Jody Watley - Don't You Want Me

What this video is

Released in August 1987 as the third single from Jody Watley's Grammy-winning debut album on MCA Records, 'Don't You Want Me' arrived at the height of Watley's transformation from Shalamar group member and Soul Train dancer into a fully realized solo pop and R&B icon. The video's downtown Los Angeles warehouse setting — confirmed by Watley herself as inspired by her love of the underground club scene — placed it at…

Why it matters

A landmark late-1980s R&B/dance-pop crossover artifact documenting the transition of Black female solo artists into the MTV visual economy. The video's warehouse aesthetic, kinetic editing, and fashion-forward performance staging established a template for dance-oriented R&B video production that…

The director

Dominic Sena (born April 26, 1949, Niles, Ohio) is an American film and music video director and co-founder of Propaganda Films (est. 1986). He directed over 100 music videos in the 1980s–early 1990s and later transitioned to feature films, including…