Sometimes things come full circle... Iggy Azalea first got her shot when T.I. ushered in her first mixtapes, adding a seal of approval to "Murda Bizness" and other early tracks. Now Iggy has two songs lodged at the top of the Pop charts and returns the solid by guesting on this new T.I. video. Shot on-location in Brazil, where the rappers add some high-fashion gloss to the Favelas while riding the DJ Mustard beat — interspersed with an even glossier Blurred Linesesque performance bit.
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.
Once they dispense with the Beats integration at the beginning — if only they could do those placements retroactively — this settles into a long, one-take tracking shot through ATL...
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.
Usually all the star power in a movie video is via the film footage. Not the case here, as Alicia Keys, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams and even composer Hans Zimmer all show up to electrify NYC just as much as what we see in the Spider-Man 2 clips.
What, you're not familiar with the saying, "A hat in your life takes you to paradise?" Well, nevermind, since the b&w intro quickly flips to a pink performance piece with Jessie J and Robin Thicke adding starpower to master mixer DJ Cassidy.
