Top Hip Hop Music Videos of All Time

Top Hip Hop Music Videos of All Time: A countdown of the best rap music videos released since the genre’s inception.

“In Da Club” by 50 Cent

50 Cent’s “In Da Club” was released in 2003 and quickly became one of the most popular hip hop music videos of all time. The music video features 50 Cent rapping in a club surrounded by scantily clad women. “In Da Club” was directed by Hype Williams and is considered one of his classic music videos.

“Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z

Crazy in Love is a song by American singer Beyoncé featuring American rapper Jay-Z. The song was released as the lead single from Beyoncé’s debut solo album Dangerously in Love (2003). It features a prominent sample of “Crazy in Love”, an Interpolation of the song “Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)” by The Chi-Lites.

The single peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, earned Beyoncé her first number one single as a solo artist, and spent eight weeks atop the chart. Worldwide, it became one of Beyoncé’s most successful singles and helped Dangerously in Love to become one of the best-selling albums of 2003.

The song’s music video was directed by Jake Nava and features Beyoncé dancing in several different settings, including a street parade and a nightclub. The video won three awards at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best R&B Video and Best Female Video.

“Black and Yellow” by Wiz Khalifa

Released in 2010, “Black and Yellow” is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa from his third studio album, Rolling Papers. The track was produced by Rostrum Records president Benjy Grinberg and Nemesis. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Wiz Khalifa’s first US number-one single. The song remained atop the chart for 12 non-consecutive weeks. It made history as the longest consecutive reign on the Hot 100 chart by a rap song, passing MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This”. Internationally, “Black and Yellow” peaked within the top ten of several countries including Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

“Anaconda” by Nicki Minaj

“Anaconda” is a song by Trinidadian-American rapper Nicki Minaj, from her third studio album, The Pinkprint (2014). It was released on August 4, 2014 by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Republic Records as the second single from the album. The song was produced by polow da don and co-produced by DJ Spyda. The song heavily samples “Baby Got Back” (1992) by Sir Mix-a-Lot. upon its release, “Anaconda” peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, thus becoming Minaj’s highest-charting single in the United States to date. It also broke the record for the biggest debut of all time for a single that was not commercially available in stores or on digital download services, with 362,000 copies sold solely through streams and ringtones during its first week of release

The music video was released on August 19, 2014 on iTunes Store through Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records. Directed by Colin Tilley, the video features cameo appearances from Lil Wayne and Drake. In the video, Minaj plays an animal print-wearing jungle queen who seduces men before killing them. Due to its sexually suggestive content, the music video was heavily censored when aired on BET’s 106 & Park; BET cited that it was too racy for their daytime countdown show. The uncensored version of the video was released to Vevo on October 7, 2014; it received mixed reviews from critics who praised its colorful visuals but criticized its technical errors and excessive sexually explicit content. “Anaconda” broke multiple Vevo records upon its release; it became both Minaj’s and Little Mix’s most watched music videos within 24 hours of their releases with 19 million views respectively. It also garnered Minaj a record number of Likes for any artist within 24 hours with over 1 million Likes globally across all platforms

“Run This Town” by Jay-Z ft. Rihanna & Kanye West

“Run This Town” is a song by American rapper Jay-Z. The song also features vocals from American singer Rihanna and rappers Kanye West and Lil Wayne. It was released as the third single from Jay-Z’s eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3 (2009), on September 8, 2009.

The song was produced by West, No I.D., and former Kanye West production team member Mike Dean. The song features a sample of the Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley song “Candy Man”, which had previously been sampled for the Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory movie soundtrack in 1971. “Run This Town” received mixed reviews from music critics, with some praising its production and composition, while others criticized its use of Auto-Tune.

The music video was directed by Hype Williams and shot in NYC throughout the summer of 2009. It premiered on August 28, 2009 on MTV’s Total Request Live website, making it Jay-Z’s seventh video to do so. The video features cameo appearances from rappers Young Jeezy, Fabolous, Alicia Keys, Rihanna’s ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, Drake and Trey Songz (who are all featured in separate sections of the video), as well as model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. The video also features a cameo appearance from actor Idris Elba in his role as Stringer Bell from HBO’s television series The Wire during a drug deal scene near the end of the video.

“All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled ft. Ludacris, Rick Ross, T-Pain & Snoop Dogg

“All I Do Is Win” is a song by DJ Khaled featuring American rappers Ludacris, Rick Ross, T-Pain, and Snoop Dogg. The track was released as the second single from Khaled’s fourth studio album Victory (2010). It peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The music video was directed by Hype Williams and features cameos from several athletes including LeBron James, Reggie Bush, Chad Ochocinco, Victor Cruz, and more.

“I’m On a Boat” by The Lonely Island ft. T-Pain

“I’m On a Boat” is a satirical hip hop song by American comedy troupe The Lonely Island, featuring singer T-Pain. The song and music video debuted on Saturday Night Live as an SNL Digital Short on January 31, 2009. The music video has amassed over 230 million views on YouTube as of August 2019.

“Gentleman” by PSY

PSY’s “Gentleman” music video was released on April 12, 2013 and has since then been considered one of the top hip hop music videos of all time. The video features PSY dancing around and causing havoc in a number of public places, including a subway station and a park. The video has amassed over 2 billion views on YouTube and is considered one of the most popular music videos of all time.

“N***** in Paris” by Jay-Z & Kanye West

“N***** in Paris” is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West from their album Watch the Throne (2011). The song debuted at number 75 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number five, making it the joint second highest-charting single from Watch the Throne. The song received platinum certification in Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. “N***** in Paris” won Best Rap Performance at the 55th Grammy Awards.

“Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock

The highest-viewed music video on YouTube of all time is “Party Rock Anthem” by American duo LMFAO, featuring vocals from British singer Lauren Bennett and American rapper GoonRock. The video was uploaded on March 9, 2011, and within ten days had garnered over 100 million views. It eventually went on to receive over one billion views, becoming the first music video to do so.

“Party Rock Anthem” was met with mixed reviews from critics; while some praised the song and its accompanying dance moves, others found it to be “annoying” and “repetitive”. However, the overwhelming success of the song and its accompanying music video cemented LMFAO’s place as one of the most successful musical acts of the early 2010s.