American hip hop musician, songwriter and record producer Kanye West has released four video albums and been featured in various music videos. He has also made cameo appearances in films and appeared in several television programs.
American hip hop musician, songwriter and record producer Kanye West has released four video albums and been featured in various music videos. He has also made cameo appearances in films and appeared in several television programs.
| • | Denotes music videos directed by Kanye West |
| Title | Year | Other performer(s) credited | Director(s) | Description | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Through the Wire" • | 2003 | None | Kanye West Coodie and Chike | [1] | |
| "Jesus Walks" (version 1) | 2004 | None | Michael Haussman | The music video was filmed in California and West is portrayed as a preacher rapping before a congregation from a pulpit. All the while, angels guide a prostitute, an alcoholic, and a drug dealer who want to change their lives to his Baptist church. | [2] [3] |
| "Jesus Walks" (version 2) | None | Chris Milk | [4] | ||
| "Jesus Walks" (version 3) • | None | Kanye West Coodie and Chike | Shot in black-and-white, the low-budget video was filmed guerrilla-style in West's hometown of Chicago. It depicts Jesus in the present-day following West as he walks from his home and through his neighborhood to church, performing miracles along the way. | [5] | |
| "All Falls Down" | Syleena Johnson | Chris Milk Kanye West | Filmed at the Ontario International Airport and shot from a first-person perspective. West escorts his girlfriend, played by Stacey Dash, from inside their car and throughout the departure terminal to catch her flight. The video illustrates their journey literally through West's eyes, but he is momentarily seen rapping lines when passing by reflective mirrors. Certain scenes are in slow-motion and include cameos by Syleena Johnson, Common, and Kel Mitchell playing the various roles of airport employees. | [6] | |
| "The New Workout Plan" • | None | Little X Kanye West | The video is tailored in the manner of an infomercial for a series of workout tapes. It boasts cameos from Anna Nicole Smith, Tracee Ellis Ross, Esther Baxter, Vida Guerra, Consequence, GLC, Miri Ben-Ari, John Legend, and West's mascot Dropout Bear and features Fonzworth Bentley performing his guest verse from the remix. The long version of the video contains an extended introduction derived from a skit taken from The College Dropout . | [7] | |
| "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" | 2005 | None | Hype Williams | The music video was shot entirely in black-and-white and filmed on location in the city of Prague. West traverses throughout the Czech Republic capital as the video depicts young African children toiling away in mines juxtaposed with scenes of wealthy Europeans shopping in boutiques and trying on jewelry. The music video concludes with text which reads, "Please purchase conflict-free diamonds." | [8] |
| "Gold Digger" | Jamie Foxx | [9] | |||
| "Heard 'Em Say" (version 1) | Adam Levine | Michel Gondry | Filmed in Macy's flagship department store in New York City, the live-action music video expresses a surrealistic Christmas sentiment with the use of special effects. It depicts West as a homeless father of three young children who stay overnight inside the store which seems to come alive. Adam Levine plays a security guard while co-producer Jon Brion makes a brief cameo appearance. | [10] | |
| "Heard 'Em Say" (version 2) • | Adam Levine | Bill Plympton Joe DeMaio Kanye West | The animated music video expresses grayscale pencil-sketch animation. It contains literal interpretations of select lyrics while West is portrayed as a taxicab driver working in a bleak city who picks up troubled passengers and encounters a young boy and his mother. The animated segments are interspersed with live-action scenes of West and Adam Levine performing. | [11] | |
| "Touch the Sky" | 2006 | Lupe Fiasco | Chris Milk | [12] | |
| "Drive Slow" | Paul Wall GLC T.I. | Hype Williams | [13] | ||
| "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)" (DJ Premier Remix) | 2007 | KRS-One Nas Rakim | Thibaut de Longeville | [14] | |
| "Throw Some D's" (Remix) • | None | Kanye West | [15] | ||
| "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (version 1) | None | Hype Williams | Filmed in a desert, the music video harbors a minimalist visual aesthetic, with scenes of West performing in the barren, wide-open landscape. | [16] | |
| "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (version 2) | None | Michael Blieden | The alternate version features comedian Zach Galifianakis and folk singer-songwriter Will Oldham and filmed at Galifianakis' farm in North Carolina. West is absent from the unscripted, low-budget music video, which instead sees Galifianakis and Oldham lip-synching to his lines. | [17] | |
| "Stronger" | None | Hype Williams | [18] | ||
| "Good Life" | T-Pain | SoMe Jonas and Francois | [19] | ||
| "Flashing Lights" (version 1) • | 2008 | Dwele | Kanye West Spike Jonze | Filmed entirely in slow-motion, the video has a Ford Mustang Bullitt roll onto the screen and stop at dusk in the desert outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Playboy model Rita G. exits the vehicle dressed in a wig, fur coat and large black sunglasses. After walking a distance away from the car, stripping down to her lingerie and setting her clothes on fire, she walks back to the car and opens the trunk to reveal a bound and gagged West. She gently strokes his face and gives him a light kiss before retrieving a nearby shovel and bludgeons him to death as the camera pans out. | [20] |
| "Flashing Lights" (version 2) | Dwele | — | [21] | ||
| "Flashing Lights" (version 3) | Dwele | [22] | |||
| "Homecoming" | Chris Martin | Hype Williams | Filmed in the city of Chicago, the black-and-white music video features a montage of West visiting several different areas of his hometown, with slow-motion shots and camera angles highlighting its buildings, streets, monuments and citizens. Chicago hip-hop group L.E.P. Bogus Boys and rapper Common make cameos. | [23] | |
| "Champion" | None | NABIL | The video carries an Olympic theme and revolves around a puppet version of Kanye West participating in the 100-meter dash at a fictitious sporting event known as the Unified Games. Flashbacks display the extensive amount of training that the puppet undertook before the race commences. | [24] | |
| "Good Morning" • | None | Kanye West Takashi Murakami | An animated video centered around West's anthropomorphic teddy bear mascot Dropout Bear. He overcomes various obstacles while racing through a futuristic city in an effort to reach his college campus in time to attend his graduation ceremony. | [25] | |
| "Love Lockdown" | None | Simon Henwood | [26] | ||
| "Heartless" | None | Hype Williams | [27] | ||
| "Welcome to Heartbreak" | 2009 | Kid Cudi | NABIL | The music video was filmed in Los Angeles and utilizes the visual technique of datamoshing. It contains multi-faceted textures of compression artifacts laced throughout its technicolor visuals. The bleeding pixels, calculated moshes and other manipulated imagery makes it seem as if the software that rendered the final video output a low-resolution, artifact-laden product. West and Kid Cudi appear at various intervals within the transitional music video, with certain shots in super-slow-motion. | [28] |
| "Amazing" | Young Jeezy | Hype Williams | [29] | ||
| "Paranoid" | Mr Hudson | NABIL | [30] | ||
| "Spaceship" • | GLC Consequence | Kanye West | [31] | ||
| "Two Words" | Mos Def Freeway Harlem Boys Choir | Coodie and Chike | [32] | ||
| "Street Lights" | None | Javier Longobardo | [33] | ||
| "Coldest Winter" | 2010 | None | NABIL | [34] | |
| "Power" | Dwele | Marco Brambilla | [35] | ||
| "Runaway" • | Pusha T | Kanye West | [36] | ||
| "All of the Lights" | 2011 | Rihanna | Hype Williams | [37] | |
| "Monster" | Jay-Z Rick Ross Nicki Minaj Bon Iver | Jake Nava | [38] | ||
| "Otis" | Jay-Z Otis Redding | Spike Jonze | [39] | ||
| "Niggas in Paris" • | 2012 | Jay-Z | Kanye West | The music video is composed from live concert footage of Jay-Z and West performing at the Staples Center during the last Los Angeles venue on their Watch the Throne Tour. The footage are treated with kaleidoscopic effects as well as images of big cats and Paris landmarks. It also includes a brief video clip taken from the comedy film Blades of Glory . The music video was accompanied by a warning message to viewers with photosensitive epilepsy regarding its extensive use of flashing lights. | [40] |
| "Lost in the World" | Bon Iver | Ruth Hodben | [41] | ||
| "No Church in the Wild" | Jay-Z Frank Ocean | Romain Gavras | [42] | ||
| "Mercy" | Big Sean Pusha T 2 Chainz | NABIL | [43] | ||
| "I Wish You Would" / "Cold" | DJ Khaled Rick Ross | Hype Williams | [44] | ||
| "Black Skinhead" | 2013 | None | Nick Knight | [45] | |
| "Bound 2" | None | The music video features West's then-fiancée Kim Kardashian riding topless with him atop a motorbike in front of the Monument Valley mountain range and other green-screen landscapes. | [46] | ||
| "Only One" | 2015 | Paul McCartney | Spike Jonze | [47] | |
| "FourFiveSeconds" | Rihanna Paul McCartney | Inez and Vinoodh | [48] | ||
| "All Day" / "I Feel Like That" | Theophilus London Allan Kingdom Paul McCartney | Steve McQueen | [49] | ||
| "Famous" • | 2016 | None | Kanye West Eli Linnetz | The video displays West sharing a bed with the nude, sleeping bodies of famous celebrities. Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, Anna Wintour, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Ray J, Amber Rose, Caitlyn Jenner, and Bill Cosby are all shown as wax figures. | [50] |
| "Wolves" | None | Steven Klein | [51] | ||
| "Fade" • | None | Kanye West Eli Linnetz | The music video prominently features Teyana Taylor performing an extensive dance routine inside a gym. She is joined by her husband, Sacramento Kings guard Iman Shumpert, during a shower scene. West's inspirations for the video include Flashdance , the Ohio Players album covers, 1980s pornography, John Carpenter films, The Fly , Dancing with the Stars , the Olympics and the NBA championship. | [52] | |
| "I Love It" | 2018 | Lil Pump | Amanda Adelson Kanye West | ||
| "Follow God" | 2019 | None | Jake Schreier | ||
| "Closed On Sunday" | None | Jake Schreier | |||
| "Wash Us in the Blood" | 2020 | Travis Scott | Arthur Jafa | The video uses split-screen presentation throughout and features footage of West's Saint Pablo Tour, police brutality, a gospel choir, people with masks on that struggle to breathe, goats, Afrofuturism, Breonna Taylor dancing, Ahmaud Arbery soon before his shooting, protests, church services, cars doing donuts, scenes from Grand Theft Auto V, computer-generated images of West, imprisoned people, and an unmanned drone. | [53] |
| "Come to Life" | 2021 | None | |||
| "24" | None | Nick Knight | |||
| "Heaven and Hell" | 2022 | None | Arnaud Bresson | ||
| "Hurricane" | The Weeknd Lil Baby | ||||
| "Life of the Party" | None | The video was released on mothers day and featured images from West's childhood. [54] The music video served as both a commercial for Yeezy Gap and a tribute to Donda West. [55] A press release from Gap Inc. stated "in a seamless alignment between Ye’s creative platforms new visuals bridge the multidisciplinary artist’s past and future. Photos from Ye’s childhood have been updated to inlay pieces from the forthcoming Yeezy Gap engineered by Balenciaga creative exploration". [56] | |||
| "Talking / Once Again" | 2024 | Ty Dolla Sign North West | Damiano and Fabio D'Innocenzo | ||
| "Vultures" • | Ty Dolla Sign Bump J Lil Durk | Aus Onda Kanye West | |||
| "Carnival | Ty Dolla Sign Rich the Kid Playboi Carti | Jon Rafman |
| Title | Album details | Description |
|---|---|---|
| The College Dropout Video Anthology | Contains the music videos for songs from his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004). | |
| Late Orchestration |
| Features his concert at Abbey Road Studios in London, England. |
| Late Registration Video Anthology | Contains the music videos for the singles from his second studio album, Late Registration (2004). | |
| VH1 Storytellers |
| Contains the concert television special of West's live performances on VH1 Storytellers , originally aired on VH1 on February 28, 2009. |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fade to Black | 2004 | Himself | Uncredited cameo | |
| Dave Chappelle's Block Party | 2005 | Himself | Guest performance | |
| State Property 2 | 2005 | Himself | Cameo appearance | [130] |
| The Love Guru | 2008 | Himself | Cameo appearance | [131] |
| We Were Once a Fairytale | 2009 | Himself | Short film, directed by Spike Jonze | |
| Runaway | 2010 | Griffin | Short film, also director and writer | |
| The Black Mamba | 2011 | Himself | Short film, directed by Robert Rodriguez | [132] |
| Cruel Summer | 2012 | Ibrahim | Short film, also director, producer and writer | |
| Bad 25 | 2012 | Himself | Documentary film | |
| Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues | 2013 | Wesley Jackson of MTV News | Uncredited cameo | [133] |
| Jesus Is King | 2019 | Himself | Short film, also producer | |
| A Man Named Scott | 2021 | Himself | Documentary film |
| Company and product | Year | Director(s) | Featured song(s) | Description | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boost Mobile | 2004 | Chris Robinson | "Where You At? (The Whole City Behind Us)" | The video showcases West, Ludacris and The Game using nationwide Boost Walkie-Talkie to exchange rhymes that pay tribute to their respective hometowns on location. West is shown rapping in front of a mixing console inside the control room of a recording studio in Chicago. | [141] |
| Pepsi | 2005 | Spike Lee | "Heard 'Em Say" | The commercial premiered during the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. Entitled "Timeline," it uses special effects and computer graphics to illustrate West walking past iconic backdrops of various major cities, including Paris, Tokyo and Chicago, while leaving a trailing aura fueled by Pepsi. | [142] |
| Absolut Vodka | 2008 | Ulf Johansson | "Truth or Dare" |
Ye is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. One of the world's best-selling music artists with 160 million records sold, West has won 24 Grammy Awards, the joint tenth-most of all time and most awarded for any hip hop artist jointly with Jay-Z. His other accolades include a Billboard Artist Achievement Award, a joint-record three Brit Awards for Best International Male Solo Artist and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
The College Dropout is the debut studio album by the American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry. Intent on pursuing a solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded the album over a period of four years, beginning in 1999.
"Jesus Walks" is a song by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on May 25, 2004, as the fourth single from his debut album The College Dropout (2004). The song contains a sample of "Walk with Me" as performed by the ARC Choir. "Jesus Walks" was acclaimed by music critics, who praised its compelling sonic atmosphere and boldness in its open embrace of faith. It was met by widespread commercial success, peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming West's fourth consecutive top-twenty hit in the United States.
Chris Robinson is an American film director, commercial director, and music video director. He has directed films such as Netflix original Beats (2019). He has directed commercials for brands such as iPod, Coca-Cola and Verizon and music videos for songs like "Fallin'" and "You Don't Know My Name" by Alicia Keys, "Roc Boys" by Jay-Z, the Grammy nominated video for "One Mic" by Nas, and "Bonnie & Clyde '03" by Jay-Z featuring Beyoncé Knowles. Robinson made his debut as a music video director with the 1991 clip "Doo Doo Brown" by 2 Hyped Brothers & a Dog.
This page includes the videography of American singer Mary J. Blige.
"Can't Tell Me Nothing" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his third studio album, Graduation (2007). The song contains additional vocals from Young Jeezy and Connie Mitchell. It was produced by West with DJ Toomp with West being responsible for 60 percent of the production. The song originated from Young Jeezy's "I Got Money", after West made changes to the track. On May 15, 2007, the song premiered via Hot 97 and was released by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam that same day as the lead single from the album. A hip hop track, it was described by West as a theme song for the people. The lyrics see West reflecting on his fame while he expresses different types of feelings.
"Stronger" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the second single from his third studio album, Graduation (2007). The production was handled by West, with an extended outro co-produced with Mike Dean. The composition is electronic in nature, employing drums and synthesizers as the most prominent instruments. For the track, West repeats a vocal sample of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by French house duo Daft Punk in the background while he delivers lyrics about the resolve that comes when one is faced with adversity, paraphrasing Friedrich Nietzsche's dictum "What does not kill me makes me stronger" for the song's refrain. West has described the song as an "emancipation" as it allowed him to vent his frustration over mistakes made in the year prior.
Rihanna has released four video albums and appeared in 62 music videos, 12 films, 13 television programs, and several television commercials. In 2005, Rihanna signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings and released her debut single "Pon de Replay", taken from her first studio album Music of the Sun (2005). Like its lyrical theme, the music video for the song was inspired by disco and dance; it was directed by Little X. Three separate videos were released for "SOS", the lead single from her second studio album A Girl like Me (2006), all of which contained various dance sequences. The same year, American director Anthony Mandler directed the accompanying music video for the second single "Unfaithful", which featured Rihanna in a dangerous love triangle with her lover and her husband. "Unfaithful" was Rihanna's first collaboration with Mandler; they later worked together regularly. Also in 2006, Rihanna played herself in the third installment of the Bring It On film series, entitled Bring It On: All or Nothing.
"Good Life" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his third studio album, Graduation (2007). Featuring singer T-Pain, the song includes background vocals from John Legend and Ne-Yo. West and Toomp handled the production, with additional production from Mike Dean. T-Pain thought of the concept when dining out with West, while he also recorded numerous hooks that the rapper used for his feature. On October 2, 2007, the song was released to US rhythmic contemporary radio stations by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam as the album's third single. A pop number, it samples Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T. " and features synths. Lyrically, the song sees West celebrating his success and being determined to succeed, and T-Pain also reflecting on his success.
"Flashing Lights" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his third studio album, Graduation (2007). The song features a guest appearance from R&B singer Dwele and additional vocals from Australian singer Connie Mitchell. West co-wrote and co-produced the song with Eric Hudson, who had completed the beat before the duo added a live string section in 2007. It was released to US rhythmic contemporary radio as the album's fourth single on November 20, 2007, via Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. A hip hop, electro rap, and R&B song with elements of numerous genres, it prominently utilizes strings and synths. Lyrically, the song features West rapping about a complicated relationship where a girl has power over him and he also compares the paparazzi to Nazis.
"A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne. The song was released April 23, 2008, as the second official single from his sixth album Tha Carter III.
808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 24, 2008, having been recorded earlier that year in September and October at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dominating its production, West was assisted by fellow producers No I.D., Plain Pat, Jeff Bhasker, and Mr Hudson, while also utilizing guest vocalists for some tracks, including Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, and Lil Wayne.
"All of the Lights" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). It was produced by West and features additional vocals from several other recording artists, including Drake, John Legend, The-Dream, Alicia Keys, Fergie, Elton John, Ryan Leslie, Charlie Wilson, Tony Williams, La Roux, Alvin Fields, Ken Lewis, Kid Cudi, and Rihanna, with the latter two being credited on the official music video and the official single, but not on the album version of the song. The song is often played along with its accompanying interlude “All of the Lights (Interlude)”
American entertainer Justin Timberlake has released four video albums and has been featured in thirty-seven music videos, seventeen films, fifteen television shows, and six commercials. He achieved early fame when he appeared in the Disney Channel television series The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, alongside singers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and actor Ryan Gosling. Timberlake rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the boy band NSYNC. In 2002, he launched his solo career and released his solo debut single "Like I Love You", the music video for which was directed by Bucky Chrome. Francis Lawrence directed the video for "Cry Me a River". The video features Timberlake's character as he spies on a former lover, who according to the director portrays his former romantic interest Spears. At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, the video won the accolades for Best Male Video and Best Pop Video.
American recording artist Alicia Keys has appeared in numerous music videos. Her videography includes more than thirty music videos and three video albums. In 2000, Keys signed a recording contract with J Records and released her debut single "Fallin'", taken from her first studio album Songs in A minor (2001). The plot of its music video had Keys traveling to a prison to visit her incarcerated boyfriend and was continued in the video for her next single, "A Woman's Worth;" both videos marked Keys' first collaboration with director Chris Robinson, who would become a regular collaborator later. In 2004, another regular, American director Diane Martel, directed the accompanying music video for the second single from the singer's second album The Diary of Alicia Keys, "If I Ain't Got You", which featured rapper Method Man as Keys' love interest. It won the Best R&B Video accolade at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.
Korean-American director Joseph Kahn has directed 182 music videos, 4 films, and 2 television shows. He is also credited as a cinematographer in 4 music videos.
Rapper and singer Nicki Minaj has been featured in 89 music videos, nine commercials, and four documentaries. Additionally, she has featured in four films: the animated Angry Birds Movie 2 where she plays as a pink bird named Pinky, the animated Ice Age: Continental Drift in which she voiced the woolly mammoth, Steffie, Barbershop: The Next Cut in which she plays a sassy recruit named Draya, and The Other Woman, in which she played Lydia, an opinionated law-firm assistant. In 2009, Minaj signed a recording contract with Young Money Entertainment, and released her first solo music video under the label in March 2010.
Kid Cudi is an American actor, producer, film composer, music video director and musician.
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