Babyface - Whip Appeal

What this video is

Released February 22, 1990, 'Whip Appeal' arrived at a pivotal crossroads for Black pop: the quiet storm format dominated adult R&B radio while new jack swing was reshaping the uptempo end of the genre. Produced by Babyface and L.A. Reid — the dominant production team of the era — the video's theatrical staging at the historic Cocoanut Grove Nightclub in Los Angeles evokes old Hollywood glamour repurposed for…

Why it matters

A definitive artifact of the Babyface/L.A. Reid production aesthetic that would come to define 1990s R&B. The video's upscale theatrical presentation helped establish the 'quiet storm crossover' visual template — glamorous, adult, emotionally resonant — that would characterize the genre on MTV…

The director

James 'Jim' Yukich is an American television and film director who began his career at Capitol-EMI Records in Hollywood, working his way up from the mailroom to staff Director/Editor/Producer. He later formed independent production companies Split Screen…