June 04, 2009

'Paranoid' Video Starring Rihanna Up On Kanye's Blog

By Jayson Rodriguez (MTV.com)

It's turning out to be video-premiere day on Kanye West's Web site. The Chicago rapper posted a second clip on his blog Wednesday (June 3), this time for his next single Paranoid, which co-stars Rihanna.

An early version of the Paranoid video leaked online recently. Video director Nabil Elderkin described the leaked clip to MTV News last week as a "rough cut." Then, earlier Wednesday, a subpar version of the finalized video hit the Web. So West took to his own site to post the completed final version, which he revealed was set to debut Thursday.

"Here is the Paranoid vid, which wasn't supposed to drop till [Thursday], but here it goes," West wrote.

In Paranoid, an ominous West is featured only sparingly in the clip and takes a backseat to a sexy Rihanna. The Umbrella star is introduced in a bedroom scene, as the camera pans over her before a number of shadow-like hands pull the covers away from her. Rihanna later appears in a noir-style car chase.

'Ye is in a darker role in the clip, never appearing onscreen for longer than a few seconds. The rapper's characteristics are enhanced at times and appear wolf-like. His eyes flash to reveal narrow, beady pupils, and fangs flash onscreen several times. By the end of the clip, Rihanna returns to bed, tossing and turning, but doesn't wake up. The three-minute video appears to be a bad dream.

The director said the clip matches the song's premise.

"It's fantasy meets paranoid, when you get into that frame of mind and get trapped into your thoughts," Elderkin explained. "It starts out subtle, but then it just builds. So I wanted to get that into the video, to build that into her dream sequence and get her into that paranoid state of mind."