LL Cool J — Around The Way Girl

JUL 01 1990 · 12:00

LL Cool J — Around The Way Girl (1990) Director: Paris Barclay Era: Golden Age Hip-Hop (1990) - Early-90s East Coast rap crossover moment; Def Jam street aesthetic meets nascent MTV hip-hop programming expansion High-tier preservation artifact representing the convergence of Golden Age hip-hop commercial breakthrough and a director — Paris Barclay — who would become one of American television's most decorated figures. The video's verité aesthetic, street-cast performances, and explicit cultural argument about Black femininity make it a primary document of early-90s hip-hop visual culture and an essential counterpoint to the era's more stylized, effects-heavy contemporaries. Its chart and cultural impact, combined with the rarity of confirmed directorial provenance, elevate its archival priority. Context: Released in 1990 as the third single from Mama Said Knock You Out, 'Around the Way Girl' arrived at a pivotal moment when hip-hop was consolidating its foothold on MTV following the 1988 launch of Yo! MTV Raps. The song and video constitute a cultural counter-statement to aspirational luxury rap imagery, explicitly valorizing working-class Black femininity — bamboo earrings, door-knockers, lip gloss, and neighborhood authenticity over upscale glamour. The RIAA certified it Gold by January 1991, and its Billboard Hot 100 peak of #9 marked LL Cool J's first top-10 single, signaling hip-hop's full absorption into mainstream pop commerce without sacrificing street credibility. Director notes: Confirmed via IMDB (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9588074/) as director of this 1990 music video. The video deploys a narrative casting-call conceit in which LL Cool J rejects polished model types in favor of authentic neighborhood women, shot on New York streets. This was one of eight videos Barclay directed for LL Cool J under their sustained creative partnership through Black & White Television / Scorched Earth Productions. The street-cast, verité approach directly expresses the song's lyrical thesis celebrating working-class Black femininity, making the visual language inseparable from the cultural argument.