When it comes to music videos, Busta Rhymes knows a thing or two about creating visuals that stand the test of time. Now, he’s crowning one fellow musician for his ability to do the same: Kendrick Lamar.
Rhymes recently praised Lamar’s gift for creating compelling visuals, citing the rapper’s “The Heart Part 5” music video as one of the latest to leave him awestruck. “What was the name of the Kendrick joint over the Marvin Gaye sample?” he asked during a recent interview with Billboard. “‘The Heart Part 5.’ That video was special, and they set a bar for the new generation when it came to the revolutionary visual impact that me and Missy [Elliott] were always successful at executing.”
He added: “The balance of simplicity and complexity in it is so incredibly powerful, and that’s not an easy balance to find. I’m still looking to see who will come up with some s**t that’s gonna f**k with that. So visually, I’m giving Kendrick the crown. And that’s just one of the many things that Kendrick gets the crown from me [on] right now.”
With constant comparisons to his peer Missy Elliott, Busta took a moment to shower his friend with flowers. “That’s my twin sister,” he expressed. “I love her on [indescribable] levels. She has been moving out here in such a phenomenally iconic way. She just got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this year. She just got a street named after her. She got a doctorate, I believe. And I just saw that she recently got her [Madame Tussauds] statue. Her s**t is on a whole ‘nother level of [iconic] right now. So I’m super proud. Congrats to Missy.”
At one point during the conversation, Busta explained that, despite the evolution of technology, creativity will always be the driving force behind a good music video. “The only difference is, technology has allowed things to be done a lot more cost-effectively,” the “Touch It” emcee said. “You could still pull off these magical ideas, but [there are] definitely ways to be smarter about [spending]. I’m fortunate enough to be able to still pull off some amazing visuals that look like million-dollar spends, but they’re nowhere near those spends, but I’m still able to impact s**t in the way that people have grown to know and love me for doing.”
Watch Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5” music video below.