The Resurgence of the Music Video

If you’re a 90’s kid like me, then your throwback memories include running home after school to watch music video premieres from you favorite artists. Yo! MTV Raps, TRLand 106 & Park (under the Free and AJ reign) all had a little something for everyone. The anticipation built for weeks and even months as you anticipated the big release, hoping it would align with the imagery in your head. Some music videos delivered, others..not so much.

YOU COULD ALWAYS EXPECT A GOOD STORY TO MATCH THE LYRICS.

Michael Jackson set the bar relatively high in 1983 with the 13-minute long music video for Thriller. Zombies are all the rage these days thanks to The Walking Dead, but a black man raising some dancing fools from the dead was unheard of for MTV. What a hell of a way to shatter the glass ceiling.

Other artists tried to up their game with massive budgets, bizarre looks and of course bigger hair. The 1980’s and big hair are one in the same. While his follow-up videos were shorter, Michael kept with the same action and suspense in videos like Bad and Smooth Criminal. Little sister Janet, was one of the very few that could keep up with Michael’s long-form videos. Her award-winning Rhythm Nation 1814 Film became an instant classic notably for the hardcore choreography and iconic, militant outfits.

THE JACKSON’S SET THE PACE, BUT COULD THE 90’S KEEP UP?

With the turn of a new decade, the lyrics became a bit harsher depicting the ruggedness of the street violence in urban America. Groups like N.W.A and EMPD were already on the scene rapping about the revolution and you know, f*ck the police. A new class followed with the same message and a different vibe. 2Pac’s 1991 hit, Brenda’s Got a Baby, told a story of a black, uneducated 12-year-old girl who was pregnant in the ghetto as a result of incest. The music video matched exactly what Tupac described on the track. We watched Brenda tossed the baby in the dumpster. Brenda prostituted herself. Brenda died. The story sounds so disturbing, yet it became so real watching Tupac tell it. How often did we hear about the Brenda’s of the world at that time? Here we have a music video serving the purpose of entertainment and awareness.

On the other side of urban music, R&B artists had a diverging agenda. TLC was all about safe sex and loving your potential. The 1994 music video for Waterfalls addressed HIV and selling drugs in two different stories over a five minute span. R. Kelly was in love and lust with another man’s woman. Remember when we met Mr. Biggs in Down Low? No one deserved that kind of ass whipping. Everywhere you looked, the plot thickened. It seems like everybody was cheating. En Vogue’s Don’t Let Go (Love) and Xscape’s Who Can I Run To exposed love triangles. The list goes on and on. Younger artists of the time came on the scene with their own unique storytelling. Usher took us to Paris in 1997 for a duel of his kidnapped lover in Nice and Slow as Mya broke free from her father’s harsh thumb in My First Night with You.

Y2K ARRIVED AND MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR’S SUDDENLY GAVE UP..OR SO IT SEEMED.

Hype Williams was and still is one of the most sought after music video directors from the 1990’s and early 2000’s. His extensive videography stretches across diverse artists all with a unique touch on their music videos. symbolizing alternative themes. Artists were now “flossin’ and glossin’” for three to five minutes. Every now and then, the video ended with a surprising plot twist, but don’t hold your breath. With the start of a new millennium, music videos didn’t seem to evolve to much more than “bling” and half-naked women. I won’t go into the disgusting nature of videos shown on BET: Uncut. Enter: soft pornography.

ONCE SISQUO’S MUSIC VIDEO FOR “THONG SONG” DROPPED, THE GAME CHANGED.

Hip hop artists were already on the come up from the hood and now their tone changed to show how they had made it. The definition of making it were Armani suits, hot video girls, passing the Courvoisier and fast cars. R&B artists were busy “getting their mack on”, pushing the envelope with sex scenes. R. Kelly introduced a so-called “rap opera” with a series of music videos from Trapped in the Closet. It’s safe to say we were all let down by chapter 12. Michael Jackson reintroduced the long-form style of music videos in 2001 with You Rock My World, but very few artists followed suit. The following year, Eminem dropped a video for Stan, a word we’ve all come to know and love about crazed fans with a twisted obsession for celebrities. The extended version ran eight minutes long.

By 2009, YouTube had taken over. No one was waiting all day to watch a music video premiere on television, which would only show pieces of it instead of the full length. The anticipation had died. Artists began sidestepping the network, directly releasing their work on their websites. You could go months without seeing your favorite artist in a music video and be perfectly okay with it. Nowadays we’re all about live performances, silly Instagram videos and reckless tweets. Forget the script and high dollar budget, musicians are using social media to express themselves while giving fans exclusive content. Nicki Minaj and Beyonce’s Feeling Myself had the most notable music video release this year, stirring up a frenzy on the internet after subscribers were initially only able to access it exclusively on Tidal (not to mention Bey’s entire self-titled album in 2013). There has been another shift in the music video dynamic presented this month.

RIHANNA BUILT UP HYPE AT THE BET AWARDS WITH A TEASER OF “BITCH BETTER HAVE MY MONEY” BEFORE THE RELEASE.

Then it happened. If you were on Twitter in the wee hours of the morning a few weeks ago, everyone was buzzing about the insanity and revenge conjured up by bad girl RiRi. Violence, nudity and drugs. Even she thinks the video will soon be banned. The reception has been mixed but mama has everyone talking. Big Sean also dropped Play No Games the same week channeling 90’s sitcom Martin and recreating spot on scenes. (Sorry Chris Brown, you look nothing like Cole.) And finally, Sir Kendrick Lamar’sAlright; 6 minutes of his metaphysical work straight in the hood.

What do these three have in common? A story. Music videos have certainly evolved from the early days. There are plenty of stories to be told with creative minds eager to share them.