This was so fun! I love the mix of contemporary and “vintage” visuals represented. One of my favorite 🍃activities is to watch late 90s/early 00s music videos and lament what going to the club is supposed to be. I’m talking 112, Nelly, Toni Braxton, even Bey.
Thanks for reading Jasmyne! I just did the same thing last weekend but hopefully you’ve got a new list of potential favourites to add in your next rotation
I absolutely loved reading this! 🖤🖤🖤 Reminded me of how obsessed I was with music videos back in the day, this is a selection of thee classics for real. Remember the Time and anything by Missy, the mid-late 90s/early 00s really were the golden era and I appreciate the links to new stuff that I wasn't aware of 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Y'all did a great job writing this! Oh how I miss the 90s and early 00s! This takes me down memory lane when I first heard the mentioned songs and kept them on constant replay.
We really were! I tell me kids they missed out lol
Now Missy? She had me at Supa Dupa Fly 😮💨. This woman was lightyears away from us with the creativity. An incredible artist and the visuals kept me craving for more. Now Busta was definitely another one that I admired as well. They always kept this high energy and I loved that.
Victora's visuals are also dope, you can tell the budget has increased with this last album.
I like nostalgia but not when it feels too derivative -- an example of this was Teyana Taylor's "How Do You Want It" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE81yGg7vls) I love Teyana and I get she was trying to pay homage but the combination of the song with the clear references in the visuals felt a bit rinse and repeat. I like an approach similar to Erykah Badu's "Honey" music video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFkHylBiPyQ) where she recreated classic album covers in a unique way and the track sounded like an Erykah Badu song -- not Erykah Badu trying to sound exactly like a song from 20+ years ago. Victoria Monet's "On My Mama" is another good example of doing nostalgia but making it your own.
Was a fan of Mavi’s first project and Kelela gets some regular spins in this household. I generally like nostalgia in music videos if it’s done well (Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” being a prime example) but I hate it when it’s just a lazy retread of what’s been done in the past. My favourite one, in recent memory, is Maxo’s time which has such warm and inviting cinematography and feels like a family album come to life: https://youtu.be/ovClC1IPfDc?si=YzZbb0wFkKEEmuhO
ANOTHER BANGER *Rema voice* Thank you for another rich offering!
I thoroughly enjoyed this and was thrilled to see the Donnell Jones 'This Luv' video. It's one of my favourite music videos! My highlight the discussion about videos being a lost art form and what makes a video great. You all beautifully articulated your thoughts! In April, The Guardian published an article the loss of the art form and there's also a podcast episode with the author.
I'd love to share The Black Film Critic Syllbus. It's created by Fanta Sylla, a Black, Paris-based writer. There's a section on music videos I feel pairs well with this article. The rest of the syllabus is worth sitting with!
Thank you for the kind words Slima, appreciate you reading! Will definitely have a proper look through the links you’ve posted as they’ve already piqued my interest with just an initial glance 👀
This was so fun! I love the mix of contemporary and “vintage” visuals represented. One of my favorite 🍃activities is to watch late 90s/early 00s music videos and lament what going to the club is supposed to be. I’m talking 112, Nelly, Toni Braxton, even Bey.
This is one of my favorite 🍃 activities as well haha
It’s the best 😂
Thanks for reading Jasmyne! I just did the same thing last weekend but hopefully you’ve got a new list of potential favourites to add in your next rotation
I absolutely loved reading this! 🖤🖤🖤 Reminded me of how obsessed I was with music videos back in the day, this is a selection of thee classics for real. Remember the Time and anything by Missy, the mid-late 90s/early 00s really were the golden era and I appreciate the links to new stuff that I wasn't aware of 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Thanks Jun, appreciate you reading and taking your time with this piece. There are lots of gems in it, some obvious and some hidden 🙏🏾
Y'all did a great job writing this! Oh how I miss the 90s and early 00s! This takes me down memory lane when I first heard the mentioned songs and kept them on constant replay.
I miss it too! I feel like such a old head when I try to explain how dope this era was to the youngins. You really had to be there.
Thanks Alex! You’re not the only one who feels that way. We truly were spoiled back then
We really were! I tell me kids they missed out lol
Now Missy? She had me at Supa Dupa Fly 😮💨. This woman was lightyears away from us with the creativity. An incredible artist and the visuals kept me craving for more. Now Busta was definitely another one that I admired as well. They always kept this high energy and I loved that.
I recently came across an artist called MAVI. I LOVE his music videos - they are very cinematic and I love how they play with shadows and light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvhOI92Z99o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eurzlJ4HvLw
Other current artists whose videos I love are Kelela and Victoria Monet.
On a seperate note, how do people feel about artists incorporating nostalgia in their videos? Who is doing this innovatively?
Thank you for sharing Mavi! I think that his concepts are simple but convey a theme/story well.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Kelela. Miss Certainly wrote an excellent write up about her that encapsulates her unique brand of magnetisim https://substack.com/@missmuseletter/p-144686015
Victora's visuals are also dope, you can tell the budget has increased with this last album.
I like nostalgia but not when it feels too derivative -- an example of this was Teyana Taylor's "How Do You Want It" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE81yGg7vls) I love Teyana and I get she was trying to pay homage but the combination of the song with the clear references in the visuals felt a bit rinse and repeat. I like an approach similar to Erykah Badu's "Honey" music video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFkHylBiPyQ) where she recreated classic album covers in a unique way and the track sounded like an Erykah Badu song -- not Erykah Badu trying to sound exactly like a song from 20+ years ago. Victoria Monet's "On My Mama" is another good example of doing nostalgia but making it your own.
Thank you for these! Yes, I feel Victoria is someone who uses nostalgia well.
Was a fan of Mavi’s first project and Kelela gets some regular spins in this household. I generally like nostalgia in music videos if it’s done well (Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” being a prime example) but I hate it when it’s just a lazy retread of what’s been done in the past. My favourite one, in recent memory, is Maxo’s time which has such warm and inviting cinematography and feels like a family album come to life: https://youtu.be/ovClC1IPfDc?si=YzZbb0wFkKEEmuhO
ANOTHER BANGER *Rema voice* Thank you for another rich offering!
I thoroughly enjoyed this and was thrilled to see the Donnell Jones 'This Luv' video. It's one of my favourite music videos! My highlight the discussion about videos being a lost art form and what makes a video great. You all beautifully articulated your thoughts! In April, The Guardian published an article the loss of the art form and there's also a podcast episode with the author.
Article: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/apr/05/has-tiktok-killed-music-videos
Podcast episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pop-pantheon/id1556457357?i=1000653542773
I'd love to share The Black Film Critic Syllbus. It's created by Fanta Sylla, a Black, Paris-based writer. There's a section on music videos I feel pairs well with this article. The rest of the syllabus is worth sitting with!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FRQsi_uWTBYoD0xt3YLc_Kq5SApV7x1FPotCB1wYf6Y/edit
Thank you for sharing these!
Thank you for the kind words Slima, appreciate you reading! Will definitely have a proper look through the links you’ve posted as they’ve already piqued my interest with just an initial glance 👀