JAY-Z - Big Pimpin' ft. UGK

What this video is

Released April 11, 2000 as the third single from Jay-Z's Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999), 'Big Pimpin'' represents a landmark East Coast–Southern hip-hop collaboration, pairing Jay-Z's New York street lyricism with UGK's Houston swagger. Timbaland's production sampled the 1957 Egyptian composition 'Khosara Khosara' by Baligh Hamdi, an intercultural sonic fusion unprecedented in mainstream rap at the…

Why it matters

A defining artifact of turn-of-the-millennium rap maximalism, 'Big Pimpin'' united East Coast and Southern hip-hop at a pivotal commercial moment. Hype Williams' direction established a template for the luxury-lifestyle rap video that would dominate the 2000s. The track's cross-regional…

The director

Harold 'Hype' Williams (born August 1, 1970, Queens, NY) is an American director, producer, and screenwriter. Attended Adelphi University. Considered the seminal hip-hop music video director of the 1990s, known for fisheye lens work, saturated colors, and…