Synopsis

Black Thought moves through a series of stylized worlds while delivering the song's hard-edged verses. He appears as a police officer, a store clerk and a sharply dressed businessman, with each setting suggesting a different side of power, money and street life. The Roots also perform before an energized crowd, while visual effects multiply and split the images into overlapping frames. The video's shifting identities and glossy, surreal presentation match the track's mix of confrontation, ambition and industry-minded swagger.

Factoids & Trivia

• The Saline Project described the video's goal as bridging alternative music videos with the glossy, high-end hip-hop style that dominated the period.

• Its most distinctive visual device is a VFX-driven split-screen treatment, which allows multiple versions of the action and performers to occupy the frame at once.

• The production was made for Geffen Records and used HSI Productions. The visual effects included compositing and 3D work rather than relying only on conventional live-action performance footage.

• The song appeared on The Roots' 2004 album The Tipping Point. Scott Storch produced the track and co-wrote it with Tariq Trotter, Black Thought's birth name.

• "Don't Say Nuthin" was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005.

• The track was later featured in the first season of HBO's Entourage, in the episode "Busey and the Beach."