Jeremih - Birthday Sex

What this video is

Released in early 2009 as the debut single from Chicago-born R&B artist Jeremih on Def Jam Records, 'Birthday Sex' arrived during a pivotal transitional moment in R&B — when Auto-Tune had shifted from novelty to standard toolkit, when YouTube was overtaking TRL as the primary video distribution mechanism, and when the slow jam was being recoded for a post-MySpace generation. The song was first independently…

Why it matters

A landmark entry in late-2000s contemporary R&B, 'Birthday Sex' codified the genre's post-Usher 'Confessions' intimate aesthetic while bridging the gap between traditional slow-jam romanticism and the emerging digital-native R&B sound. Its chart dominance — topping the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart…

The director

Emmy-nominated American filmmaker and co-founder of commercial production company PRETTYBIRD. Majored in Radio, TV & Film at Cal State Northridge. Entered the music video world in 1995; directed over 100 videos. The Washington Post named him one of the 'most…