Wyclef Jean, Canibus - Gone Till November

What this video is

Released in November 1997 as the third single from Wyclef Jean's debut solo LP The Carnival (Columbia/Ruffhouse), 'Gone till November' arrived at a pivotal moment when Fugees members were testing their solo commercial viability after the massive success of The Score (1996). The song's narrative — a drug runner bidding farewell to loved ones — was delivered via a pop-orchestral arrangement featuring the New York…

Why it matters

A landmark late-90s hip-hop/pop crossover single demonstrating the commercial and artistic potential of Fugees-era artists in solo contexts. The orchestral pop arrangement and MTV-realist video aesthetic helped define a template for hip-hop crossover singles of the era, influencing subsequent…

The director

Francis Lawrence (b. March 26, 1971, Vienna, Austria) is an Austrian-born American filmmaker who relocated to Los Angeles at age four. He studied filmmaking at Loyola Marymount University and began directing music videos in the mid-1990s, eventually helming…