Da Bush Babees - We Run Things

What this video is

Released in 1994 at the height of East Coast rap's golden age, 'We Run Things (It's Like Dat)' represents a notable intersection of Brooklyn hip-hop, Jamaican dancehall influence, and the Native Tongues intellectual tradition — the single was produced by Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest. Da Bush Babees (Y-Tee, Bae-B-Face Kaos, Mr. Man) brought a distinctive reggae-inflected cadence to the New York rap…

Why it matters

An early document of reggae-rap fusion within the East Coast golden age canon, the video captures a stylistic moment before hip-hop visuals shifted toward maximalist excess. Produced by Ali Shaheed Muhammad and directed by Hype Williams in a pre-breakthrough vérité mode, it is significant as…

The director

Harold 'Hype' Williams (born August 1, 1970, Queens, NY) is an American music video director, film director, and producer. He studied film at Adelphi University before joining Classic Concepts Video Productions, later founding Big Dog Films in 1993.…