Pitchfork

Rock stars haven't been this hot since there were actually rock stars. Van Halen is reuniting, Shop Boyz' "Party Like a Rockstar" was a huge summer hit, and Nickelback's "Rockstar" must have some redeeming value (maybe if we play it again?). Then there are the rock star moves of electro-house acts like Justice and Digitalism, plus you've got Jay-Z guesting on Fall Out Boy albums, Kanye West and Timbaland and Swizz Beatz all working with Coldplay quasi-rock star Chris Martin, and rappers everywhere busting out "Lose Yourself"-styled rock tracks.

So while it's usually tough to top R. Kelly when it comes to extravagance, his video for Double Up's "Rock Star" arrives a little late to the party. Possibly still "Trapped in the Closet", Kells wrote the script, which starts (like any good joke) with Kid Rock walking into a bar--- well, right after a tour bus ride with Ludacris and the R., who's apparently beginning to attract flies. A lone electrical outlet is enough for Rock's Flying V guitar pyrotechnics, some slippery Luda rhymes (with a sly "What's Your Fantasy" self-reference), and Kells' Kells-ness: "Rocking to this guitar is 'bout to have me crowd surfing," he sings. The rest of this head-banging performance video has more fun with rock clichés-- not as much as Shop Boyz, but nothing a "Totally, dude!" or two couldn't fix.

[from Double Up; out now on Jive]