Earlier today, the music video for Young Thug and Future’s “Money on Money” dropped. The video is the first glimpse we’ve had at Thug’s upcoming album, UY Scuti, slated for release in May. It will be Thug’s first album since he was released from jail in autumn 2024 after pleading guilty to criminal street gang activity.
The video, which captures the Atlanta rappers doing doughnuts in a souped-up car with four women in the back, is an apparent ode to Jay-Z and Ye’s “Otis” music video—from their “Watch the Throne” joint album—in which the pair are captured doing the same. Ofc, artists referencing existing cinematic or pop culture moments in their music videos isn’tnew: just look at Iggy Azalea's “Clueless” reference in “Fancy”, MC Hammer referencing “The Adams Family” in the"Addams Groove" music video, and Will Smith’s "Black Suits Comin'” video, which nods to Men in Black. And “Otis”,which sampled “Try a Little Tenderness” by seminal soul artist Otis Redding, was iconic.
But music videos mirroring existing music videos are somewhat less common. We’re just editorialising here, but in this case, it’s hard to say whether it was a show of respect to Jay Z and Kanye and their “Watch the Throne” era, or, well…shade. Tbh, it’s a weird time to publicly endorse the pair: Kanye is currently the closest you can get to being cancelled for racism, while Jay Z is allegedly embroiled in the P Diddy trial. So maybe the reference is designed to signal that the old guard is out, and Young Thug and Future are the new kings of hip hop? Or, they just copied them and figured none of us would clock.
