Hype Williams Is The Best Music Video Director Of All Time, And These 26 Visuals Prove That

Hype Williams doesn't make music videos, he makes masterpieces.

Music video director, Hype Williams, has designed some of the most groundbreaking visuals that are a paragon of cinematographic excellence.

Maury Phillips / Getty Images

Williams' distinctive usage of the fisheye lens and occasional incorporation of neon lighting created distorted fantastical realities within his music visuals, temporarily putting viewers in an illusory dreamworld. The iconic imagery that Williams has produced over the last three decades is the result of his risk-taking and innovative directing style. 

Throughout my entire life I have always been in awe of Hype Williams' music visuals. His willingness to experiment with different colors, angles and themes, like Afro-Futurism, always added an extra oomph to Williams' music videos that was only present in his visuals. Williams' music visuals will forever be unmatched, and that's why I have listed the 26 best music videos that Williams has ever made. 

1. Missy Elliot — "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"

Elektra Records / Via youtube.com

Everything about Missy Elliot's "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" music visual was stellar, from the angles to the various shots within the music video.

2. The Notorious B.I.G. — "One More Chance (Remix)"

Bad Boy Records / Via youtube.com

The way the different rays of melanin were captured in Notorious B.I.G.'s "One More Chance (Remix)" video was incredible.

3. Tupac Shakur ft. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman — "California Love"

Death Row  Records

Hype Williams putting a hip-hop spin on the Mad Max theme for "California Love" was *chef's kiss.*

4. Busta Rhymes — "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See"

Elektra Records / Via youtube.com

This music visual for Busta Rhymes's "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" is some of Hype Williams' best work.

5. TLC — "No Scrubs"

LaFace Records / Via youtube.com

The Afro-Futuristic TLC "No Scrubs" music video set the standard for Williams and other music video directors curating visuals in the 2000s.

6. Missy Elliot — "She's a B***h"

Elektra Records / Via youtube.com

Missy Elliot's "She's a B***h" music video can be summarized in one word. ICONIC.

7. Busta Rhymes ft. Janet Jackson — "What It's Gonna Be?"

Elektra Records / Via youtube.com

Busta Rhymes' "What It's Gonna Be?" is another Afro-Futuristic music video classic that is one of Hype Williams signature masterpieces. 

8. Nas ft. P. Diddy — "Hate Me Now"

Columbia Records / Via youtube.com

The slow-motion shots, the flames and the blue lighting was everything in this Hype Williams original music visual.

9. Jay-Z ft. UGK — "Big Pimpin'

Def Jam Records/ Roc-A-Fella / Via youtube.com

The women and the Caribbean island was captured gorgeously by Hype Williams in Jay-Z's and UGK's "Big Pimpin.'

10. Nas ft. Lauryn Hill — "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)"

Columbia Records / Via youtube.com

Williams' usage of green and blue lighting in Nas' "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)" music video illuminated both Lauryn Hill and Nas' complexion, highlighting the attractiveness of both artists. 

11. Brandy — "Sittin' Up In My Room"

Arista Records / Via youtube.com

Brandy's "Sittin' Up In My Room" was vibrant and eye-catching thanks to Hype Williams.

12. Aaliyah — "Rock The Boat"

Blackground Records / Via youtube.com

Wiliams made Aaliyah look absolutely angelic in her "Rock The Boat" music visual.

13. Mobb Deep ft. Lil' Kim — "Quiet Storm (Remix)"

Loud Records / Via youtube.com

The red lighting and slow panoramic shots in Mobb Deep's "Quiet Storm (Remix)" was so badass. Only Hype Williams could've designed such a magnificent video for the hip-hop legends.

14. Brandy ft. MC Lyte, Yo-Yo and Queen Latifah — "I Wanna Be Down (Remix)"

Atlantic Records / Via youtube.com

It's a certain cool factor that Hype Williams captures in the artists he's shooting that makes even his most simplistic videos epic.

15. Ashanti — "Rain On Me"

Murder Inc. Records / Via youtube.com

Hype Williams' production for Ashanti's "Rain On Me" had such a cinematic feel to it, making it a perfectly crafted music visual.

16. Will Smith — "Gettin Jiggy wit It"

Columbia Records / Via youtube.com

Will Smith's "Gettin Jiggy wit It" had us '90s babies in a chokehold in part because of how dope Williams made Smith's "Jiggy" dance appear in the music video.

17. The Notorious B.I.G. — "Mo Money Mo Problems"

Bad Boy Records / Via youtube.com

Williams strikes again with The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo Money Mo Problems" music video.

18. Usher — "Nice and Slow"

LaFace Records / Via youtube.com

It's 2022 and I'm still wishing that Usher's "Nice and Slow" music video would be turned into a feature film. That's how insanely amazing Hype Williams' camerawork was for this music visual. 

19. Kanye West — "Diamonds From Sierra Leone"

Roc-A-Fella Records / Via youtube.com

Again, Hype Williams outdoes himself with Kanye West's "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" music visual.

20. Busta Rhymes – "Dangerous"

Elektra Records / Via youtube.com

Hype Williams and Busta Rhymes create another exceptional music visual for Busta's song "Dangerous."

21. Craig Mack — "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)"

Bad Boy Records / Via youtube.com

Williams often used the black-and-white effect for music videos he filmed in the mid-1990s, and each time it was phenomenal. This stark contrast effect that the black-and-white imagery presented in Williams' music video is why Craig Mack's "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)" looks so badass.

22. Kanye West ft. Rihanna and Kid Cudi — "All of the Lights"

Roc-A-Fella Records / Via youtube.com

Hype Williams proves that he can make a killer music video with graphics only if need be with Kanye West's "All of the Lights."

23. Q-Tip — "Vivrant Thing"

Arista Records

Black & white and melanated skin go together like PB & J, and Hype Williams illustrates that when he directed Q-Tip's "Vivrant Thing."

24. No Doubt — "Ex-Girlfriend"

Interscope Records / Via youtube.com

The color contrast in No Doubts "Ex-Girlfriend" music visual is impeccable. Definitely one of Hype Williams's top-tier music visuals.

25. Busta Rhymes — "Gimme Some More"

Elektra Records / Via youtube.com

Hype Williams didn't produce music videos for Busta Rhymes. Williams made music movies for Busta Rhymes.

What other Hype Williams directed music videos should be on this list?