Key Takeaways
- Gloria Velez said video vixens “evolved” into mothers, wives, business owners, artists, authors, and caregivers rather than disappearing after their music-video careers.
- The “Big Pimpin’” model pushed back after Cam’ron and Mase joked about former video stars returning to the “general population,” stressing that they were women working in entertainment—not a separate species.
- Velez noted that hip-hop still discusses women from that era, while figures like Bernice Burgos have converted music-video visibility into major followings and businesses.
Gloria Velez has an answer for anyone wondering what happened to the women who dominated hip hop videos in the late 1990s and early 2000s: They grew up and got on with their lives.
Velez responded after Cam’ron and Mase discussed old-school video vixens and wondered where the women went after their time in music videos ended. During the conversation, the group joked about whether the women simply returned to the “general population.”
Velez, whose credits include Jay-Z and UGK’s “Big Pimpin’,” Ja Rule’s “Holla Holla,” and DMX’s “What These B*tches Want,” pushed back on the premise.
“What exactly is wrong with general population?” Velez said in a response highlighted by MRECK TV. “We were never aliens, inmates, or some separate species. We were women working in entertainment. Then we grew up.”
Velez went on to spell out what that actually looks like decades later.
“We evolved. We became mothers, wives, business owners, authors, artists, caregivers—women living real lives,” she said. “Just because you don’t see someone on TV anymore doesn’t mean their life stopped.”
Velez was part of a generation of models whose appearances became nearly as recognizable as the rappers starring alongside them. In addition to her extensive video résumé, she modeled professionally as a teenager, appeared on television, and later pursued music herself.
The conversation also comes as women from that period continue to discuss what happened after the video-vixen era faded.
Bernice Burgos, who emerged during a later wave of hip hop modeling before becoming a major nightlife figure, previously discussed her own evolution on The Ish Podcast.
Burgos said music videos helped build her profile before her run bartending at New York’s Starlets exploded her popularity. Eventually, she left bartending for hosting gigs and turned her following into a business, launching her Bold and Beautiful clothing brand.
Burgos now has more than 7 million Instagram followers, but she has also become selective about what those followers get to see. She said she stopped publicly showing off romantic partners after learning that posting their gifts, jewelry, and other details brought attention she didn't want.
“I’m not going to give my man to the streets,” Burgos said. “Not doing that.”
She has been more open about other parts of her life, including cosmetic procedures. Burgos also documented undergoing body contouring with Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Ashkan Ghavami, saying she wanted to “reshape” her butt while sharing parts of the process with followers.
For Velez, however, the larger point is that disappearing from music-video rotation was never the same thing as disappearing.
“Meanwhile, the same women you’re trying to clown are somewhere living, building, raising families, helping people and minding business,” she said.
Velez also noted an irony in asking where the video vixens went: decades after their heyday, hip hop is still talking about them.
“So yes, sweetheart, we are among the general population,” she said, “and apparently still important enough to stay in your conversation.”
