft—Paul Thomas Anderson and Radiohead aren't the types to do anything by accident, and in that sense, "Daydreaming" is an extension of A Moon Shaped Pool—a dense, world-weary breakup album. Yorke recently separated from his partner of 23 years, and the album was recorded in that aftermath. The homages are subtle—for instance, Yorke walks through 23 doors in "Daydreaming."
But if you want to do more than scratch the surface, watch Rishi Kaneria's very close reading below, which pulls on decades of Radiohead history to dive into the video.
16. Travis Scott - "90210"Director: Hype Williams
Remember Small Soldiers? Or KaBlam!, Robot Chicken, or Team America: World Police? Great works of art, obviously, but their use of plastic figurines in live action always felt a little emotionless. Luckily, Travis Scott and Hype Williams have broken that particular losing streak with the jaw-dropping video for "90210."
The barely SFW video follows Travis' action figure (the same one he sold around his album release) through the motions of his seedy lifestyle. The narrative takes a hard left, however, when Travis starts to rap about himself in the third person halfway through the song. A Godzilla-sized Travis emerges to begin wreaking havoc on the city, just as mini-Travis is making some serious inroads with a female doll. The two are forced to confront each other in a dark, brooding showdown worthy of the excellent track.
But most impressive is the expressiveness Hype Williams imbues on the doll's faces. There's real emotion there, and it lands.
15. David Bowie - "Lazarus"Director: Johan Renck
If you weren’t already convinced of David Bowie’s genius, this video should do the trick. Released just two days before his death, “Lazarus” is a carefully constructed and ominous portrait of the artist at his weakest. The video opens with a wooden wardrobe left ajar, an image which immediately conjures thoughts of a coffin. Bowie then takes to the screen (lying in a hospital bed, of course) and delivers the song’s portentous opening lines: “Look up here; I’m in heaven.”
Looking back on this video after his death, it seems so blatantly obvious that Bowie was aware of his fate; between the pain audible in his voice and the final image of him climbing into the open wardrobe and closing the door, Bowie doesn’t leave anything up to the viewer’s imagination. Never in my life have we witnessed a YouTube comment section unified in the way that this one is—even the most ruthless trolls know to pay respect where it is due.
Rest in peace.
14. Klangstof - "Hostage"Director: Menno Fokma
Klangstof’s “Hostage” is an intimate interior portrait of a solider-turned-forester. The Dutch musician’s breakout single is the perfect soundtrack for the narrative, which portrays the tribulations of a military man unable to readjust to civilian life. The lush, patient instrumentation that opens the track matures as the video’s main character is developed, and as the song’s momentum builds, the frustration and confusion experienced by the protagonist is made palpable by dynamic synths and live drums.
By the time the song reaches its climax, the visuals have become frenetic, with jump cuts and close-ups mimicking the former soldier’s scattered mental capacities. The final moments of the song hearken to the track’s softer opening, creating an aural cycle that, combined with a revelatory shot of the former solider back in uniform, reminds the listener of the cyclical ailment that holds the protagonist hostage.
13. ScHoolboy Q - "JoHn Muir"Director: A Plus
ScHoolboy Q had an incredible year—his Blank Face LP is one of the year's best albums, and the accompanying music videos are nothing short of extraordinary. There was the three-part video that included "By Any Means," "Tookie Knows II," and "Black THougHts," the iconic "THat Part" video with Kanye West, and "Dope Dealer," Q's day-in-the-life-of-a-weed-seed biography.
All the videos have certain themes in common—excellent day-in-the-life moments that could never be confused with a basic, by-the-rules rap video. But the best visual ScHoolboy put out this year was a deceivingly simple one: the camera never leaves the side of a car in "JoHn Muir," but that car sees a whole lot of insanity throughout the course of the song.
The camera angle is reminiscent of a police car's dashcam, and it similarly reduces tragedy and drama to a frantic series of detached jump cuts. The gory, inevitable conclusion is treated as everything else is in the video—just another day in the life. The car is eventually towed away without passengers, but the camera keeps rolling.
12. Sevdaliza - "Marilyn Monroe"Director: Hirad Sab
In our generation, everyone is a sculptor. We use data, our medium du jour, to carefully construct digital profiles that stand in our place in the agora of social media. As sculptors, our work is precious to us, and the visual for Sevdaliza’s “Marilyn Monroe” perfectly captures this preoccupation with our fragile digital simulacra.
Hirad Sab’s sharp 3D animation combines the most sophisticated visual techniques of the vaporwave movement with video art sensibilities usually reserved for modern art museums to create a stunning reflection on the modern play between the sentimental and the synthetic. Sevdaliza’s vocals are by turns natural and digitally processed, imbuing the track with a certain cybernetic energy that resonates beautifully in the echo chamber that our social lives have become. Artificial intelligence may be a few decades away, but digital emotion is here, and it’s heartbreaking.
Sevdaliza also announced her debut album with another excellent video. Watch "Human" here.
11. ANOHNI - "Drone Bomb Me"Director: Nabil
"It's a love song from the perspective of a girl in Afghanistan," Anohni told Annie Mac when "Drone Bomb Me" premiered back in March. "A nine-year-old girl whose family's been killed by a drone bomb. She is kind of looking up at the sky, and she's gotten herself to a place where she just wants to be killed by a drone bomb too."
There are certain expectations that come with subject matter that weighty. Pitfalls are common, too—this video could have been disastrously cloying and literal, but in Anohni's hands it turned into something very real and moving.
First, she assembled a team: eternal goddess Naomi Campbell is the video's centerpiece. She mouths the words from a metallic throne that might double as an electric chair. Art direction was handled by Riccardo Tisci, Givenchy's Italian designer, with a gothic tilt. We never leave the dimly-lit, windowless room where Campbell first appears, her black hair turned purple in the light.
The final piece is Nabil's direction. The twisting, furious dance that swells around Campbell's tearful delivery becomes the bomb's approach. The line he walks between ecstasy and emptiness is a thin one, but Nabil, ANOHNI, Campbell, Tisci, and their collaborators reach the other side safely, if a little worse for emotional wear.
10. DJ Shadow ft. Run The Jewels - "Nobody Speak"Director: Sam Pilling
Run The Jewels have had plenty to say about how fucked up America's political and judicial systems are, but 2016 saw the duo enter the ring with politicians themselves. Killer Mike stumped hard for Bernie Sanders, and El-P has put his money where his mouth is when it comes to supporting organizations endangered by a Trump administration.
But their music still indicts the system as a whole, as is brilliantly exhibited by the Sam Pilling-directed video for DJ Shadow's "Nobody Speak." Shadow is a longtime ally of RTJ, and his music fits snugly into their bombastic, jagged style of play. "Nobody Speak" is a fight song, and the political spectrum is a pit of starving animals.
Two opposing speakers square off in a very gray, very officious roundtable setting. Once Jaime and Mike's verses start to unfurl from respective sides of the room, however, the atmosphere turns sour. Then things get personal, and these dignified, wrinkly politicians start stabbing each other with broken pencils. God Bless America.
9. Lil Yachty - "1Night"Directors: Glassface and Rahil Ashruff
Lil Yachty divided the hip-hop community when he splashed onto the scene earlier this year. Some people became instant fans, and others wrote him off as generic, a boring product of the industry that dominates hip-hop today. Show the video for “1 Night” to anyone in the latter group and see if they still can’t spot the personality.
Regardless of your opinions on Lil Yachty, it’s hard to deny that he has fun doing what he does, and if this visual is any indication of what’s floating around in that mind of his, then it comes as no surprise that so many people have lauded his creativity and positivity.
You can’t help but smile watching this video, and that’s exactly what Yachty wants—to make people smile. He's since released the video for "Minnesota," which looks like it had a significantly bigger budget. But this remains the classic Lil Yachty video, the clip that began his successful campaign to be King of the Teens.
Related: I'm Becoming a Lil Yachty Fan
8. Kaytranada - "Lite Spots"Director: Martin C. Pariseau
A major challenge facing any artist in 2016 is figuring out a way to breathe human emotion and empathy through the electronic channels we all communicate through. For Kaytranada, that means arranging synth patterns and programmed drums in a way that cuts through the noise and inspires listeners to get up and move—even if they happen to be a robot.
The adorable video for Kaytranada’s 99.9% standout “Lite Spots” follows the Canadian producer as he teaches a robot how to dance. Managing to break through the machine’s cold electronic exterior, Kaytranada forges a real connection with the robot through the power of movement and sound—a beautiful metaphor for what he does on stage in sweaty venues every night.
7. Jamie xx - "Gosh"Director: Romain Gavras
Jamie xx's In Colour came out in 2015, but this year we were gifted a second video for "Gosh," and it was one of 2016's best.
French-Greek director Romain Gavras is behind some of the most memorable videos of the 2000s, including M.I.A.'s "Bad Girls" and "Born Free," Kanye West and Jay Z's "No Church In The Wild," and his masterpiece, Justice's vivid, powerful "Stress." Grand scenes that sear themselves instantly into your memory and marginalized groups are hallmarks of Gavras' work, and the "Gosh" video is another bold statement. What brilliant use of CGI too, we thought as we watched the video unfold in a strange, slightly dystopian future version of Paris. But we were wrong.
The "Gosh" video was filmed entirely in Tianducheng, China, a city built in the early 2000s as a replica of Paris for wealthy Chinese tourists to visit. "It was supposed to be an upper-middle class heaven, but it never really took off," Gavras told Dazed. "It’s half-inhabited, like a ghetto [version of] central Paris—like if the estates of the outskirts of Paris were brought next to the Eiffel Tower."
"Everyone is talking about cultural appropriation and I was like, ‘[Tianducheng] is the most insane fucking cultural appropriation.’ It’s almost like you don’t put it on a moral level [...] It’s like a cultural appropriation vortex," he continued in the same interview. "I almost saw [the video] like a coming-of-age journey through a world where cultural appropriation became so insane that you need spirituality in order to elevate [yourself] from something where culture makes no sense."
Unlike some of our other favorite videos this year, "Gosh" doesn't have a clear narrative or a simple, satisfying conclusion, but it's better that way. Visually glorious, conceptually multi-layered, and thought-provoking, this is a special video.
Related: Jamie xx: Sharing the Good Times
6. Frank Ocean - "Nikes"Director: Tyrone Lebon
It's not really fair to try and unpack to whole of "Nikes" in one blurb. This was the first real evidence of Frank Ocean's return, an assurance that the maddening livestream was really a crescendo towards release, not the greatest troll job of all time. The iconography, guest appearances, and car selection alone creates a laundry list of greatness, but it's the Tyrone Lebon-directed video's entire fabric that merits such high placement.
The whole thing is like watching a dream—we see bits and pieces of places, skin, and action, but it remains just out of reach, beyond classification or hot-take comprehension. Frank is a master of subtlety, and even though there's plenty of excess in the "Nikes" video (see: jiggling green sparkle butts), the prevailing emotion of its afterglow is one of nostalgia, compassion, and love.
5. Kendrick Lamar - "God is Gangsta"Directors: the little homies, Jack Begert, PANAMÆRA
We were still taking in Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-award winning 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly when the “God is Gangsta” video came out at the beginning of 2016. It's a short film that acts as a music video for two of the album’s tracks, “U” and “For Sale?,” and by juxtaposing these two songs, which are not adjacent on the album’s track list, Kendrick asks his fans to think critically about the similarities and differences between the pair.
In “U,” Kendrick drunkenly berates himself for a slew of regrettable decisions—leaving Compton, choosing money over activism, and other choices make it hard to love himself. As Kendrick takes swigs of an amber liquid which gives him the confidence to excavate those caverns of regret deep within himself, the video begins to skip and slur, ending with the rapper passed out on the floor of his prison-like lounge.
The internal demons confronted in “U” can be contrasted with an external one, the seductive force personified as “Lucy” (read: Lucifer) in “For Sale?” Kendrick acts possessed, as if he has signed away his soul to Lucy in a contract not unlike the one he raps about signing at the beginning of his new career as a musical superstar.
The video changes scenery as the songs transition, trading the Lynchian VIP room for a red-and-orange club populated by beautiful women. It is possible that these women are disciples of Lucy sent to tempt Kendrick in the hellish red club—or perhaps you prefer to see them as angels sent to aid in his redemption, with the red-and-orange glow representing the sun rising on Kendrick’s new career as a self-forgiven man. The video ends appropriately with a baptismal scene—by the end of the two songs, Kendrick has come full circle in his retribution.
4. Kevin Abstract - "Empty"Director: Kevin Abstract
"Empty" is the perfect Kevin Abstract video. There are flashes of brilliance in much of what the 20-year-old artist creates, but never has it all come together as it does on "Empty." The song debuted with this self-directed video in the lead up to his American Boyfriend album, and it feels like the culmination of everything he's done up to this point. His vision, aesthetic sensibilities, and sometimes brash assertion of outsider status all work together in unity in the form of some beautiful coming-of-age storytelling. It's a gorgeously shot video—it's also one in which you realize, only after you're over a minute into the clip, that you've been looking into the eyes of a young man getting a blowjob while wearing a motorcycle helmet. Well damn.
It can be difficult being a Kevin Abstract fan, but everything clicks on "Empty." Much like a couple of his influences—Childish Gambino and Tyler, The Creator—Abstract's unique and complex perspective is nearly impossible to capture and present in a single moment without context and exposure. On "Empty," he managed to pull it off, and he made one of the best music videos of the year in the process.
3. Solange - "Cranes In The Sky'Directors: Solange Knowles and Alan Ferguson
When Solange released A Seat at the Table on September 30, "Cranes in the Sky" immediately sounded like a standout track. The painfully relatable lyrics over smooth production make for an already irresistible single, but Solange managed to bring this record to new heights with a masterful music video.
With the "Cranes In The Sky" video, Solange shows us how we can dance through the pain with such elegant, fluid motions—similar to the choreography she showcased in the "Don't Touch My Hair" video with Sampha. The video, brought together by Solange and her husband, director Alan Ferguson, features a collection of beautiful garments in breathtaking scenic views.
The result—a colorful moving tableau filled with grace, beauty, and humanity—is one of the most engaging (and calming) videos released in 2016.
2. PUP - "Sleep In the Heat"Director: Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux
Have you ever lost a pet? It's sad as shit, right? Especially that first time, when it comes at a young age and the concept of death isn't fully realized—losing a friend who provides (projected) unconditional love can sting like a motherfucker. It's a powerful feeling, and it led to the composition of PUP's searing "Sleep In The Heat."
“‘Sleep In The Heat’ is a song about my chameleon Norman, who passed away while we were writing this record," the band's Stefan Babcock said. "Jeremy was the one who thought we should make a video for this song. He has this really weird one-eyed grumpy cat that he loves a lot, and I guess the song got him thinking about what it’s going to be like when she’s gone. Losing a friend is something so many of us have had to deal with, which is why I think this video is so powerful.”
True words. Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard stars as the band's frontman who befriends a big ol' shaggy dog. The dog has a penchance for loud punk shows, which fits in perfectly with the band's touring lifestyle. But nothing lasts forever, especially not those dry eyes of yours when you watch this heartbreaking, life-affirming video. "Sleep In The Heat" is the latest evidence of the power of a good story—CGI be damned, all we need is a boy and his dog.
2. M.I.A. - "Borders"
1. Beyoncé - "Formation"Director: Melina Matsoukas
Beyoncé crouches atop a police car half-submerged in flood water as the opening strains of her empowering song “Formation” begin to play, the hurricane-torn city of New Orleans serving as her backdrop. “What happened at the New Orleans?” the late Messy Mya, a popular Louisiana comedian, asks as the song begins. One of the most striking images we’ve seen all year unfolds into a stunning, thematically dense music video that serves as a tribute to both black joy and the city of New Orleans.
The video often returns to the image of Beyoncé perched on top of the police car, the vehicle slipping deeper into the water, completely submerged by the end of the video. The presence of the cop car is not the only reference to tensions with the police shown in the video; in one of the most powerful sequences a young black boy in a hoodie breakdances in front of a line of police officers decked out in riot gear. After the boy finishes dancing both he and the police raise their hands—a reference to the "Hands up don't shoot"—and the camera pans to a wall with the words “Stop shooting us” scrawled in black paint.
The “Formation” visuals are a study in contrast, juxtaposing the opulence of historical Southern Antebellum mansions with stark imagery of a devastated post-Katrina New Orleans. Clips of Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy are incorporated throughout, reinforcing the personal nature of the Beyoncé's call to action. The Queen and her backup dancers move with mesmerizing confidence, matching the tone of the music perfectly. The visuals exude power and unapologetic self-love.
Released one day before she shared the Super Bowl stage with Coldplay for a bold, subversive performance, Beyoncé’s “Formation” video was surprising not only due to its unannounced release, but also because of the pointed social message they carry. Delivered by an artist who was not always known for releasing overtly political material, the message of “Formation" is all the more powerful, and continues to speak urgently to America’s current social state.
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