I'm Baaaaaaack! The 10 Greatest Music Videos Filmed In The Artist's Hometown
-By Lucelenia Amparo
Epic rappers and singers like Kanye West, Jennifer Lopez, and Nicki Minaj hail from places all over the world, but they never forgot where they came from. These superstars made sure to give their hometown a major shout out in some huge chart-topping music videos!
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Cliques, the Caribbean Sea and beautiful landmarks shinned bright behind their iconic superstars. NYC, the dirty south and even Europe is well represented in this list. But which artist takes the crown for the GREATEST hometown music video of all time? Let's take a look at who rocked their hood the best!
10. Jennifer Lopez – "Same Girl"
Jenny from the block filmed her video for "Same Girl" in her hometown of Castle Hill in the Bronx. Shout out to the south south Bronx! We loved the fact she went back to her old primary school but the video was missing a bit of heart.
9. Big Sean –"Guap"
Guap was shot in the middle of a road in Detroit, Michigan Big Sean’s hometown. Literally the middle of the road, you guys. Get out the way, Big Sean!
8. J.Cole - "Who Dat"
J. was cool, calm, and collected as flames burned scorched his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. The vibe of the hood was alive but the video left us wanting more from this little town.
7. A$AP Rocky - "Angels"
Sporting masks and riding dirty in BMX bikes, A$AP gives us a crude introduction to the gangster lifestyle in his hometown of Harlem, NY. This video is so wavy we had to give it a high ranking on the list.
6. Drake - "Started From the Bottom"
In case the title didn't give it away, Drizzy paid homage to his hometown Toronto in Canada with this music vid. He came a long way from rolling wheelchairs in Degrassi. "Toronto stand up!” Err, no pun intended...
5. Kanye West - "Homecoming"
Chi-town shinned under the spotlight in Yeezus’ video "Homecoming." The edgy shots of Chicago were on point and Coldplay’s Chris Martin was the perfect touch.
4. Nicki Minaj - "Pound the Alarm"
Trinidad and Tobago was turnt up with the arrival of Ms.Nicki! The video for “Pound the Alarm” was shot in the Queen Barbz birthplace, and features girls dancing around in skimpy carnival clothing. We all know where we’re going with our vacation days!
3. Rita Ora - "Shine Ya Light"
"It Girl" Rita Ora took over her birthplace of Pristine, Kosova with her popping music video for the song “Shine Ya Light” The villagers and the children glorified the gorgeous Rita like she was a rocking princess. You better work girl!
2. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis - "Can’t Hold Us"
We had to give big props to Macklemore and Lewis for putting a flag of his album The Heist into the Seattle Space Needle. Their hometown city seriously could not hold them.
1. Jay Z - "Empire State of Mind"
From the Heights, to Brooklyn, to Times Square, New Yorkers Jay Z and Alicia Keys rep’d NYC to the max! They hailed the good and the bad of it’s like to grow up in the Big Apple, not only in the song but in the music video. We had to give them the number one spot for those epic photos of New York and deep song lyrics.