Show Me What You Got is a masterclass in how not to make a hip-hop music video. Okay, maybe that is over exaggeration, but it’s still awful. Jay-Z hangs with Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for no reason. The south of France is not a particularly interesting location. Dame Dash isn’t randomly popping up. Why did Hova even bother with this?
The video is the polar opposite of I Just Wanna Luv U (Give It 2 Me) which was awesome in just about every way imaginable. Show Me What You Got tries so hard to be cool. Yet, it’s pretty lame and so freaking boring.
It starts from the moment Jay-Z challenges Danica Patrick to a race while being chauffeured by Dale Earnhardt Jr. This is what he unretired for? A chance to appear alongside two mediocre NASCAR stars and create music no one wanted.
Related: The Heat music video from 50 Cent is the best thing you’ve probably never seen
Song: Show Me What You Got
Artist: Jay-Z
Year: 2006
Quote it:
Shots of Patron, now she’s in a zone
I ain’t talking about the 2-3
Mami in the zone like the homie 2-3
Jordan or James, makes no difference, boo
Best Video Moment: Danica Patrick not getting into a wreck is perhaps the most unrealistic moment in rap music video history. It makes Fat Joe beating Kenny Anderson and Stephon Marbury at basketball seem plausible by comparison.
See More: Rap Music Video Reviews from The Touchback
Jay-Z hangs with Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. but why?
This entire music video boils down to one question. Who is this for? Seriously, who is the target audience supposed to be? Given the company Jay-Z keeps and where he’s at, it wasn’t the streets? It wasn’t the suburbs who had moved on from him by this point in time.
The issue all stems from Jay-Z’s retirement. When he left the rap game, he literally dropped the mic on his way out the door. The Black Album was a classic. And while there was also that collaboration album with R. Kelly in 2004, it looked like Jigga was going out on top.
Then 2005 rolls around. Jay-Z starts squashing beef and is far more mature. That’s great for a businessman to do, but not so much an MC. He became so out of touch with the world, and it shows on Show Me What You Got, the music video for it and, if we’re being honest, every album Hova has released since. Kayne West essentially dragged him to a decent showing on Watch the Throne. Everything else has been forgettable at best.
Jay-Z kicking it with Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in France is the music video no one wanted. The world was a worse off place for it.
