Cypress Hill - (Rock) Superstar

What this video is

Released in March 2000 as the rock counterpart to '(Rap) Superstar,' this video emerged at a pivotal crossover moment when rap-rock acts like Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and Rage Against the Machine dominated MTV and radio. Cypress Hill's 'Skull & Bones' — a deliberate dual-disc rap/rock album released April 25, 2000 on Columbia Records — was an early major-label attempt to formally split a hip-hop artist's identity…

Why it matters

A landmark rap-rock crossover artifact, '(Rock) Superstar' demonstrated that hip-hop acts could credibly occupy hard-rock visual and sonic territory without abandoning their identity. As one of the few rap singles to chart simultaneously on rap and rock radio in 2000, it documents a brief but…

The director

Dean Karr is a Seattle-born director and photographer who received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Washington State University and later attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He began directing music videos in 1994 and rose to prominence…