What do elephants, acrobats and Petey Pablo have in common? Ah, the world of rap videos. The newest fad in the world of hip hop is circus-insipired small-screen oeuvres.
The boys of Outkast are rhyming their way through a darker, PG-13 version of the normally G-rated fun, complete with skeleton face paint. (Dead Presidents, anyone?) In the video for "The Whole World," the Orwellian chorus dancers, clothed in identical dark suits, add to the video's mocking of conformity. And what better way to mock conformity than showing a bunch of circus freaks? While the video still embraces many hip hop mainstays--such as hot girls and lots of platinum--the sets, costume and direction set it apart from the pack.
But Petey Pablo's video for his second single "I" doesn't share much of the originality of Outkast's images and message. Petey simply moves the ho-tastic fun of your typical rap video under the big top. From the girls in bikinis taking your money outside to the dancers inside, the main message seems to be "Petey can get da pussy."
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