An appreciation of the Nuthin But A G Thang video

I put The Chronic on for the first time in a while recently. The first thing I thought off during the intro was that I had about the half the tracks off the album recorded off Westwood before buying the tape and eventually playing it so often that the print wore off on both sides.The second thing was how great the videos for the singles were. Dre Day tends to get the plaudits for lampooning it's targets, but I think Nuthin But A G Thang could well be the greatest synergy between rap audio and video ever. It captures the vibe of the track perfectly. The simplicity of 2 rappers going back and forth over a smooth-ass loop accompanied by what's presented to us as a typical day in their life: driving about, getting high and partying. No limo to a strobe filled nightclub VIP section, no fish eye lenses, celebrity cameos, speedboats or Scorsese rip offs going on here. Strictly car share, barbecue and beers.

For those of us outside of California (specifically 14 year old white kids in the UK), the visuals helped us make sense of the music we were obessesed by, and gave the music added authenticity which back then could be the difference between sink or swim for a rapper's career.  Boyz N The Hood had come out the year before, and there'd been videos like Ice Cube's Steady Mobbin but somehow the G Thang video took all the key ingredients, squeezed them into just under 5 minutes, and had the song of the year as the soundtrack.

I think it was Stetsasonic's Daddy O who observed that G Thang was a really brave lead single, given how against the grain it was when it came out, by taking it back to the old school (It's like this and like that and like this...'  is about as late-70s-park-jam a hook as you'll find)
Pretty ironic given that the parties involved came to represent everything the Real Hip Hop brigade would come to hate, but that's rap music for you.

With all that in mind, I thought I'd break down my favourite rap video of all time. DJ Charmaine Champagne: your time...