Dr. Dre Ft. B - Real - Puppet Master

What this video is

Released in early 1997, 'Puppet Master' sits at the intersection of Death Row-era West Coast hip-hop and the underground Soul Assassins collective led by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill. The track represents a significant cross-pollination moment: Dr. Dre, then at the height of his post-NWA solo power, collaborating with B-Real outside of his home camp in a project rooted in the darker, more experimental wing of LA…

Why it matters

This video is a landmark artifact of the Soul Assassins collective and represents one of the defining examples of late-90s West Coast hip-hop's visual ambition under the MTV era. Dean Karr's direction applies a horror-surrealism grammar rarely seen in hip-hop videos of the period, distinguishing…

The director

Dean Karr is a Seattle-born, Los Angeles-based director and photographer who received a BFA from Washington State University and later attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He broke through directing Marilyn Manson's 'Sweet Dreams' video and…