MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Divo Music Video Jump-Offs – 5. Justin Timberlake “Cry Me a River”

So, it’s been a year since I started popolio.com and kicked it of with my first MY TOP 10 Countdown in September 2008.  Since popolio.com was jumping off, I kicked it off with MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs.  Well, this is the twelfth month, so I thought it would create nice symmetry if I presented the men as a bookend to that very first countdown before Year 2 officially begins.  This time around the Div-Os, or Divos, will get the spotlight.

5. Justin Timberlake “Cry Me a River”
So, though this was JT’s second single (the first was BONUS video “Like I Love You”) from his solo debut, Justified, I take it as his official jump-off  because it made quite the splash. It tackily interpolated his relationship with Brit-Brit, though.  Hey, this is just one editor’s opinion, but, I can’t deny the success of this video.  He was smart to enlist Timbaland to give his N’ Sync clean-cut boy sound a grittier urban upgrade. 

***BONUS*** Justin Timberlake featuring Clipse “Like I Love You”

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – 2. Missy Elliott “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”

2. Missy Elliott “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”

Formerly Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott and currently only Missy Elliott to the masses, her first video, Number 2, “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” released in 1997, set a high standard for the rest of her video work.  Missy had been behind-the-scenes writing for other artists for years, when she finally introduced herself as a solo artist, with Supa Dupa Fly, she kicked the door down.  A few rap cameos along the way didn’t hurt. 

Sampling Ann Peebles’ 1973 hit, “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” this video featured Missy’s simple yet clever, nonsensical, and fun rhymes.  There’s unintelligent lyricism and then there’s this.  I think Missy’s style is sometimes mistaken for the former.  With a stripped down, melodic, and well thought out flow, she definitely has influenced other artists since.   With rhymes more bulky and complex at the time, she brought an alternative style that harkened back to old school roots with a ‘90s update.

I’ll name-check Hype Williams once more, because the collaboration between him and Missy is really what made this video special.  His fish eye lens effect, at this point, was fresh and not overwrought.  Name-checking other hip hop/R&B artists and actually having them in the video was a fun treat for music fans.  And the black trash bag outfit was bananas.  

Though her latest release, Block Party, has had many delays and single changes, refreshingly, not a skinny thing, at the time, Missy was, and remains, a true multi-threat performer with stage presence and charisma that’s carried her through with trash bag, flawless makeup and ‘dos, tomboyish yet feminine style, and talents for rapping, singing, dancing, and producing.

 

MY TOP 10: 90s/00s Pop/R&B Diva Music Video Jump-Offs – 8. Jennifer Lopez “If You Had My Love”

8. Jennifer Lopez “If You Had My Love”

The beginning of the J. Lo pop revolution started with number 8, “If You Had My Love,” released in 1999.   She was On the 6 and we were all on the subway ride with her.  Though she didn’t get her urban make-over until Ja Rule lent his magic with the “I’m Real (Murder Remix)” in 2001, this video got the steam going through the first singles until the excitement of “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” and the J. Lo album, which put things into overdrive.

A portent of things to come for Jennifer and other pop-lets, it shows the world’s fascination with her through a mix of fans watching her every move on live room cams on her official website.  It was a clever use of modern media and examination of its implication on a pop star’s image, performance, and existence.

Maybe not the first video to incorporate the dance break, though it sure feels like it in the modern era.  Its influence is still felt today as Madonna and both Timbs are still doing it on “4 Minutes” in 2008.  Though her musical significance is in question today, at the time, we hadn’t had a grown dance diva with such flair since Janet, Madonna, and Paula before her.