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Kanye West Posts 'Paranoid' Video, Starring Rihanna, On His Blog

Rapper releases clip after yet another unfinished version leaks online.

It's turning out to be video-premiere day on [artist id="1230523"]Kanye West's[/artist] 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 [artist id="1940303"]Rihanna[/artist].

An early version of the [article id="1612417"]"Paranoid" video leaked[/article] 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.

'Ye also premiered a [article id="1613162"]previously unreleased video for "Spaceship,"[/article] from his debut album, on Wednesday morning.

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."

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