MK Meditation 📌 001: Heat, sweat, and relatability in summer music videos

My heart is like burnin' up!

I’m still on Twitter (I refuse to call it X) for the people. My timeline is still curated to center folks that I genuinely enjoying engaging with, Amber being one of them. When I saw her above tweet, my mind instantly started playing music videos I grew up watching as a kid.

The first one to come to mind was “I’m Gonna Be Alright” with Jennifer Lopez and Nas.

Thinking about heat and feeling the elements brought to mind the Faith Evans “Burnin’ Up” Remix video with Missy Elliott (heads up, Diddy IS in the video). And then because I need a beach in my life ASAP, my mind went to “Down 4 U” with Ja Rule, Ashanti, Vita, and Charli Baltimore.

Bonus: ALL of these videos are for songs that are remixes.

This theme of heat, this feeling of sun rays and/or the temperatures rising, of sweating, is one we can currently all relate to. It’s HOT out right now. FYI: here’s an important Instagram read on the political side of heat.

So when Amber posed this question about music videos with hot summer days, it was cool to consider the visual communication of heat in music videos and how it resonates.

The music video for "I'm Gonna Be Alright" was directed by Jennifer Lopez’s longtime video collaborator Dave Meyers, filmed in the Bronx, and featured Nas. Jenny sitting around with her girls outside in the summer heat with fans, the coolers, the cold bottles, laundry mat visit reminds me of the washers I loaded during summers. The music video for “Burnin' Up” was directed by Chris Robinson was less neighborhood, more we in da club. Chris Robinson brilliantly sprinkles in these moments of heat: ice being played with between lovers, the kitchen staff surrounded by overflowing boiling hot pots, the video vixens dripping, homegirl in the bathroom touching her makeup with sweat beads on her face. The music video for “Down 4 U” was directed by Irv Gotti and it’s the ultimate, “let’s take a trip with our friends” type vibe that we all crave. The Roger Troutman sample in the song already adds to the groove as Irv flexes his artist roster as four wheelers on the beach, a volleyball setup, Ashanti singing on a boat, and classic Whitney and Bobby cameo paint a picturesque summer hangout.

In my mind, both heat and music videos are energy transfers that make us feel a host of things. I hope you feel some joy this summer ✨☀️

❤️‍🔥 Special thank you to Amber Finney-Allen for the inspiration.

What music videos bring to mind the summer heat? Let me know here on Substack or feel free to share on Twitter or Instagram.

a few more honorable mentions

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Summertime video by Jim Swaffield.

Refugee Camp All-Stars - The Sweetest Thing video by Lauryn Hill.

Tamia Officially Missing You - by Paul Hunter.