By Garry Lu (@mrputneyswope)
By now, you will have probably heard about the spectacular misfire that is Young Thug’s Wyclef Jean music video. For those of you immune to pop culture, the skinny of it is a compilation of cliché, hip-hop music video shots, punctuated by frames of texts that tell a far more entertaining narrative about the reality behind the scenes. Most prominently, Thugger himself never actually showing up.
In all its Air Crash Investigation type breakdown analysis and charm, the music video itself resulted in something more entertaining and more significant that superseded originally intended product. Here are a few more times we were caught off-guard by an accidental masterpiece.
Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland – Dilemma
This is one for the meme history books. Rewind your clocks to a time where cheek bandaids we fashionable. In an epic tale of longing and love on the streets, Nelly and Kelly serenade one another about how much they need one another. Unfortunately, it is not meant to be. It is revealed through the moment Ms. Rowland forcefully sets down her Nokia slide-phone after never receiving a text back from one she had sent… through Microsoft Excel. You can pin-point the moment of heartbreak at 3 minutes and 15 seconds. We’ve all be there, gurl.
Maroon 5 – Payphone
Entertainment media sometimes requires you to suspend your disbelief. But can a brother get just an ounce of logic? In a series of unfortunate events that escalates quicker than World War II, bank worker Adam Levine goes from being held hostage in a robbery to being mistaken for one of the perpetrators himself. Now he could do what any person would in that position and surrender himself to authorities, clearing his name. But no. That makes too much sense. Instead, he takes the hand of another conveniently beautiful bank employee, thereby implicating her as an accessory, and leads the police on a car chase after a bit of casual grand theft auto. This is all before he crashes, calls her up on the titular payphone, and somehow equates the past day with falling in love. Bravo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFnKgIptbq0
R. Kelly & Usher – Same Girl
In 2007, R&B power-duo R. Kelly and Usher united for the bedroom song of all bedroom songs. Detailing infidelity and betrayal, the duet basically revolved around two men who come to realize they are being played by the, ahem, same girl. The music video, however, took a turn for the dumber, and robbed us all of a few IQ points. As we find out, the third act of this cinematic milestone reveals Kel and Ush were seeing twin sisters. Twin sisters that lived in the same house, worked the same job, drove the same car, and live under the EXACT same life circumstances. It’s worth noting that Little X, the maestro behind this magnum opus, would later bring you such hits as Fancy, King Kunta, Hotline Bling, and Work to name a few.
