When it came to music videos, September was all over the place. There were protest songs, whimsical romance narratives, and a coming of age tale that left us bowled over with its straightforward, subtle creativity. We're truly living in a golden age—even established industry stars like Rae Sremmurd are getting weird with their visuals. Let's hope it lasts—here are the best music videos of September.
9. Alex Wiley ft. Chance the Rapper, Calez, & GLC - "Navigator Truck / Spaceship"
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Director: Sebastian A. Guerra
Alex Wiley takes some time off from his upcoming Synthia album and returns to his older projects in this double video. "Navigator Truck/Spaceship 2" features fellow Chicago natives Chance The Rapper, GLC, and Calez. Director Sebastian A. Guerra thrives in this action-figure animation landscape, starting with the 2015 cut "Navigator Truck," off the Village Party 2 album. Wiley travels to space in the second half, soundtracked by 2014's "Spaceship 2," off the Club Wiley project.
Director: Unknown
"Location" was our first time hearing of a teenage singer from El Paso, Texas named Khalid. That was back in May, and Khalid was still in high school at the time, but it became clear very quickly that he was heading toward big things. "Location" got better with each listen, and it showcased a young artist with a classically great voice but a youthful, modern approach.
In the video for "Location," Khalid takes us back to El Paso to bring the song to life. "I have so much love for El Paso and being able to return home to shoot a music video there was incredible," he told The Fader. "In all honesty, I feel as if it was the first city that I've ever lived in that truly accepted my creativity. I'm excited to finally give back and show off where I came from."
8. Schoolboy Q - "Overtime"
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Director: Jack Begert and Dave Free
Throughout the Blank Face rollout, ScHoolboy Q paired his singles with meticulous videos that reflected his realities growing up in L.A. “Overtime” goes in a different direction. It's his most psychedelic visual up to date. Unlike “Tookie Knows” and “Black Thoughts,” it’s a step outside of Compton, giving us a brighter, more joyful side of ScHoolboy Q.
Miguel and Justine Skye make exceedingly stylish appearances, filling out a beautiful hilly backdrop and performing to a crowd of balloons while a bevy of bikini-clad women give Q a haircut at a jungle gym. Good times.
7. Denzel Curry - "Gook"
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Director: JMP
Denzel Curry’s “Gook” video matches the explicit, bizarre bars from his Imperial project. JMP's direction captures Curry at his most demonic, eyes rolling to the back of his head in abandoned graffiti park. There's something supernatural and haunting about Curry's music, and this video captures it perfectly. Curry’s energy blazes out through his lyrics, and the mob that follows him through "Gook" is feeding off it.
6. Isaiah Rashad - "4r da squaw"
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Director: Dave Free & Christian Sutton
10 times out of 10, a good idea will outdo a big budget. Look no further than Isaiah Rashad's "4r da squaw," which edged out the other videos off The Sun's Tirade as our favorite of his visual releases.
The concept is simple: Rashad and his son spend a day on the boardwalk, relaxing with other beachgoers in the summer sun. But floating above everyone's head is a number and a dollar sign—their net worth. The valuations follows Rashad and his son around the boardwalk like a haunting shadow, but by the end of the video, we come to understand what Rashad already knows: the number doesn't matter nearly as much as the company. Even when a soda machine steals some of their last dollars, family and da squaw prevail.
5. Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane - "Black Beatles"
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Director: Motion Family
At first glance, the "Black Beatles" video might look like any other concert video. But look closely—Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi went all in on the Beatles comparison, reenacting famous moments and looks from the Fab Four's history to make a bizarrely alluring modern take on the '60s. Gucci Mane makes an appearance too, rocking a fresh red jacket and some insane sunglasses that seem to block visibility entirely with crosses. These three are endlessly fun to watch onscreen, and when they're soundtracking one of the best Rae Sremmurd tracks in recent memory, you've got something special.
4. Joey Purp ft. Chance the Rapper - "Girls @"
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Director: Weird Life Films
As soon as we heard "Girls @," we could tell a great video would follow. The lyrics are too descriptive and fun to ignore, and Joey Purp didn't disappoint. It's the standout track from Purp's iiiDrops, which arrived last May boasting features from Saba, Vic Mensa, and Chance the Rapper.
The visuals star Purp and Chance on the illest of joy rides. The sunny top level of a parking structure becomes their playground—Chance cruises through on top of a car hood, while Purp raps from the back of said low rider after posing with levitating chairs and girls galore. The SAVEMONEY crew comes out in earnest, too, including Knox Fortune and Towkio.
3. Cadenza ft. Jorja Smith & Dre Island - "People"
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Director: Georgia Hudson
Cadenza’s “People” video matches the desperate message delivered in the lyrics. A narrow long hall with bright flashing lights sets the tone immediately, doubling as a platform for Jorja Smith's powerful vocals.
The video ramps up to another level in the second half, when Dre Island adds reggae vibes before Cadenza drops the drums. There is an urgency here, a hurt that permeates the screen in every precisely framed shot: from protesters charging the police and their shields to the carefully angled light, Cazdena’s visual vividly paints a picture of the power of the people.
2. KAYTRANADA ft. Syd - "YOU'RE THE ONE"
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Director: Shomi Patwary
Kaytranada's playful, surreal videos are always a treat—there was a dancing robot for "Lite Spots," cats and sandwiches for "Glowed Up," but "You're The One" follows a slightly stricter narrative: an African prince is searching for his true love, and Kaytranada plays his assistant/hotline operator. Hair curlers, overalls, and moonwalks abound, and Kay comes away with another beautiful video.
1. Kevin Abstract - "Empty"
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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 a self-directed video, shared through a Tweet from Kevin, 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 one our favorite music videos of the year so far in the process.
