Mario - Do Right

What this video is

Released in December 2007, 'Do Right' exists at the intersection of celebrity reality television, addiction awareness media, and the confessional R&B tradition. It was directly tied to MTV's documentary special on Mario's mother's heroin addiction, airing just two months prior, collapsing the distance between artist branding and lived trauma. The video's Yahoo! Music premiere reflects a pivotal transitional moment…

Why it matters

A landmark example of mid-2000s confessional R&B video production, 'Do Right' departs radically from the era's dominant high-gloss, choreography-driven aesthetic. By self-directing a black-and-white documentary hybrid, Mario prefigures the raw visual introspection that would become mainstream in…

The director

Mario Dewar Barrett (born August 27, 1986, Baltimore, Maryland) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and dancer signed to J Records at age 14. He released his self-titled debut in 2002, followed by Turning Point (2004) and Go (2007). He later expressed…