Snoop Dogg unveils the music video for “Murder Music,” the lead-single from his forthcoming album, Algorithms, and his first release under the Def Jam umbrella. Directed by D. Baker, the visual takes inspiration from both King Kong and Tha Dogg Pound’s accompanying clip for their own 1995 single, “New York, New York,” with Snoop perched atop the Empire State Building like Kong, and trucking through the Manhattan streets like he did over a quarter-century ago. Yet, this time around, Daz Dillinger and Kurupt are replaced by Benny the Butcher, Jadakiss, and Busta Rhymes, as Tha Doggfather galvanizes the trio of New York giants.
“We up in this motherfucker on some murder murder, kill kill sh*t,” Snoop announces before Benny the Butcher swoops in with a highlight-reel of an opening verse. “I’m really like that, I ain’t just write this shit for the camera/I did in my city what Michael Vick did in Atlanta,” the Buffalo spitter barks, as he plays the cut while rocking a fistful of chains, with a hefty stack of bankrolls in tow. Not one to be outclassed, Jadakiss rises to the occasion, matching Benny’s tenacity with a few hard-hitting couplets of his own. Rocking a So Raspy Dickies Suit, Timberland field boots, and a Yankees cap, Kiss represents for the state in full fashion, as he puts a customized twist on the de facto uniform for New York natives.
Reporting live from a dim cellar, Busta Rhymes rounds out the proceedings with an effective closeout verse, as Spliff Star chimes in with timely adlibs, putting the innate chemistry the pair have built over the years on full display. Surrounded by a helicopter and a Def Jam Records blimp promoting his Algorithms album, Snoop hits a crip walk before sauntering off into the New York skyline, making for a full-circle moment that finds the rap legend showing love to the five boroughs.