The Best R&B Videos of the '90s

The smoothest, strongest jams of the decade, and the visual accompaniments that went with them— these are the Best R&B Videos of the '90s.

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Image via WikiCommons
50 things nas ether aaliyah plane crash

What makes a great R&B video? Charisma. Choreography. Sensuality. The kind of moving image that becomes impossible to shake every time you hear a song. In the '90s, R&B music videos were in their prime, and just as compelling as the gangster rap epics that dominated much of the decade. R&B artists had to step up with classic clips that might not have been as uptempo as everything else on MTV, but still evoked feelings of love and left people wanting to see them again the second they ended.

The era yielded endless sets of iconic imagery, the influence of which still persists to this day. Some heavyweights absolutely dominated this golden era of rhythm and blues visuals, while others made a brief, but grand, impression and faded away. Whether you're getting ready to argue this, or getting ready to bump-and-grind, these are The Best R&B Videos of the 90s for you to play for any occasion. 

Janet Jackson "Go Deep" (1998)

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Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

Album: The Velvet Rope

We've all had this dream before. Parents leave town for the weekend, then Janet Jackson and a group of her hottest girlfriends show up at your house unannounced, ready to party. Of course, this never really happens to teenagers anywhere, and the video acknowledges that, eventually revealing that the entire bash is an elaborate fantasy. That doesn't negate the awesome celebration that precedes the wake-up, though. It's still a model example of how to have a good time in the '90s.  -Ernest Baker

TLC "Unpretty" (1999)

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Director: Paul Hunter

Album: FanMail

This video for this No. 1 hit cost $1.6 million to produce for a reason. It's an amalgamation of everything that TLC stood for in their biggest decade. The clip weaves multiple narratives involving women with self-esteem issues, and shows how they overcome them. Chilli's boyfriend wants her to get breast implants, Left Eye's crime-ridden neighborhood has her down on her luck, and T-Boz is bullied because of her race—but they all persevere. And with such a massive budget, the triumph of each woman looks beautiful, too.  -Ernest Baker

Brandy "Baby" (1995)

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Director: Hype Williams

Album: Brandy

As simple as Brandy's argument about how "fine" her muse is, it was important that she set a stage for herself and she does just that in this video. From the close-up shots to the dance scenes, it feels like the songstress is in control at all times. They didn't even need to censor the company logos in the Times Square scenes because all eyes were on her anyway. -Brian Josephs

Mya f/ Silkk The Shocker "Movin' On" (1998)

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Director: G. Thomas Ferguson

Album: Blaque

First things first: This music video requires the massive suspension of disbelief that the dude in the video would cheat on Mya, rather than marry her and move to a desert island somewhere, which would be the natural inclination in the event that Mya agreed to date you. But once you've accepted that, it's tough not to be engaged by this video's modest charms.

Set in a high school, Mya-a cheerleader, natch-receives a note in class that her boyfriend Malik may not have been so honest with her. The song, of course, is about feeling conflicted about whether or not to stick with her man. Things get especially disturbing when she finds a pair of large underwear amongst his things: "Whose drawers are these? You know I wear a size four."

After she dances out her dilemma in a pair of Skechers sneaker wedges, Mya resolves to ditch her ballplayer boyfriend, even as he celebrates his basketball victory. Instead, she goes off with a guy who-well, we're not really sure what he does, but he's tall, has a red sports car and flashy clothes. Also, and just a side note: Silkk's guest verse is kinda nice here. -David Drake

Aaliyah "One in a Million" (1996)

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Director: Paul Hunter

Album: One in a Million

There's something special about this video from the opening shot. Aaliyah is lying on the hood of a Mustang; Timbaland and Missy Elliott occupy the two front seats. For the rest of clip, Ginuwine and Aaliyah take turns borderline stalking each other. The high-stakes pursuit gives new meaning to the song's mantra: "Your love love is a one in a million." - Ernest Baker

Ginuwine "Pony" (1996)

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Director: Michael Lucero

Album: Ginuwine...The Bachelor

Now this is something you don't see everyday. Ginuwine waltzes into a rodeo bar, starts doing some freaky dances on the stage, and what do you know, the people love it. In fact, Ginuwine turns the entire spot out and by the end, every lady on site is wearing a cowboy hat and ready to ride his pony. We're going to try that same strategy at the local watering hole this weekend. - Ernest Baker

R. Kelly "I Believe I Can Fly" (1996)

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Director: Hype Williams

Album: Space Jam: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture

Before the cornrows, there was the cornfield. R. Kelly's video for his inspirational Space Jam single keeps it simple, but all it takes is a few striking images to burn into your memory forever. The strongest of them all? Kellz leading an orchestra, complete with conductor wand and hands-free headset. His career, or look, hasn't been the same since. - Ernest Baker

Monica "The First Night" (1998)

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Director: Joseph Kahn

Album: The Boy Is Mine

Monica isn't going to have sex with you right away, and her method of letting you will be elaborate. Hence, this video. "The First Night" was a No. 1 hit in America, and the supporting visual pushed forward the thought that Monica was the nation's new sweetheart. The dance moves were cute, the concept was simple, and it all came together perfectly in front of the camera. - Ernest Baker

H-Town "Knockin the Boots" (1993)

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Director: Lionel C. Martin

Album: Fever for Da Flavor

Between R. Kelly, Next and Adina Howard, '90s R&B was all about eliminating innuendo. Songs were literal and imperative; sexuality in song required bald honesty. Parental euphamisms were corny and old hat. Rap music had brought a realness to R&B. Even slow jams weren't immune. "Knockin' Da Boots," while technically a euphamism, was a transparent one; the term was common slang, particularly after the song hit No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 1993. The video intercut footage of a couple engaged in some, erm, romantic activities, and wed it to shots of H-Town's vocalists flirting with the camera. Setting was almost irrelevent. Sometimes they appeared outdoors, in the snow, and other shots were inside. All that mattered was the way each singer made eye contact through the camera, seemingly connecting with each and every listener with confident sexuality. - David Drake

Donell Jones f/ Left Eye "U Know What's Up" (1999)

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Director: David Nelson

Album: Where I Wanna Be

Donnell Jones' 1999 hit "U Know What's Up" would become his biggest, topping the R&B charts and reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video is a strange meta-commentary on watching music videos, as it follows air ducts in a variety of apartments where some alternate version of Donnell Jones' video is playing on the TVs in each apartment. After a quick CGI-enhanced A/C airshaft voyage, we're transported to a room where a DJ is practicing his scratches, or where a girl is braiding her boyfriend's hair, or where one woman pole dances for a seated audience.

After guest rapper Left Eye strides through the halls dressed in angelic white, we arrive at a party in-progress, before the video ends with Donnell and his girl sitting together watching himself on TV. The video may have been a little off the familiar path, but it helped set the stage for the song's success. Where I Wanna Be, the album from which it was culled, went on to ship platinum, Jones' highest-selling record. - David Drake

Dru Hill "These Are The Times" (1998)

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Director: Bille Woodruff

Album: Enter The Dru

The lasting impression from this video: There's a sword fight. No, not that kind. Yes, Sisqo is in this video, but get your mind out of the gutter. We're talking about a real, steel-to-steel showdown that looks like something out of The Man With the Iron Mask. It goes to show just how far R&B videos were willing to push the envelope towards the latter end of the decade. Saved by the Bell actress Lark Voorhies plays the love interest and lines like "tear you up in little pieces, swallow you like Reese's Pieces" sound more epic than corny. A great video does that. - Ernest Baker

Keith Sweat "Twisted" (1996)

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Director: Paul Hunter

Album: Keith Sweat


Keith Sweat's "Twisted" starts off as a murder-mystery; a police commissioner is killed and robbed, and the culprit-who, as it turns out to the expected surprise of the audience, is a woman-escapes. Hyper-competent as a homicide detective, Sweat tracks her down. But as luck would have it, when Sweat steps out of the car to help an eldery woman with her bags, the criminal uses the distraction as her chance to flee. Is the sly smile she gives at this moment about her great luck, or it could be a deeper psychosexual connection? At any rate, Sweat is disappointed by his complete disregard for procedure regarding arrested suspects. But the story ends in grimmer territory. Hint: someone doesn't make it all the way through...alive. - David Drake

K-Ci and JoJo "All My Life" (1998)

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Director: Lara Schwartz

Album: Love Always


For a song as sincere and delicate as "All My Life," only the simplest of visuals would do, and that's what director Lara Shwartz delivers. K-Ci and JoJo are the focal point, as they perform in white scarves and black vests while surrounded by adoring fans. Cut scenes show people commiting acts of kindness, friendship, and compassion. JoJo reportedly wrote the song about his daughter, and the sweet sentiment is transferred to the video. "All My Life" was K-Ci and JoJo's only record to hit No. 1, so don't hold back when you're belting it, you know you know all the words. -Ted Simmons

Boyz II Men "Water Runs Dry" (1995)

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Director: Wayne Isham

Album: II


There's one thing everyone remembers about this video: sand. Lots of sand. Water certainly does run dry, because it's nowhere to be found amongst the massive dunes the Boyz sprint through and sing on. The video captured an epic feeling with a few sweeping shots and helped augment the grandiose nature of the group's mid-'90s run. The end of a relationship never felt so eventful. -Ernest Baker

Brian McKnight "Anytime" (1997)

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Director: Darren Grant

Album: Anytime


Brian McKinght is tired of returning to an empty home in his "Anytime" video, and pines for a past love to return. "Won't you come back to me?" he asks, and sure enough she does, but not while he's sprawled out on the couch, navel exposed. Instead, she welcomes herself in and sits down in Brian's survelinace room to watch him shower. That's not creepy at all, right? Well, McKinght can overlook such things to have his woman back in his life. -Ted Simmons

Usher "My Way" (1998)

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Director: Hype Williams

Album: My Way


"My Way" already hit high on the Billboard charts with its sexual, alpha male ambitions, so Usher had some leeway in this clip. The result: bowler hats, hockey sticks, intensely colorful blazers, and a dance-off. Think of an urbanized Clockwork Orange-style clip, with more Tyrese. -Brian Josephs

 

Aaron Hall "I Miss You" (1993)

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Album: The Truth


Gotta give it to Aaron Hall, this video kind of had it all. It starts off with Hall in a mansion, and you're thinking it's all gonna be, "I miss my girl and all I have is this empty mansion" but then bam! It goes straight into some raunchy sex shit. Are we even sure they could show this stuff on TV in the '90s? But then, it's all straight relationship and "I want to spend the rest of my life with you" scenes. Then shorty gets preggers and it's all like, "Wait, I thought this was about missing the gir-errr no! No! No! She's not gonna make it." Hall's exasperated singing actually kind of brings weight to those funeral scenes which we really should have seen coming. The video was actually rooted in deep, sincere pain for Hall. He told MTV in 2005, "My first son died. That's why I did the video 'I Miss You.'" -Insanul Ahmed

D'Angelo "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" (1999)

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Director: Paul Hunter

Album: Voodoo


The concept of this video is as simple as it gets: a naked man singing in front of a black background. But what brings this clip into a higher echelon is how it manages to transcend D'Angelo's abs. "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" isn't as much sensual as it is symbolic, representative of a raw, emotional nakedness that feels humane with the singer's body motions in the video. This sort of honesty is also conveyed at the very end when the track famously cuts out. D'Angelo looks insecure in the close-up shot. Physique is no substitute for longing. -Brian Josephs

Next "Too Close" (1998)

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Director: Billy Woodruff, Jake Nava

Album: Rated Next

After opening with a BMW chase scene, we're transported to some type of fantasy facility where women dance on men in public bathroom stalls. It's even more entertaining when you consider that this song is about getting a boner while grinding with a lady. The celebration in the video might seem apropos of nothing, but this is the music video world: There were already people racing luxury vehicles for no reason. It shouldn't be surprising that three dudes are throwing a party with choreographed dancers for a song about stiffies. -Ernest Baker

Jodeci "Get On Up" (1995)

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Director: Marcus Nispel

Album: The Show, the After Party, the Hotel

Jodeci's video for "Get On Up" is far from the average R&B video, and its influence isn't really felt in many of the other clips on this list, but where it is, some of the most memorable instances in the genre can be found with it. An entire black-and-white treatment of Charlotte, North Carolina (where the group was founded) covers the boys on the bus, literally: The guys stand on top of a bus, roll through the city, and assemble themselves what eventually turns into a parade for Jodeci. Not the worst parade. They scoop up folks from the basketball court, from their stoops, from playing jumprope in the street, from wherever, just for the sake of getting on up, as it were, ending the night with what appears to be an entire neighborhood gathered around a bus to dance.

The plot itself was a little blase, but the visuals were stunning if only for how distinct and uncontrived they felt at the time. It was a weirdly neo-soul direction for Jodeci, who were otherwise seen a pop group; this video helped them establish depth and critical attractiveness at a time when groups like Jodeci were finding it harder and harder to make a place for themselves in the contemporary R&B landscape of 1995. -Foster Kamer

TLC "Creep" (1994)

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Director: Matthew Rolston

Album: CrazySexyCool


The "Creep" video is one of the many times you physically see TLC's respective identities of crazy, sexy, and cool come into full effect. Sexy? No one could say the girls weren't rocking those silk pajamas like pros. Crazy? Those gritty black-and-white shots do have a lot of attitude to them. Cool? The entire vibe this video exudes. Sounds like a winning package. -Brian Josephs

Mariah Carey "Always Be My Baby" (1996)

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Director: Mariah Carey

Album: Daydream


The Fresh Air Fund named a summer camp after Mariah Carey for all her support of the organization—specifically, using the backdrop of a lake and a tire swing as her set in the video for "Always Be My Baby," a story of young love. It's a dream sequence of two young kids sneaking out from their bunks at summer camp to escape to a campfire by the lake. Carey still sings, even while the kids party by the fire, in her ultra-'90s full-denim ensemble. -Lauren Nostro

Bell Biv Devoe "Poison" (1990)

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Album: Poison


"Poison" is a fine example of early '90s R&B, and its video is a great example of how far special effects have come since then. Bell Biv Devoe use greenscreen to full effect here, superimposing people dancing over footage of other people dancing. It's like a collage of great throwback dances, but all layered together. Factor in a woman in a lab coat holding some bubbling beaker (newly brewed poision perhaps) and the sly manner in which the trio rise out of an outdoor cellar, and this video is pure perfection. The scene with bar goers dancing may have even been prescient, as nightlife DJs are still spinning this record today. -Ted Simmons

Sade "Cherish The Day" (1993)

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Director: Sophie Muller

Album: Love Deluxe

"Timeless" is an overused word when talking about music; for the most part, people say it when they mean, "This is music that I like." But Sade is a special case. The group's music seems particularly insulated against the sweeping changes and trends of the record industry, each song a perfect archetype of poised sexuality and romantic bravery. Similarly, their videos have a classy, artful and aesthetically timeless look, particularly once the group reached the 1990s, and the '80s fashions were left by the wayside.

Even deciding which Sade video would make the cut is a challenge; "Kiss of Life" is awash in color, reds and greens and late-night lights giving the song's intimate message an appropriately sensual visual, while "Ordinary Love"'s underwater mermaid video is a fantastically surreal setpiece. But it's the simplicity and beauty of "Cherish the Day" that stands above the rest, as Sade Adu stands amongst New York City, surrounded by skyscrapers, hand wrapped around the neck of her guitar. It's a stark, iconic video, and one as timeless as the buildings around it. -David Drake

Destiny's Child "Bills Bills Bills" (1999)

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Director: Darren Grant

Album: The Writing's on the Wall

Never forget where Beyoncé started, and no it wasn't from the bottom, it was from the hair salon. Well, this is actually very true. Her mother, Tina Knowles, was a hairdresser when Bey was a kid, so she grew up singing in her mom's salon and asking patrons for a few bucks. So, of course, the video for "Bills Bills Bills" starts off in a hair salon. It was meant as an empowering song for ladies who are stuck paying for all of their dude while he mooches off of her-"a triflin', good for nothing type of brother."

This was the lead single from Destiny Child's second album, and it succeeded not only because of the song, but because in the video, they once again coordinate their outfits and dance moves flawlessly. To boot, it's the last time you see original members LeToya and LaTavia before DC became just 3—Kelly, Michelle, and Bey. -Lauren Nostro

Montell Jordan "This Is How We Do It" (1995)

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Director: Hype Williams

Album: This Is How We Do It


Let's be honest: Despite his various hits, the one song everyone knows from Montell Jordan is "This Is How We Do It." As well, they should, it's a great song and was a huge hit that still gets burn today. It aged so gracefully that we're all willing to forgive the misguided rapping. Believe it or not, it became the first Def Jam single to hit hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 so you know the video got heavy rotation back in the day.

The party was definitely up on the West Side. For one, the whole card playing routine reminds us of scenes in Menace To Society. Plus, the house party vibes are similar to the film House Party but also, Snoop's "Gin And Juice" video, which dropped a year prior. And finally, when Montell sports the dark shades and leans against the wall (all R&B videos must have singers leaning against the wall), we can't help but smirk and think he's channelling The D.O.C. No one can do it better? -Insanul Ahmed

Brandy and Monica "The Boy Is Mine" (1998)

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Director: Joseph Kahn

Album: The Boy Is Mine/Never Say Never


"The Boy is Mine" was both Brandy and Monica's first No.1 single. They followed up with perfect visuals-feuding neighbors, two of R&B's finest, and Mekhi Phifer. Brandy and Monica are, hence the title, both dating the same guy. They vent to their friends, wait for him to call, and cuddle up with Mekhi in back-to-back scenes. But just when Mekhi thinks he's winning both R&B songstresses-he has to chose between Apt. 6 and Apt. 7. After quite a bit of tension between Brandy and Monica, they unite in the hallway, throw all of his belongings out, and then answer the door together when he comes calling. Take that, boys. -Lauren Nostro

Mariah Carey f/ Ol' Dirty Bastard "Fantasy (Remix)" (1995)

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Director: Mariah Carey

Album: Daydream

If you hate clowns, Ol' Dirty Bastard has your back. In the original video for "Fantasy," a clown greets viewers in the first frame. ODB takes care of that in the remix clip and ties that scary motherfucker up. The video takes you from a day at Coney Island to a night show of Mariah hanging out on top of a Hummer. We watch Mariah riding on the Cyclone, rollerblading on the boardwalk, and flaunting for the camera. ODB gets weird as hell introducing his verse when he dons a short wig, sunglasses, and takes his top off, but soon enough, he's rapping in a flannel windbreaker and Timbs. What a day. Lauren Nostro

Total "Can't You See?" (1995)

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Director: Sean "Puffy" Combs

Album: Total

This video finds Puffy sitting on the director's chair and stepping into his aesthetic, though not quite taking it to the maximalist conclusion auteurs like Hype Williams would help him later achieve. You can see some of the elements that would later appear in the other Bad Boy videos: The coordinated outfits (Total in all black everything, Big and Puffy in pants as white as Tommy Hilfiger), the flawless location, and the pristine gloss of the cinematography. Our only beef: Watching this video on YouTube just doesn't do it justice. Can we please get someone to post an HD version of this? We're trying to see Puffy being all in the video dancing while Big raps so we can make a GIF out of it. Insanul Ahmed

Whitney Houston "I'm Every Woman" (1992)

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Director: Randee St. Nicholas

Album: The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album

Real talk, you're not soft if you wanna shed a tear while you watch this video, b. This video is just, like, Whitney Houston at her happiest and most beautiful and it really strikes a chord, especially after her passing. This is the type of video you remember your mom being excited about while you were playing with Power Rangers. We know how important Whitney sitting on that chair, belting out "I Will Always Love You" is, but outside of that moment, that video's like watching The Bodyguard. Watch "I'm Every Woman" and try to say it's not better. You had singer of the original, Chaka Khan, writer of the original, Valerie Simpson, and emerging stars, TLC, all in the video flexing. Tons of girls are dancing in every shot. The whole thing's just crazy. Whitney's Grammy-winning cover is truly timeless, and the video has a lot to do with it. Ernest Baker

TLC "What About Your Friends" (1992)


20. TLC "What About Your Friends" (1992)

Director: Lionel C. Martin
Album
: Ooooooohhh.... On The TLC Tip

Talk about a time trip. Before TLC became the representation of sexuality and class with CrazySexyCool, the trio looked more like by-products of the New Jack era. Not that this was a bad thing, because it did give us this "What About Your Friends" video. The fashion choicesespecially the late-Left Eye's huge top hat and that famous condom covering her left lenwas so ahead of its time that it's ironically become timeless. It's something special to see the girls having so much fun, at the very beginning of their careers, too. Brian Josephs

Ghost Town DJs "My Boo" (1996)

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Director: Rubin Whitmore II

Album: So So Def Bass All-Stars

Summer 1996 was flooded with constant airplay of the Ghost Town DJ's "My Boo." There was the So So Def beach party. Women were dancing in neon outfits. And the Ghost Town DJ's were busy painting their nails, washing their car, and dancing around in towels. The music video gave men a look into just how damn long it takes women to get ready for a party. But really, twerking in bikinis, dudes riding on bikes, everyone jumping into the poolit was a summer dream. Jermaine Dupri keeping an eye over his beach party from the lifeguard chair was just icing on the cake. Lauren Nostro

Blackstreet "No Diggity" (1996)

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Director: Hype Williams

Album: Another Level


It's almost like Teddy Riley, his Blackstreet cohorts, and Dr. Dre knew this song would shoot straight to No. 1 as soon as they stepped onto the set of this music video. There's limos, dancers in knee pads, and Riley's own version of Lil Penny on the piano. Everything in the visual lends itself to how momentous this song felt at the time. Seemingly every video has a "walking through the club" shot, but the cinematography in "No Diggity" makes that simple action feel like an event again. You finally and fully understand just why you have to pay "just for shorty bang bang to look your way." Ernest Baker

Adina Howard "Freak Like Me" (1995)

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Director: Hype Williams

Album: Do You Wanna Ride?

Cold shower time. It was the song that inspired Ghostface to brag that he could put its performer to sleep. "Freak Like Me" grabbed a G-funk beat and a particularly suggestive performer named Adina Howard for a track that was very overtly sexual. The video built on the song's obvious sexual undertonesor, perhaps, overtoneby featuring Howard, clad in a leather jacket, grinding in a yellow satin bedspread, winking suggestively, with a fair amount of ass-movement.

Her dancers shook short skirts while fountains sprayed, and Adina and friends flirted at a stoplight before ending up at a dance party to close out the video. But what was most impactful, outside of the plentiful gyrations and cleavage shots, was that Howard's physical presence came with an incontrovertibly aggressive confidence. Notice that she's not even the one unbuckled in the Mercedes convertibleshe's in the drivers seat. David Drake

112 "Only You" (1996)

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Album: 112


For starters, you have 112 cruising through New York City, standing in a Hummer with the massive sunroof open. Then there's Biggie rapping in front of a crowd in Times Square, and Ma$e doing the samein a racing jacket. His is red, Puffy's is blue, and 112 looks like a motocross team with their matching gear. These are the type of details you notice anytime you watch this video, and the visuals that remain burned in your brain anytime you hear the song. It all feels very legendary. Like, when else can you recall seeing Biggie out in Times Square rocking a blue polo? That's all it really took to make this video an instant classic. And the requisite Diddy bopping isn't bad, either. Ernest Baker

Erykah Badu "On and On" (1997)

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Director: Paul Hunter

Album: Baduizm

It opens with a wide crane shot over a green field, and the title card, in pink, cursive lettering: A story by Erykah Badu. You knew something was different from that first frame. The camera follows Baduas a maid in a black rural house from a bygone eraas she goes from one house chore to another. Sure, it was a very loose take on (or tribute to) the movie The Color Purple, but really, was so much more than that as a moment: The beginning of Badu's hovering reign over all neo-soul acts to come in the next decade. Throwing on an apron, and spitting a piece of wheat out, she gets to work, throwing strands of hair from that giant bun on her head out of the way every now and then as she does a little girl's hair, and the laundry, but the most striking moment of the video? When Badu, after getting mud on her face, looks up into the camera at 2:26, reciting the song's line as the bass drops out: Damn, y'all feel that?

This video was the combination of sheer, unfiltered charisma, sensuality, the striking image of a Nubian goddess, on MTV of all places. And yeah, there's a nice jazz "club" scene in the end, with Badu in that stunning jade green dress, but the video is already a classic before you get to it. Neo-soul had a new standard, at that point, and wouldn't make another impact on MTV quite like that one until D'Angelo's "Untitled," at the beginning of the new millenium. Foster Kamer

Lauryn Hill "Doo Wop" (1998)

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Director: Big TV!

Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

"Don't be a hard rock when you really are a gem," was Lauryn's advice for women in her one and only No. 1 hit, "Doo Wop (That Thing)." The two-time Grammy winning track off The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill got split-screen visuals in the Big TV! produced video. Taking place in Washington Heights, Lauryn performed at two block parties from two generations1967 and 1998, which displayed the vast differences between men and women during the 30-year gap. Lauren Nostro

Toni Braxton "You're Making Me High" (1996)

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Director: Bille Woodruff

Album: Secrets

While the exquisite Toni Braxton, dressed in all-white in front of an abstract blue backdrop (as if, perhaps, high enough to touch the sky), sang her song of obsession while making some of the world's most seductive glances, a group of women convened at a table and graded men using playing cards as they enter the room. But cycling through male types while each woman waits for her ripped hero to take her down the elevator seems almost like a half-hearted attempt to not completely lose a straight female audience, because it is Braxton's presence in the video that draws the most attention; every move she makes on the screen seems designed to draw all eyes to her and her song of confident, prurient devotion. David Drake

Usher "Nice & Slow" (1998)

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Director: Hype Williams

Album: My Way


If it's seven o'clock on the dot, you know where Usher will be: dancing on top of a partitian with his shirt barely buttoned. That's how the "Nice & Slow" video kicks off, but before long, the young Ursh is making out with Kimora Lee Simmons and playing guitar in front of the Eiffel Tower. But why stop there? Director Hype Williams then has the couple stopped in the middle of the highway, where Usher is assaulted and Russell's former wifie is abducted and kept in a cage.

Things don't get any nicer or slower from there, as Usher proceeds to rescue his girl by entering some abandoned building on a motorcycle (with an eye patch), creating a diversion, and leg-sweeping his enemies just in time for he and his boo to escape. Ever the explosives expert, the building is blasted to pieces as the two flee the scene.

"Nice & Slow" was Usher's first No. 1 single, and the singer, who was 20 at time, lets his youthful ambition show in this vid. Dance around shirtless in Paris, defeat local gangsters, and save the girl? Must be nice. Ted Simmons

Mary J. Blige "Real Love" (1992)

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Director: Marcus Raboy

Album: What's the 411?


To understand some of Mary's appeal back in the day, you need to consider what she wasn't to realize what she was. She wasn't a material girl, she wasn't a pop princess, she wasn't exactly a diva either-though there were elements of all those things. Nah, Mary was real. Mary was the beautiful, fly, wonderful girl down the block but she could belt out vocals with the best of them and she had a hip-hop swagger. That's why the video for "Real Love" is so great even though it wasn't as revolutionary as her music at the time: It pulled off a neat trick of somehow making her look both approachable and iconic. Mary herself isn't actually all that visible throughout the clip, her face is often in the shadows mimicking the album's cover art.

The video is quite unlike the videos Puffy's artists would later become known for. (No, Puffy didn't direct this, but like with all the artists he worked with, you could just feel his presence lurking somewhere) With its simple backdrop, dancers, and the classic "R&B singer standing up against a wall nodding and singing" stance, it was more than enough. Insanul Ahmed

D'Angelo "Brown Sugar" (1995)

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Director: Brett Ratner

Album: Brown Sugar


D'Angelo is back to making music and performing, which is especially beautiful if you revisit his video for "Brown Sugar." A younger D'Angelo performs at a small jazz club, but not before he's lectured by an old man in an elevator about brown sugar-and he's not talking about the kind of brown sugar that you can buy in the supermarket. D'Angelo serenades patrons at the club over the piano and the video flashes to hot scenes in the bathroom, and lots of ladies getting down in the lounge. Lauren Nostro

Janet Jackson "That's The Way Love Goes" (1993)

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Director: René Elizondo, Jr.

Album: janet.


Just a bunch of ladies, kicking it in Janet's loft, dancing around to music. It's a really, really simple formula, and compared to Janet's later high-tech repetoire of videos, decidedly lo-fi. And yet: Janet oozes sexuality as she dances with the ladies around the apartment, leaning on walls, looking up at the ceiling, possibly thinking thoughts about her then-husband René Elizondo Jr, who directed the clip. Again, simple, but somehowwith the power of seemingly limitless charisma, especially when metered out and not unleashed full-force, all at oncgolden. And yep, that's definitely future R&B star Jennifer Lopez as a background dancer, moving to star choreographer Tina Landon's moves. Foster Kamer

Salt-N-Pepa f/ En Vogue "Whatta Man" (1993)

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Director: Matthew Rolston

Album: Very Necessary


The song was already one of the greatest pop collaborations of its time: R&B girl group En Vogue and the first truly successful all-female rap group, Salt-N-Pepa. But the clip was a challenge: Videos driven by women in a starring role (as opposed to that of props for male rappers) was still, even then, territory that needed more mapping. So director Matthew Rolston-who'd already directed for En Vogue before with the "My Lovin (Never Gonna Get It)" clip-went with what he knew best: Take these two incredibly sexy acts, and dress them in their sexiest, and get their natural charisma firing on all cylanders.

How much coaching Rolston had to give the two actsif anwe may never know. We do, however, know this: The girls just being girls (when they weren't hot, naked sillouettes or in a bubble bath), rapping and having a good time, interspersed with cuts of the namesake men, Spinderella on a bear rug, and ending with some lady-on-man chair dancing resulted in a classic clip that won three VMAs that year (Best Choreography, Best R&B Video, Best Dance Video) and shot Salt-N-Pepa further into fame than they already were. [Of note: Any video where cameos by Treach and 2Pac go missed by most people has to have something great going on in it.] Foster Kamer

R. Kelly "Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)" (1995)

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Director: R. Kelly, Hype Williams

Album: R. Kelly

Truly one of the great cinematic experiences in all '90s R&B music history, R. Kelly's "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" wasn't just about the musical alignment of one of the '70s defining sensual legacy acts with the '90s most lascivious leading light. It introduced the Mr. Biggs saga to the world as well. Mob boss Mr. Biggs was played by Ronald Isley; he's introduced at the beginning of this video as a wealthy man headed on a business trip. R. Kelly shows up at the mansion of Mr. Biggs, who gives him a stack of money and "keys to the Bentley," asking that he take out Mr. Biggs pretty young wife, Lila (played by Garcelle Beauvais), giving her "anything that she asks for." "But you must never touch her," Mr. Biggs adds ominously. You can already see where this is headed.

"Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" was a song about temptation and internal torment over forbidden love. Mr. Biggs discovers the duo's secret; his goons beat Kells and leave him for dead in the middle of the desert. While he recovers in a hospital....well, we'll leave the rest for you to find out. David Drake

Fugees "Killing Me Softly" (1996)

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Director: Aswad Ayinde

Album: The Score

Watching this video only makes us think one thing: They need to bring back payphones. Why you ask? Well, the guy on the payphone is in this video was holding it with so much damn swag ('90s tip: Cool people hold a payphone near the mouthpiece, only a square holds it at the middle) that a girl not only eye fucks him but invites him to the men's bathroom for a romp. Meanwhile, Lauryn and the Fugees are chilling in the theater watching a movie having a good time. Of course, it isn't meant to be and a fight breaks out. Now usually, we're the first to call out cats for getting all violent but shiiiiit, you'd be annoyed too if Wyclef was all chanting, "One time, one time," while you were trying to enjoy some high quality cinema. Yet, somehow through it all, Lauryn is all smiles and giggles. It must have been whetever popcorn she was crunching on out of that Fugees memorabilia box. Can someone please tell us where we can get one of those? Insanul Ahmed

Boyz II Men "Motownphilly" (1991)

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Director: Lionel C. Martin

Album: Cooleyhighharmony

Boyz II Men's legacy might be best summed up by their repetoire of mid-90s tearjerker R&B ballads, but the first single off their first album was anything but: An uptempo, drum-driven new jack swing banger. And the video? Just four charming men, in matching orange sportscoats and white jeans, with fairly decent moves, dancing their way through Philadelphia locales: Geno's Steaks. Their high school. South Street. On a boat! In black and white! Doing high kicks? Yes. Also: Chilling at Temple University in the dorm, and the dorm kitchen, and yes that is totally Questlove drumming in their kitchen in 1992. There are something like 11 different setups and 14 different camera lenses in this video, and that's before Michael Bivins shows up to drop a verse (and also, use their toilet, and look up the skirts of women attending their party from below the kitchen table).

From the high top fades, to the dance moves, to the strategic placement of women in the video (not too distracting, but still eye candy no less), to the outfits, to the commitment to their hometown, the "Motownphilly" video found a way to make what is a fundamentally old-school R&B quartet not just cool, but downright awesome for men and women alike. It was a crucial first video, and was pulled off with few (if any) flaws. Foster Kamer

Aaliyah "Are You That Somebody?" (1998)

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Director: Mark Gerard

Album: Dr. Dolittle (Soundtrack)

If you're looking for that special somebody, make sure they have access to your secret cave and know how to dance. That's the basic premise of the visual for Aaliyah's Dr. Doolittle smash. Her baggy clothes felt revolutionary, the choreography was groundbreaking, and for good measure, there's Timbaland rapping in a wave cap and a night owl on Aaliyah's arm. Ms. Haughton and her dancers turn things up when they switch to all-black dress attire for the finale, but even then, it's already been apparent that you're witnessing one of the greatest videos ever for at least a few minutes now. Ernest Baker

Michael Jackson "Remember The Time" (1992)

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Director: John Singleton

Album: Dangerous

Do you remember the time when music videos where high-budget short films? Michael was one of the best at taking a four-minute song and injecting it with narrative, choreography, characters, intrigue-all of it. It's a testament to the showman and performer MJ was, and "Remember the Time" shows that he knew no limits when it came to his work.

Set in ancient Egypt, the video, directed by John Singleton, shows Eddie Murphy as the pharaoh Ramses, trying to entertain his Queen, supermodel Iman. After two jesters fail and are swept away to be executed ("That's cold," says a gong-ringing Magic Johnson), Michael the wizard enters and mystifies with illusion and nostalgia, singing to Iman about the time they fell in love. Eddie doesn't take too kindly to this reminiscence, and a chase ensues.

The pharaoh's guards are no match for Michael's theatrics and dance moves, though. An elaborate tutting sequence closes out the video, and the gloved one turns back into dust just in time. Michael may not have been a real life wizard, but by providing cinematic moments like this, he showed that his talents were simply magical. Ted Simmons

Mariah Carey "Honey" (1997)

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Director: Paul Hunter

Album: Butterfly

When "Honey" dropped, Mariah Carey and ex-husband Tommy Mottola were in midst of a very public divorce. Naturally, Mariah came out with a video starring herself trapped in a luxurious mansion only to escape to an island and ecstatically frolic on the beach, roll in the sand, spin in circles with her lover-and play with her real life dog. After escaping from the clutches of guest star Eddie Griffin, we see Mariah in what might be her hottest outfit ever. She slow motion hops out of her crib's window, into a pool, and strips off her dress in exchange for a wetsuit, before speeding off on a jet skii. The outfit change is as legendary as the shimmy she does with her dancers in sailor suits aboard the video's boat. "Honey" is everything you want in a music video-a hot song, a sexy singer, action, and swimming in Gucci pumps. Lauren Nostro

TLC "Waterfalls" (1995)

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Director: F. Gary Gary

Album: CrazySexyCool

Noted for its $1,000,000 price tag and high-profile Hollywood direction, TLC's landmark video for "Waterfalls" was worth the investment. The clip weaves two tragic narratives in with what was groundbreaking CGI technology at the time. There were elaborate sets that allowed it to appear like the girls were standing on water. There was sweeping cinematography with aerial shots of New York City mixed in with remote nature locations. The scenario involving the troubled, drug-dealing teen who gets murdered and the one about the guy who contracts HIV both play out better in a visual setting. The lyrics impacted on the record alone, but there's nothing like actually seeing someone's life fall apart. Put a translucent TLC in front of a waterfall, add some sentimental moments, and you can't go wrong. Ernest Baker

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