NEW RELEASE: Janet Jackson "So Excited"

After causing a stir with her ornamented nipple at that infamous Super Bowl halftime show, you might think Janet Jackson would remain carefully and fully clothed in her future videos. Wrong. Ms. Jackson is officially back at her titillating game with a video that teases the viewer with split-second reveals that expose a whole lot of flesh. Things are then taken to the next level by using an X-Ray effect to showcase the skeletal underpinnings to Janet, her co-stars and several objects, including a car. Visual effects house X1FX  engineered approximately 120 effects for  the video, including the aforementioned disappearing clothes gag which called for the creation of lifelike virtual clothing and a soft wipe to undress and then redress the singer. -- watch "So Excited"

Janet Jackson "So Excited" (Virgin)
Joseph Kahn, director/editor | Mary Ann Tanedo, producer | Supermega / HSI, production co | Chris Probst, DP

BOOKED: Norah Jones - Ace Norton, director

artist: Norah Jones
song: "Thinking Of You"
label: Blue Note
director(s): Ace Norton
production co: Partizan

SHOT: The Pussycat Dolls - Marc Webb, director

artist: The Pussycat Dolls feat. Timbaland 
song: "Wait A Minute"
label: A&M/Interscope
director(s): Marc Webb
production co: DNA

SHOT: Tyrese - Benny Boom, director

artist: Tyrese
song: "One"
label: J Records
director(s): Benny Boom
production co: F.M. Rocks

NEWS: BET Hip-Hop Awards Nominees

BET announced the nominees for its first ever BET Hip-Hop Awards show, to be taped at Atlanta’s Atlanta's Fox Theatre on Nov. 12 and then aired on Nov. 15. Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Young Jeezy and T.I. are confirmed to perform, while Grandmaster Flash will be honored with the Icon Award.

Video Nominees are as follows:

HIP-HOP VIDEO OF THE YEAR

• Busta Rhymes "Touch It Remix"
• Common - "Testify"
• Lupe Fiasco "Kick, Push"
• T.I. "What You Know"
• Yung Joc "Goin' Down"

ELEMENT AWARD: VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

• Benny Boom for the following:
  
  • Bow Wow f/ Mike Jones "Fresh Azimiz Remix"
  • Busta Rhymes "Touch It Remix"
  • Busta Rhymes "Touch It"
  • David Banner f/Jazze Pha "Touchin"
  • Lil Wayne "Hustler Musik/Money On My Mind"
  • Lil Wayne f/ Robin Thicke" Shooter"
  • Mack 10 f/ Nate Dogg "Like This"
  • Mobb Deep f/ 50 Cent & Nate Dogg "Have A Party"
• Dr. Teeth for the following:
  
  • Juvenile "Way I Be Leanin"   
  • Lil KeKe f/ Paul Wall & Bun B "Chunk Up The Deuce"   
  • Paul Wall f/ Mike Jones & Bun B "They Don’t Know"   
  • Pitbull f/ Pretty Ricky "Everybody Get Up"   
  • Slim Thug f/ Young Jeezy, Slick Pulla & Killa "Diamonds Remix"   
  • T.I. f/ UGK "Front Back"   
  • Tango Redd f/ Lloyd "Let’s Cheat"   
  • The Notorious B.I.G. "Spit Ya Game"
• Hype Williams for the following:
  
  • Kanye West f/ Jamie Foxx "Gold Digger"   
  • Kanye West" Drive Slow"   
  • Lil Jon "Snap Yo Fingers"   
  • LL Cool J f/ Jennifer Lopez "Control Myself"   
  • LL Cool J f/ Lyfe Jennings "Freeze"   
  • Smitty "Diamonds On My Neck"   
  • Young Jeezy "My Hood"   
• Little X for the following:
  
  • Beenie Man f/ Akon "Girls"   
  • Young Dro f/ T.I. "Shoulder Lean"   
  • Sean Paul "Temperature"   
  • E-40 f/ T-Pain & Kandi "U And Dat"   
  • Sean Paul f/ Keyshia Cole Give It Up To Me"   
  • Shaggy f/ Olivia "Wild 2 Nite"   
• Sanaa Hamri for the following:
  
  • Cham f/ Alicia Keys "Ghetto Story Chapter 2"
  • The Notorious B.I.G "Nasty Girl"

The rest of the nominees can be found after the jump...

HIP-HOP TRACK OF THE YEAR
"Goin' Down" - Yung Joc, Produced by Nitti
"Ridin'"- Chamillionaire f/ Krayzie Bone, Produced by Play-N-Skillz
"Stay Fly" - Three 6 Mafia f/Young Buck, 8 Ball & MJG, Produced by DJ Paul & Juicy J
"Touch It" - Busta Rhymes, Produced by Swizz Beatz
"What You Know" - T.I., Produced by DJ Toomp

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Cham
Chamillionaire
Lupe Fiasco
Rick Ross
Yung Joc

ELEMENT AWARD: PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Jermaine Dupri
Kanye West
Lil Jon
Nitti
Swizz Beatz

HIP-HOP MVP OF THE YEAR
Chamillionaire
Lil Wayne
T.I.
Young Jeezy
Yung Joc

ELEMENT AWARD: LYRICIST OF THE YEAR
Busta Rhymes
Common
Lil Wayne
Lupe Fiasco
T.I.

ELEMENT AWARD: BEST HIP-HOP DANCE OF THE YEAR
Chicken Noodle Soup
Hyphy (Go Dumb)
Motorcycle
Shoulder Lean
Snap

BEST HIP-HOP MOVIE
ATL -  Chris Robinson, director
Beef: 3 -  Peter Spirer, director
Boss'n Up -  Dylan C. Brown, director
Get Rich or Die Tryin' - Jim Sheridan, director
Waist Deep - Vondie Curtis-Hall, director

BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE
Busta Rhymes
Kanye West
Missy Elliott
T.I.
Yung Joc

BEST COLLABO
Busta Rhymes f/ Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Lloyd Banks, Papoose & DMX  "Touch It Remix"
Cham f/ Alicia Keys "Ghetto Story Chapter 2"
Chamillionaire f/ Krayzie Bone "Ridin"
Nelly f/ Paul Wall, Ali & Big Gipp "Grillz"
Young Dro f/ T.I. "Shoulder Lean"

HIP-HOP CD OF THE YEAR
T.I. -  King
Kanye West -  Late Registration
Young Jeezy - Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101
Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter II

HIP-HOP HUSTLER AWARD
Diddy
Jay-Z
Ludacris
Nelly
T.I.

ALLTEL WIRELESS PEOPLE'S CHAMP AWARD
Busta Rhymes "Touch It Remix"
Chamillionaire f/ Krayzie Bone "Ridin'"
Dem Franchize Boyz f/ Peanut & Charlay "Lean With It, Rock With It"
Lil Jon f/ E-40 & Sean Paul (YoungBloodZ) "Snap Yo Fingers"
Rick Ross "Hustlin"
Young Jeezy "Trap Star/Go Crazy"

NEW RELEASE: Army Of Anyone "Goodbye"

If former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland can hook up with the instrumental core of Guns N' Roses to form a hit supergroup, than why can't STP's DeLeo Brothers get with Filter frontman Richard Patrick for their own post-grunge version? Army Of Anyone start their campaign with a glossy, deftly edited performance video that omits narrative elements in favor of focusing on the band and their logo backdrop. -- watch "Goodbye" (YouTube)

Army Of Anyone "Goodbye" (The Firm)
Scott Speer, director | BP Cooper, Jason Peterson & Ian Bounds, producers | Symbolic, production co | Shawn Kim, DP | JR Arinaga, editor

BOOKED: Bloc Party - Aggressive, directors

Shooting in London...

artist: Bloc Party 
song: "I Still Remember"
label: Vice/Atlantic
director(s): Aggressive
production co: Refused TV

NEWS: Labuda Mgmt. Repping Michele Civetta

Tommy Labuda of Labuda Management is now representing Quintessence director Michele Civetta for music videos. Civetta just directed all the videos from Sean Lennon's Friendly Fire CD/DVD. Read Video Static's interview with Civetta for more details on the project.

BOOKED: Tego Calderon - Scott Franklin, director

Shooting in Jamaica...

artist: Tego Calderon feat. Don Omar
song: "Chillin"
label: Jiggiri/Atlantic
director(s): Scott Franklin
production co: Fred Films
rep: Labuda Management

NEW RELEASE: Deftones "Hole In The Earth"

Deftones singer/intergalactic traveler Chino Moreno and his space pod fall to earth in this video for "Hole On The Earth." Once on the ground, it becomes apparent that his proximity to the stars has imbued him with an aura which causes all earthly matter that he comes in contact with to disintegrate. -- watch "Hole In The Earth" (YouTube)

Deftones "Hole In The Earth" (Maverick/Reprise)
Brian Lazzaro, director | Nick Carbonaro, producer | Seaworthy Films, production co | Josh Kraszewski, DP | Liam Harrison, editor