Dru Hill - 5 Steps

What this video is

Released in 1997 as the fourth and final single from Dru Hill's platinum debut album, '5 Steps' arrived at a pivotal moment in R&B history — New Jack Swing was fading, and a smoother, gospel-inflected group harmony sound was ascending. Dru Hill, hailing from Baltimore, channeled a distinctly church-rooted vocal tradition into mainstream pop-R&B, and this video's golden-dome theatrical staging makes that lineage…

Why it matters

A canonical example of mid-90s R&B harmony-group visual language: communal street setting counterposed with theatrical grandeur, coordinated fashion as group identity marker, and rapid editing that mirrors the song's emotional urgency. The video contributed to establishing Dru Hill's visual brand…

The director

Frank Sacramento is a music video director active primarily from the early 1990s through the early 2000s. His directorial credits span R&B, hip-hop, rock, and alternative genres, including work for Hootie & The Blowfish, The Roots, The Breeders, Everlast,…