Glenn Lewis - Bout Ya Love

JUL 01 1998 · 12:00

Glenn Lewis - Bout Ya Love (1998) Director: Julien Christian Lutz (Little X / Director X) & Uuew T Era: Late-90s Canadian R&B / Pre-Internet Neo-Soul Emergence (1998) - Regional urban R&B scene in Toronto priming for international crossover; warm-toned, club-rooted video aesthetic typical of late-90s MuchMusic era production High curatorial value as a confirmed early-career artifact of both Glenn Lewis, the Canadian neo-soul vocalist who would go on to a Grammy nomination, and director Little X (Director X), who would become one of the most celebrated music video directors of the 2000s. The video's unusual dual-track structure, Juno-nominated source material, and its position within the nascent Toronto R&B ecosystem of the late 1990s make it a significant document for Canadian music and audiovisual cultural heritage. Tier reflects regional significance and early-career status of both artist and director. Context: Released in 1998 on Beat Factory/BMG Music Canada, 'Bout Ya Love' was Glenn Lewis's second single following the Juno Award-winning 'The Thing to Do.' It earned a second consecutive Juno nomination for Best R&B/Soul Recording at the 1999 ceremony, cementing Lewis's status as a rising force in Canadian urban music. The video was co-directed by Little X, a Toronto native who was simultaneously cementing his own reputation as a director of the Canadian hip-hop/R&B scene, most notably with 'Northern Touch' (1998). The production reflects a Toronto R&B scene that was quietly building infrastructure and visual identity through outlets like MuchMusic in the years before the Canadian urban music explosion of the 2000s. Lewis's warm, soul-rooted vocal style, described as an 'up-tempo slice of R&B,' stood in contrast to the harder-edged U.S. market, prefiguring his later neo-soul identity on the Epic Records debut. Director notes: Per IMVDb and Wikipedia, the 'Bout Your Love' music video was directed by Little X (Julien Christian Lutz) and Uuew T, and produced by Rod Pasic. This video falls at the very start of Little X's directing career, concurrent with his 1998 direction of 'Northern Touch.' The video contains a structural split: approximately one minute into the video the beat transitions into the remix (produced by 2Rude), and the remix version plays through to the end, making this a dual-track video rather than a single-song clip. This two-segment format was an unusual production choice reflecting the single's release structure, as both the original and remix appeared on 2Rude's 1999 album Rudimental 2k.