If this week’s music videos have anything in common, it’s that many of them are flush with violence and disturbing visions. But my two favorite of the week didn’t have any of that, even though the razor gloves and anthropomorphic horses probably could’ve been freakout material in other directors’ hands. Instead, Perfume Genius and Nat Baldwin gave us perfectly sweet and romantic, albeit weird, visions. Check out our picks below.

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Back in November, the stoner-rap production mastermind Madlib and the virtuosic Indiana tough-guy rapper Freddie Gibbs teamed up for a single called “Thuggin’,” which proved that they two had way better collaborative chemistry than you might expect. They’ve also got an album together coming out, but in the brand-new “Thuggin’” video, Gibbs seems bent on reminding the world that he is nobody’s idea of a backpacker, no matter which producer he might be working with. In director Jonah Schwartz‘s video, Gibbs plays the kind of guy who robs and murders drug dealers, pimps women, sells crack, and buys gigantic artillery from equally shady dudes. And, as we only find out in the video’s closing seconds, he also raps. It’s a harrowing but beautifully filmed video, and you can watch it below.

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The line between Young Jeezy and J Dilla is now that much thinner. On Friday night, Californian underground rap mainstay Madlib announced a new project with Indiana mixtape murderer Freddie Gibbs, and the two debuted two new songs, “Thuggin’” and “Deep.” Both of those tracks also appear, alongside instrumental versions and bonus beats, on a new collaborative EP named Thuggin’. And the duo also plan to release a collaborative album together early in 2012. Suggested title: Gibbslib. Below, listen to “Thuggin’,” on which Gibbs sounds right at home on Madlib’s lushly splintered track.

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“Accordion”‘s been a Madvillain favorite since MF Doom and Madlib joined forces on 04′s Madvillainy. We like it even more today, this shadowy Andrew Gura-directed video piping it back through the cranium, reminding us what was so excellent in the first place. The simple, effective visuals find Doom in a hallway spitting into the camera, Daedelus handling the title instrument and a silhouetted lady writhing all over the place. Maybe “writhing” isn’t the right word for it.

But speaking of words, that song’s really packed. How many great lines can a person cram into less than two minutes? Shot in ’04, around the time of Madvilliany‘s release, the previously unseen video’s included on Stones Throw 102: In Living the True Gods, Stone Throw’s first DVD. You can get more info a the label’s site. Of course, you realize where the DVD title came from. Like we said, great lines.

Stones Throw Records, the same crew that brought you the Talib/Madlib killer Liberation earlier this year, are back with another get-it-while-you-can, free download record Chrome Children Vol. 2, featuring (mostly) new hip hop tracks including two instrumentals from Madlib and cuts from Four Tet (with J Dilla protégé Guilty Simpsion), M.E.D. (with Ghostly’s Dabrye), and The Jazzistics (Madlib’s new jazz group). As for the old, Chrome brings ’70s funk reissues from Chocolate Star, Cliff Nyren, and Gary Wilson, and closes with a cut from NWA founding-member Arabian Prince, who’s set to have a comp out on Stones Throw this year. Here’s two of our faves to get ya started:

Guilty Simpson (Produced by Four Tet) – “Money Motivated Movements” (MP3)
M.E.D. (Produced by Dabrye) – “Rhymes With An L” (MP3)

Grab the rest of the MP3s at Stones Throw, or the full zip here.

Enjoy.

Circumventing the inevitable leak, Talib’s making a New Year’s gift of his collab with Madlib, offering up the entire, nine-track effort as a free zip. This from the man who made Kool-Aid say “Oh Yeah”‘s MySpace:

Happy New Year! Liberation is here! Shout out to my brother Mad Lib, for being so creative and inspirational, and for giving me a canvas to paint on. This project was inspired by his consistency, it was something I wanted to be a part of. In this era of over produced and over marketed product, Mad Lib leads the pack of independent artists who could care less about all of that. I am a part of the music industry, and lord knows I’m needed, but for our own sanity we must step outside the system and create that which is not packaged for mass consumption. This is also a gift to the fans who stick by me whether some corporation is currently promoting me or not. Now, I love all music, and my albums so far, including eardrum, reflect those influences. This album is a straight ahead, sample driven hiphop record, from two of the best doing it. Some fans will say this is the sound they want to hear from me all the time. If so, congratulations, you got your wish. However, do not use this to speculate what eardrum will sound like. It is a different project with different influences.

Download it here (via Nah Right). Add this to Mos’s True Magic, and you have yourself an update of Black Star in the ’07.

Enjoy.