Brian McKnight - Stay Or Let It Go

What this video is

Released in 1999-2000 during the commercial peak of Brian McKnight's career, 'Stay or Let It Go' emerged from the triple-platinum 'Back at One' album cycle on Motown Records — McKnight's most successful commercial moment, selling over 3 million copies worldwide. The video sits at the intersection of neo-soul refinement and late-90s urban contemporary gloss, reflecting a moment when R&B auteurs were achieving…

Why it matters

Represents the peak aesthetic of late-1990s Motown urban contemporary R&B — Darkchild-produced, Paul Hunter-directed, and rooted in McKnight's gospel-inflected soul sensibility. The video's warm-toned, rapid-cut visual language became a defining template for the genre's late-decade mainstream…

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. Regarded by the Washington Post (2004) as one of the 'most seminal names among black hip-hop directors.'…