Naughty by Nature - Clap Yo Hands (Music Video) [Clean]

JUL 01 1995 · 12:00

Naughty by Nature - Clap Yo Hands (Music Video) [Clean] (1995) Director: Anthony 'Treach' Criss Era: Golden Age / Mid-90s East Coast Hip-Hop (1995) - Peak era of New Jersey street rap, bookended by the Grammy triumph of Poverty's Paradise and a rapidly shifting East Coast landscape dominated by harder, grittier aesthetics A confirmed artist-directed artifact from a Grammy Award-winning album cycle, offering rare insight into the self-produced aesthetics of mid-90s New Jersey hip-hop. The video's 'Hoodstock' framing device, rapid editing rhythm (avg. shot length 1.88s), and warm outdoor visual palette collectively document the participatory, community-rooted performance culture of the era. Its place as the lead video from the first-ever Grammy Best Rap Album winner gives it exceptional historical and institutional significance within the MTV archive. Context: Released in March 1995 as the lead single from Poverty's Paradise, 'Clap Yo Hands' arrived during a pivotal transitional moment in East Coast hip-hop, when the New York-adjacent scene was contending with the heavier, cinematic street narratives of Nas, Biggie, and Mobb Deep. Naughty by Nature, rooted in East Orange, New Jersey, responded with a party-forward anthem that balanced street credibility with mass audience accessibility. The album ultimately won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1996, cementing the group's legacy. The fictional 'Hoodstock' framing device in the video evokes the real-world tradition of outdoor urban hip-hop festivals and participatory community gatherings, grounding the video's performance energy in a recognizable social ritual. Director notes: Treach directed this video himself, making it a rare example of artist-directed self-production within the mid-90s hip-hop video canon. Per IMDb, the video opens with a fictional news broadcast framing device centered on a hip-hop outdoor concert event called 'Hoodstock,' after which the band performs on an outdoor stage before a live crowd. The self-directed approach aligns with the group's broader ethos of creative autonomy on Poverty's Paradise, which they also wrote and produced themselves. Treach directed at least two other Naughty by Nature videos in 1995: Chain Remains and, earlier in his career, Written on Ya Kitten (1993).