JAY-Z - Guilty Until Proven Innocent ft. R. Kelly

What this video is

Released in March 2001 as the third and final single from The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (October 2000), this video captures Jay-Z at a pivotal personal and commercial crossroads. The song directly processes his real-life guilty plea for stabbing music executive Lance Rivera, inverting the American legal maxim 'innocent until proven guilty' as a critique of media trial-by-press. It also marks one of the earliest…

Why it matters

A landmark document of the Roc-A-Fella Records visual identity at peak cultural influence, and an early template for the autobiographical confessional mode within hip-hop music videos. The Jay-Z/R. Kelly pairing also signifies the commercial mainstreaming of hip-hop/R&B crossover, a genre fusion…

The director

Emmy-nominated American filmmaker and co-founder of PRETTYBIRD production company. Graduated from Cal State Northridge with a degree in Radio, TV & Film. Entered music video directing in 1995. The Washington Post (2004) named him one of the 'most seminal…