Video Of The Week: Eminem, Big Sean & BabyTron

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Eminem made the news recently when he was the surprise headliner of the concert that marked the reopening of Michigan Central, a building whose dereliction had come to symbolize the city's financial struggles. It was a Detroit-centric show, a Detroit-centric performance with his guest stars, and he continues the theme here with fellow Detroit MC Big Sean and Michigander BabyTron, on Em's latest single, Tobey: It's a little too "trapy" for my taste, as it gets repetitive between standout lines throughout the verses, but Big Sean and Eminem have a few strokes of genius here and there, particularly the eight-bar Melle Mel diss.

25 years in and still current, with references that draw from the past and present equally. Solid.

The video itself was directed by frequent Eminem collaborator and pioneer of underground rap for the past decade Cole Bennett, from what was probably an insanely long storyboard, and the special effects are well done for something that probably didn't cost plural millions, seeing as videos aren't really a thing anymore with no ratings-driven TV station to play them.

Video Of The Week: Johnny Cash

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After the extremely successful run of covers albums, Johnny Cash's estate now takes us to his back catalogue with a full album of unreleased 1993 tracks called Songwriter, Cash's new video for Hello Out There, a song that takes the side of presenting planet Earth to alien civilizations in bit of a cry for help, and mixes it in with the singer's usual religious inclinations: As per with the award-winning video for Hurt, this black-and-white video's story owes a lot to the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville, this time concentrating on a child finding out about the songwriter's craft or, as per the video's YouTube page:

“Hello Out There” was directed by Matt Paskert and starring Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash’s youngest granddaughter, six-year-old Grace June Cash, the daughter of John Carter and his wife Ana Cristina Cash. In the black and white video, Grace sets off alone on an adventure and comes upon the Cash Cabin, Johnny’s hallowed sanctuary in Hendersonville, Tennessee where he wrote and recorded some of his final songs, and where ‘Songwriter’ was produced.

The cynic in me took a hard listen and my conclusion was that this was worthy of release and of inclusion in my Country, Johnny Cash, and Current playlists - and maybe in time my Eternal Playlist as well.