Showing Out

What we wouldn’t give to ride around town with 10 Jessica Albas, too. That’s at least what Benny Cassette claims to be doing in his single “White Limousine,” the video for which just hit the net. And while he doesn’t actually ride around with Jessica A, he’s got a gang of hotties in his limo in the clip, which sees him picking up an underage kid and exposing him to some - err - less than appropriate adult situations. Either way, looks like the kid is more in awe than anything - we’d be too if we were forcibly dragged along to ragers during our tender teen years. At least check for the MC Hammer interlude if the rest of this one doesn’t do it foryou.

OK, not the usual fare here at Showing Out, but we figured we’d give you a nice break from all the hip-hop with a pop tune from newcomer Tino Coury. In his clip for “Diary,” Tino plays the man scorned, singing about his girl doing him wrong and taking it so far as to invading her personal belongings and - you guessed it - reading her diary. The 21-year-old, who hails from Pittsburgh and is currently based out of L.A., is putting in that work on his debut album with producer Alex Cantrall (JoJo, Fantasia), so you know it’s going to at least be a well-produced affair. Hit the play button and get into that pop-n-B mentality.

After the travesty that was Lil’ Jon’s last video release for “Outta Your Mind”, the King of Crunk is giving it a second try with his more easily digestible “Ms. Chocolate” featuring R. Kelly and Mario. While he still barks like an injured dog on the track, Lil’ Jon raps about his ideal woman, whose qualifications include being “so jiggly” and “so soft.” The clip is filled with women who fit that type, and needless to say, these are the most realistic video hos we’ve ever seen, quite frankly. If this does it for you, be on the lookout for Lil’ Jon’s Crunk Rock when it hits retail June 8th.

Ann Arbor’s own Mayer Hawthorne returns with yet another video for a track off his debut album A Strange Arrangement, this time putting visuals to the track “One Track Mind.” And instead of adhering to the song’s focus on gold-digging females, the video instead centers on a guy who has a thing for - err - a mannequin. The guy does everything for his inanimate girl: he takes her on a rowboat, dresses her in lovely garb and even takes her on a picnic. Sounds like this guy has the right intentions, just the wrong subject upon which to lavish love. Hit the play button, ride out to this retro jam and count your blessings for the fact that you aren’t this guy.

Ice Cube takes it to the Wild, Wild West in the video for “I Rep That West,” the lead single off his upcoming album I Am the West. Instead of taking it to Compton, Cube instead takes it to the range, where he suits up in a sombrero and poncho and raps on the porch of a saloon. But it isn’t all period piece here. Cube soon takes it to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the site where he recently filmed his episode of 30 for 30: Straight Outta L.A. for ESPN (it recently debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival, too). Be on the lookout for when Cube’s new joint drops June 13th.

Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek get all retro in the ’50s-influenced video for their new single “Midnight Hour,” an Estelle-assisted joint off their upcoming sophomore album Revolutions Per Minute. Kweli stays classy in his dapper suit and matching fedora while Hi-Tek gets his country club Polo on with a crocheted sweater and golf cap, with the lovely Estelle rocking a nice gold ensemble to channel the classic vibe. Of course, it wouldn’t be a ’50s party without some gin martinis, and some lovely product placement helps seal the deal (we see you, Tanqueray). Be on the lookout for when RPM drops May 18th - it’ll be well worth the decade-long wait for another full-length collabo between these two.

You might not be up on Freddie Gibbs, but the up-and-coming Indiana native can spit a hot 16. Case in point, the video for his track “The Ghetto,” which just got the visual treatment care of Brandon “N2ition” Riley. In the clip, Gibbs takes it to his native Gary, Indiana where he raps about the destitute economic conditions as clips of dilapidated buildings and his shoddy living conditions are shown on screen. Not the most uplifting video of all time, but not even your favorite rapper gets this real in his or her videos. This guy has next up - watch the clip and see for yourself. And if you like what you see, Google him to download his mixtapes. You won’t be disappointed.

Looks like ever since Trey Songz laid one on Toni Braxton, all the other female divas have been calling, with Mariah Carey nabbing Songerz for her remix of “Inseperable.” Now, Mary J. Blige has joined the cougar club with the release of the Chris Robinson-directed video for “We Got Hood Love,” which just premiered on BET’s 106 & Park yesterday. And the video isn’t as hot and steamy as you’d expect - in fact, it’s quite the opposite. The video focuses on relationship problems, with a girl waiting in the kitchen with ma dukes waiting for her man to come home, since she hasn’t heard from him and it isn’t like him to be missing in action. Things don’t really progress well from there - hit the play button and see for yourself.

Damn, looks like somebody done pissed off Marco Polo and Ruste Juxx! In the Todd Angkasuwan-directed video for “Nobody,” the two walk down the street talking about being hard, only to back up their bark by basically wreaking havoc on everyone on the street. Juxx and Polo push people out of their way, go out of their way to push people, smash water bottles out of people’s hands while they’re taking a sip - basically, they’re being a couple of a-holes. But at least we’re pretty certain no one was hurt or pissed off during the shooting of this video (OK, the pissed off part might not be accurate). If this does it for you, go pick up their collabo album The eXXecution immediately.

Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy is stepping out on his own with his debut solo project, changing his name to Travie and grabbing Bruno Mars to go for a joyride on his lead single “Billionaire.” Vibing off of the beachy tone of the song, Travie and Bruno hit it sand-side as they perform, hopping in the whip and driving down the highway with the top down before heading back to the beach for a kegger near an open firepit. Like what you see and hear? Go cop this man’s album Lazarus when it drops June 8th, ya heard?