Next - Butta Love

1997

Next - Butta Love (1997) Director: Michael Lucero Era: Late-90s Urban R&B (1997) - Peak era of hip-hop-influenced soul trios signed to major black music imprints; Arista/Divine Mill crossover breakout moment A high-value artifact for archiving the late-90s R&B visual idiom: warm urban realism, New York landmark staging, and restrained editing pace. Documents the moment before Next's commercial apex ('Too Close') and captures the Arista/Divine Mill mid-budget aesthetic that defined a generation of hip-hop soul video production. The confirmed director credit and dual IMDb/IMVDb sourcing make this a reliable anchor entry for 1997 R&B video cataloguing. Context: Released in August 1997 as the lead single from Next's double-platinum debut 'Rated Next' on Arista Records / Divine Mill, the label founded by Kay Gee of Naughty by Nature, 'Butta Love' arrived during a pivotal moment in Contemporary R&B when hip-hop-inflected vocal trios were ascending commercially. The track peaked at #4 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop chart and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100, establishing Next as a credible voice in the Jodeci-lineage of sensual, street-inflected R&B. The video's New York City location grounding reinforced the group's urban authenticity while its polished production communicated mainstream crossover intent. Director notes: The video was produced for Arista Records / Divine Mill in support of the lead single from Next's debut album 'Rated Next' (released September 30, 1997). Per IMDb, the video opens on the Brooklyn Bridge and New York City skyline, with performance segments staged in front of marble balconies and on the Brooklyn Bridge walkway. The video runtime aligns with the single edit (~4 minutes). The production reflects a standard mid-budget Arista R&B video of the era, utilizing New York City as a location backdrop, consistent with the label's NYC-rooted aesthetic identity in the late 1990s.