S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West has finally released an official version to his 2010 My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy music video "Monster" with on-screen features by Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and Jay-Z.
While an unedited version leaked last year, a finalized music video spread online over the weekend.
It’s been d*mn near a year since the song first debuted, and months since an unfinished version of the clip leaked to the web, but Kanye West has finally delivered the final-cut version of the official music video for “Monster,” the crushing single featuring Rick Ross, Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj. In the Nava-directed clip, Yeezy summons the beautiful dead in a haunted mansion as he spits his verse, with Ross and Jay joining in for their sinister scenes. Closing things out is Nicki Minaj, who damn near steals the show as her alter-egos face off against one another. (Crave Online)
Earlier this year, MTV came forward about why it decided not to air the clip on its network.
The video was submitted to MTV, but it wasn’t banned; rather, edits were requested based on the channel’s decency standards. “MTV has not banned Kanye West’s ‘Monster’ video,” the network said in a statement to MTV News. “We have been in constant communication with the label regarding this matter. However, we are still awaiting the edits we requested in order for the video to be suitable for broadcast.” (MTV)
A few months ago, reports emerged claiming women activists Sharon Haywood and Melinda Tankard put together a petition requesting MTV to pull the controversial video.
“The mainstreaming of videos like this increases desensitized and callous attitudes toward violence against women,” said Reist, one of the campaign originators. “Young people are seeing images and absorbing harmful messages which glamorise misogyny and brutalise women. Women are reduced to sex-doll like playthings. So great is the level of desensitization that the barbaric treatment of women and girls is seen as normal and to be expected. We decided to run this campaign because we wanted to challenge the status quo.” (Statement)
The video’s controversy stemmed from “Monster” scenes showing the mistreatment of females.
“Monster” is not the usual scantily-clad, hyper-sexualized women washing expensive cars with even more expensive champagne. The video features West, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, and Nicki Minaj surrounded by the “sexy” corpses of women in lingerie. Other women dangle from the ceiling by chains. Behind Jay-Z, a dead, naked woman lies with her mouth wide open, bluntly indicating her last act was a sexual one. Ross erotically eats a plate of raw meat from between a female corpse’s legs. And West practically rapes the dead bodies of two women in bed. The message of the video is pretty clear: women are sex objects and it can be erotic when they are killed in violent, sexual ways. (Change)
Check out the official music video below:
