Ten years might as well be an eon in hip-hop, but A$AP Rocky holds up perfectly, as evidenced in this anniversary revisit and extension of his 2013 clip "Angels".
In a way, there's likely more Michael Jackson in this video than on this posthumous "contemporized" version of a previously unreleased song. Justin Timberlake easily steps into the main role here, keeping a smile on his face and replicating some iconic moves — needs. more. moonwalk. — on some sets that also shout out various MJ video classics, like the "Bad" turnstiles and the "Beat It" pool hall. For good measure, we also get archived shots of the main man in NTSC action, plus lots of fans to dance and smile along to the groove.
There's so much magnetism here that the opening visual gambit pales in comparison to all that follows with Usher flexing, stripping, dancing, drumming and nailing an uncanny combination of vintage Al Green (circa shirtless Greatest Hits) and Michael Jackson footwork.
And to guarantee some cross-appeal, there's a parade of beautiful women with just as much a fixation on lips and tongues as you'd expect for a song about, er, kissing.
Empire Of The Sun always push the weird needle on-stage and in their videos, but it's all the more striking when you see the blue-spiked dude in the real world. And not so surprising that the cops get called.
Despite a couple interludes where real-life lovers Ciara and Future spark up a romance, this video doesn't stray far from exactly what the song title demands — even if it turns out to be a (body) party of one.
