Jay-Z and Kanye walk towards a Mercedes S-Class, one carrying a metal cutting power-saw, the other a blow torch. Ok, this is intriguing. As the car is being cut up, you realize it’s a MAYBACH, a $500,000 vehicle. That’s when everything changes.
The rest of the video is just Jay-Z and Kanye West rapping in a parking lot. I’m guessing all the budget was blown on the car. By destroying a half million dollar luxury car and turning it into an urban dune-buggy, Spike Jones may have just created the Most Expensive Low Budget Music Video of All Time. Although, it looks as though everyone involved in the video had a wild time, especially the models loaded into the back seat (see above)
I’ve heard a lot of mixed reactions from people concerning both the video and the song itself. Both are great –what’s wrong with you people? Jay-Z alone is worth over $450 million, and you know what –who wouldn’t want to covert an ultra-luxury car into a Mad Max death trap and fuck around in a parking lot with a bunch of models for an afternoon? What makes the video so great is that it seems genuine and effortless, completely divorced from the world around it. And when you’re on top of the world, you kinda are.
The song heavily samples Otis Reddings’ 1966 hit “Try a Little Tenderness.” Below is a great live rendition:
