“Misty Blue” – Monica and Mary J. Blige
There’s a reason we begin by reviewing a video from the past. First, it’s a performance video and OnStage is, at its core, all about live performances. Secondly, this is a classic live performance with Monica and Mary J. Blige trading verses on the Dorothy Moore signature song which had an even earlier life than her version. So we want to set a standard by which we judge any other live performance videos and how we imagine other artists would come off doing a live show.
In terms of performance, this video sets a high bar. Monica brings out her best to do a duet with the “Queen” and in tribute to their innate professionalism, or dedication to practicing before the show; they swap back and forth without missing a beat. Put two great talents together and they push each other to bring out the best in their repertoire. Watch Mary J let it go at the 3:30 minute mark of the video and just as you’re thinking “Wow!” Monica comes right back to hit a note of her own!
Our point is it doesn’t matter what musical genre you either like, or perform in, the game has always been about quality performance. They just stood on the stage with microphones in their hands, and blew! The video is a classic.
“Get Away” – QUAN
Many of you may remember Quan’s early affiliation with Nas. In fact, “Just A Moment” from Nas’ Street’s Disciple was written by Quan and Nas liked it so much he added a verse and put it on the album. With that kind of pedigree you’d think nothing would have gotten in the way of continued success. But the music industry is hard, and life is twenty times harder. It ain’t always colorful; sometimes it’s black and white, like the video “Get Away”.
The power of this video is its straightforward and stark depiction of a grieving father. It’s dedicated to Quan’s son, Kayden, and is miles away from what you’d expect from Quan. No posse, no stuntin’; just anguish as the scenes move from car to grave site to a lonely figure sitting in his living room. It’s the mixture of song and rap we’ve come to expect, with more emphasis on the singing. It’s hard to pull off a credible tribute song but this works. We’re looking forward to hearing Quan’s new project, Glorious Struggle.
“Told You So” – Uptown XO ft. Diamond District
“Earned all my stripes…” is a line from UpTown XO’s video “Told You So” and that about sums it up for a rapper acknowledged as being among the vanguard of the DMV hip hop scene. You don’t expect anything less than raw spittin’ from Uptown XO and he and the whole crew deliver it on a subway ride shot the day Hurricane Irene visited Washington DC. Beautiful beat in the background and they get right to it, rhyming out a message throughout the entire ride. The video was shot by Langston Sessoms and even in black and white is sublimely smooth on the transitions from scenery to performance. Nicely done!
“Still Complete” – Pete G
The great thing about video is discovering an artist you hadn’t heard before and immediately recognizing that it’s talent you‘re glad not to have missed. Fortunately, we were turned on to Pete G by @BigSensi and after browsing through his videos we knew we had to put one in the OnStage Video Showcase. Pete G is a standout among emerging rappers. He’s got his own style, a unique voice, and an unforced delivery. He’s also got a track and video “Punctuate” with Lil Wayne on the feature. That kinda catches the eye.
“Still Complete” is directed by Mikhal Shapiro with additional vocals by Myke Nez and produced by SermStyle who has previously done work for Wiz Khalifia, Young Buck, and Yung Berg, among others. With those kinds of credentials we had high expectations for the visuals and beats and got what we were looking and listening for. Shot against an impressive scenic backdrop with movie-like quality that still doesn’t steal the spotlight from the performer as a lot of videos do, the nice touch here is that it centers the artist and allows the audience to focus on the lyrics. And the lyrics are good; “It’s in my fate, the right, what’s left, extinction? I can’t look back. I’m on a time limit breathing.” He’s not just making up rhymes, he’s telling a story. It’s a deep video and because we think there’s big things to come from Pete G it’ll be in our video rotation for quite a while!