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Kanye West certainly knows how to show a feather-covered bird lady a good time. In his first mini-movie, which he directed and which clocks in at 35 minutes, Kanye West's "Runaway" takes us on a dreamy and wild journey set to the music of his upcoming album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, due out Nov. 22.

"Runaway," narrated by Nicki Minaj, premiered on MTV this weekend and opens up with a phoenix, played by the beautiful and talented Selita Ebanks (Kanye originally wanted Selita naked, but Selita gave that a firm "no"), falling from the sky in front of Kanye's sports car. The phoenix, named Griffin, is a metaphor for Kanye's career.

Like any good-hearted animal lover, Kanye scoops her up and takes her home (also because that's what you do when you find an alien phoenix on the side of the road) and begins to woo her into his world: Kanye shows her some beats he's working on, takes her to a parade to watch a giant Michael Jackson float and invites her to a dinner party in an abandoned warehouse with some ballerinas. Kanye's posse isn't sure what to make of his new girlfriend, as she doesn't wear clothes or talk and has trouble drinking from a cup. In the end, the phoenix throws Kanye the deuces and peaces out into a ball of flames. (Symbolism! Metaphor!)

From fireworks to woodland animals in empty forests, the analogies in "Runaway" are a high school English teacher's dream. Theories about what the video is trying to say are swirling, but we bet Kanye is probably the only person who really knows what "Runaway" is exactly about. Regardless of its true meaning, "Runaway" is really pretty to watch, the music is great and it reminds us once again why there is only one Mr. West.

+ Watch Kanye West's "Runaway."

Tags Kanye West, Michael Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Selita Ebanks

(Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

Kanye West, as you already no doubt have gathered from his lyrics, his tweets and his threads -- and as you can see from the above photo of with No Doubt singer and, for our purposes here, L.A.M.B. designer Gwen Stefani -- is nothing if not a dedicated follower of fashion. So it's no surprise that his latest G.O.O.D. Friday release (the producer/MC/provocateur's running free music series, released via Twitter every Friday) is named "Christian Dior Denim Flow" and features lyrical references to half a dozen supermodels.

Name-checking catwalk queens such as Esti Ginzburg, Selita Ebanks and Doutzen Kroes, Kanye takes us behind the velvet rope, into a V.I.P. world most will never experience--hanging out with Leo (one safely assumes this is Leo DiCaprio) and working out a "master plan."

Kanye's clearly using these songs as a kind of public workshop, trying out new sounds and new flows. "Christian Dior Denim Flow" is a rather dark track, with distorted vocals and a creeping beat, the exact opposite vibe that you'd expect on a song that espouses the glory of hanging with models.

'Yeezy is also using these tracks as a chance to collaborate with a variety of artists he respects, from Bon Iver to R&B legend Charlie Murphy. "Christian Dior Denim Flow" is no different, with guest appearances from R&B crooners John Legend and Ryan Leslie and verses from Pusha T of The Clipse (who has become a staple of Kanye's recent tracks), Lloyd Banks and Kid Cudi.

+ Listen to Kanye West's "Christian Dior Denim Flow."

Tags Bon Iver, Esti Ginzburg, Gwen Stefani, John Legend, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Leo DiCaprio, Lloyd Banks, No Doubt, Pusha T, Ryan Leslie, Selita Ebanks, Song You Need To Know, The Clipse

Yesterday we hipped you to The-Dream's fabulous middle finger of a breakup song, "Florida University." And today, we get another product of his Love King album: the video for "Makeup Bag," featuring T.I.

"Makeup Bag," starts off with some silent film-era style credits, telling us that The-Dream will be appearing in the role of "Claxton Back." The whole silent film thing gets thrown out when, well, The-Dream starts talking in the first scene. And man does he talk, gabbing with someone known as "M.T. Pockets" about $5,000 suits and hater-repellent cologne.

The song itself is a throwback to the minimal snap music of Ying Yang Twins, at least in terms of its beat. The-Dream serenades a singer on the stage, played by model Selita Ebanks, and generally flosses around various locales like a nightclub and a boutique. It's in the latter location where he's joined by T.I., who ups the testosterone factor by rapping about Harry Winston jewelry. It's all a lot of fun, and it doesn't take itself tremendously seriously.

Love King is out June 29.

Tags Selita Ebanks, T.I., The-Dream, video, Ying Yang Twins