Let me be the first to say that hip-hop and rap both reached the point long ago of being just as played out and stuck in a rut as anything on the pop/rock side. When I hear someone call Kanye or Jay-Z a genius upon the release of their latest track, I just shake my head and mourn the state of music. After all, there used to be a time when you could get your bell rung on a daily basis by artists completely bursting out of the box with creativity.
Not so much these days, though.
Having said that, I do wanna say that Danny Brown has got the right idea. While his musical style ain't anything you haven't heard before, the video for "Grown Up" does everything a video should do. It not only feels perfectly right for the song, it adds dimension and depth in a very straightforward and simple manner.
And, let's face it, videos of kids rapping to a grown-up's song has been done before, but the performance in this video by young Dante Hoagland is one for the ages. Hoagland was one of many who auditioned for the role, but, as you can see, his personality and charisma virtually leap off the screen and you find yourself completely pulled into this world that director Greg Brunkalla has created.
Enjoy.