Sarah Park

A golden rule of music videos is that the actors in the narrative almost never hear the music. Director Saman Kesh wildly subverts that by having actors Martin Starr and Milana Vayntrub (and anyone near them) be tormented by this Hot Chip song mysteriously playing at loud volumes everywhere they go until they reach their breaking point.

Ultimate power on display as Denzel Curry does some smashing work on his car. 

A spellbinding Mexican tale in which we learn that time might occasionally seem to stop, but you can't keep the dogs of death at bay

Ladies night at the bar with the mechanical bull turns out to not be such a bad gig after all.

It's OK if it takes you a couple minutes to realize this is genius. And it helps to know the backstory, although figuring it out youself is probably more fun. And the song is called "Figure It Out" after all...

But, if you're the type who loves a spoiler, here ya go:

Director Ninian Doff creates a nifty hidden image trick thanks to a specal blue/red filter placed in front of the lens. Yes, it bathes all the footage in either red or blue, but more importantly: The filter only reveals certain colors. Think of it like old-fashioned red/cyan anaglyph glasses, except instead of creating the illusion of 3D, Doff is revealing hidden messages and images. It's the same gag you've seen in various red reveal tricks you've seen in board games and elsewhere, but transported to video.

Oh, and by the way: You'll notice the video starts with a Parental Advisory warning. So, don't get too distracted by the tricks, otherwise you might forget to miss out on the bloody narrative fun.

It's clear from the start that today won't be a good day for the young man in this new J. Cole video. Director Sam Pilling plays with that palpably impending doom, twisting the storyline into a climax that's as emotionally devastating as can be for our hero.