The video for DJ Muggs' and MF DOOM's new "Assassination Day (Trust No One)," from Muggs' new album Dia Del Asesinato, is set in L.A. in the year 2020. It begins with a man getting dressed up in a "Leon's cleaners" outfit (maybe a nod to Léon, or The Professional) and putting a sniper rifle in a carrying case. He drives through town, passing a black guy getting beat up by white cops and crowd of neo-nazis, with one set of Swastika-tattooed arms poking up out of the crowd, holding a sign that quotes Kanye West's famous line "slavery was a choice." Other signs include "Keep America Great 2020." The assassin pulls up in an abandoned building, sets up and takes aim at a big rally, his crosshairs snaking up the body a someone in a suit with a red tie, the usual look for a presidential candidate. When the assassin reaches the man's face, we realize that it's Kanye West and he pulls the trigger, sending a bullet through Ye's head. The video ends with Putin and Trump laughing at their TVs.
The video walks the fine line between shock-value and genuine political statement and may teeter onto one or the other side. What do you think?
