I’m glad to see Mary is still making music for black people her own age.
While Rihanna forgot a long time ago that she was from the Caribbean…while Beyonce has been hangin out in teen-pop superstardom since her first bootybounce on a horn sample…while Janet can’t seem to make an album pitched to anybody older than 25 (or anybody with ears, really)…Mary is growing with her audience and I respect that. Mary is a 40 year old black person making music for other 40 year old black people.
Remember when Tisha Campbell had that album nobody bought? Well. Jasmine Guy had one too. Holler for 90s black sitcoms because without them, this spectacle would not exist. Ms. Guy was totally trying to get her Paula-Abdul on, but not every dancer can be a pop star. See, Paula never really tried to “sing” so it was just all light and breezy, but you can tell Jasmine went into the studio like “Look what I can do!”
Her awkward tone aside though, this is the jam. I rock this on the regular.
Like Beyonce had ever *ever* set foot in a trailer park before this video. I mean, I guess they had a good time? But it’s just something funky about a mega-rich person heading out to shoot a video and it’s like “oh hey, find me a bunch of poor people to put in this video so I can look ‘real’ and ‘down.’ Also, let’s shoot it where they live.”
Or maybe living a couple of miles from Occupy Wall Street has me full of shade and sideeye for the superrich. Where was Andre 3000 for this shoot? I liked his verse on the track, but I don’t know where he ran off to when the video came around. Probably somewhere having sense enough not to be involved with this.
Either way, Beyonce…..girl you can keep this mess. And all them bad fashions.
At least you didn’t copy anybody.
(But it does look like the 7 hours before Fiona Apple “Criminal”)
Hands down, absolute best debut video by a boyband ever. Make me dance? Check. Prove your vocal chops? Check. Look like you’re having insane amounts of fun? Check.
Plus, is it weird that I still don’t mind these clothes? Like, if a dude hit on me wearing any of these fashions, I would be like “Oh, word? That’s what you put together to hit the club today? Alright then. I can hang with that.”
(Except the jean shorts. Those are a crime against nature.)
When B2K came out, I was in high school and I was lookin at them like “omg mmmfffghhh take me now my body is ready” (for 3/4ths of the group anyway…I wish J-Boog would’ve kept his clothes on). B2K obviously stood for Bout 2 Knocksomeboots.
So now that I’m older, if I look at this video and say the same thing, does that make me a child rapist? Because they could still get it. As a matter of fact, the only reason to ever venture above 125th St in the summer is to run into guys who look like that.
Don’t stare or you might be on the wrong end of a hate crime though…
Track for track, album for album, Mary J. Blige has the most consistent discography of any R&B songstress.
