4. Kelis “Caught Out There”
Kelis is a different kind of chick and she brought it with Number 4, “Caught Out There,” released in 1999. Doing the cheating song with the shout out chorus before Beyoncé with “Ring the Alarm” in 2006, I wasn’t sure what she was. Was she R&B? Was she rock? Electro?
As the Neptunes’ first muse, they experimented and created with Kelis without the pressures of world-wide success and renown. The quality of their work with Kelis is the reason why others flocked to work with them and especially Pharrell.
I haven’t been name-checking directors, but Hype Williams deserves to be name-checked for this one. He is known for creating video trends and then reinventing himself through new trends. Then he becomes known for those trends, but this video was outside the box of what even he had done. It stands out amongst his work.
With rainbow hair and an, arguably, feminist and anthemic first single, Kelis was on her way to being a video vanguard. This video and especially her second, “Get Along With You,” which I prefer, are testament to this. Though the ambition of these first two videos didn’t seem to translate to her future work, I wouldn’t count her out.
