Run the Jewels ft. Big Boi — “Banana Clipper”

Another week, another Run the Jewels video. Killer Mike and El-P have been releasing a string of videos lately in support of “Run the Jewels,” their 2013 debut as a duo. The video for “Banana Clipper” features Mike, El and Big Boi circling donuts around a College Park parking lot in fancy cars. It looks like a lot of fun, and considering “Banana Clipper” is one of the better songs off of one of the year’s better rap releases, the video is definitely worth a watch.

A$AP Rocky — “Phoenix”

A$AP Rocky continues to carve a special niche in hip-hop for himself. The video for “Phoenix” has shots of A$AP in an all-red high-fashion getup alternating with shots of him in his usual all-black leather-jacket-with-stocking-cap trap outfit. Lyrically, he references Basquiat and then threatens to shoot you. The song and video are both all over the place, which I guess is par for the A$AP course.

Roosevelt — “Montreal”

“Montreal” is a fantastic little piece of New Wave disco, bringing to mind groups like Cut Copy and The Tough Alliance. The video is four minutes of psychedelic color blocks, and to cap everything off the song has a bongo solo. This track is my first exposure to Roosevelt, a producer out of Cologne, but I’ll definitely have him on my radar after this.

Timbaland ft. Jay-Z, Drake & James Fauntleroy — “Know About Me”

This is one of those songs that I don’t really think I need to describe. It’s a Timbaland beat, with Timbaland, Drake and Jay-Z trading verses. Drake outshines both of the other rappers, reminding us of his versatility and his skill on beats harder than anything from “Nothing Was the Same.”

Prince — “Da Bourgeoisie”

Apparently Prince is over albums? He’s been randomly dumping tracks into the internet for a few months now, with no sign that he intends to release a full album. I guess we should be happy with whatever we can get though. “Da Bourgeoisie” is some fantastic Prince funk, all deep bass and Prince singing about getting dumped for a girl.