Big Sean - Beware ft. Lil Wayne, Jhené Aiko

What this video is

Released in the summer of 2013 as the third single from Big Sean's second studio album Hall of Fame (GOOD Music / Def Jam), 'Beware' emerged at a moment when GOOD Music's creative infrastructure—particularly the DONDA collective—was functioning as a tastemaking force extending hip-hop aesthetics into high fashion, visual art, and experimental music video production. The track's pairing of Detroit rap bravado, Lil…

Why it matters

'Beware' represents the early-2010s convergence of mainstream trap-inflected hip-hop and alternative R&B, a crossover format that would define mid-decade charts. Its production by Key Wane and Mike Dean, described as 'poppy' and 'head-bobbing,' signaled hip-hop's increasing comfort with…

The director

Matthew Williams (b. 1985, Evanston, IL) is an American designer, creative director, and art director who served as head art director at Kanye West's DONDA creative company, where he transitioned from costume design to directing and art-directing music…