BOYZ II MEN SPLIT UP TO
COME TOGETHER

The folks at Arista believe they have a groundbreaking video in "The Color of Love," the clip for the lead track from Boyz II Men’s upcoming album, Full Circle. They also believe that an article about it in HITS will help get the word out. They’re probably right about that first part.

The video for the Babyface-penned song is intended as a message of hope and redemption during these troubled times, and to that end takes the unprecedented step of pairing each of the four members of the multi-Platinum R&B group with a different director and/or crew in a different part of the world.

Earlier this year, Nathan Morris traveled to Accra, Ghana to shoot with directors Benny Boom (who helmed the vid for P. Diddy's "I Need A Girl") and Little X (Usher); Michael McCary headed to Jaipur, India, to join the crew led by Little X; Shawn Stockman filmed in Tokyo with Hype Williams (whose myriad credits include videos for Missy Elliott, TLC and Busta Rhymes and feature film Belly); and Wanya Morris joined Chris Robinson (Alicia Keys, Nas) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In each setting, group members spent time with the local populace, and the resulting footage underscores the song’s message of tolerance and global unity. In the end of the video, the group is reunited in Manhattan for an overtly spiritual reflection on the tragedy of 9/11.

While the logistical barriers to producing "The Color of Love" were numerous—all involved agreed that faking the foreign locales was out of the question—it’s perhaps even more noteworthy that a handful of the genre’s leading directors were willing to share the credit.

The video is currently in rotation on BET and VH1, and is also being featured on Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood, with additional "making-of" material.

For a video retrospective on the group, click here.

Said Arista EVP Lionel Ridenour, "‘The Color Of Love’ is an extremely powerful video that doesn't rely on artificial special effects, bells or whistles to convey its message. Instead, we chose to shoot in four very different locations to achieve a beautifully diverse backdrop of true-to-life images. When you couple those images with the poignant lyrics, you have an emotionally moving piece that makes you feel a connection to the world on a basic, humanistic level."

Added SVP Promotion Steve Bartels, "The unique clip, together with the 'making-of' accompaniment, showcases the song’s wonderful message and delivers a powerful yet heartfelt visual that people need to see—and feel."

In a related story, a HITS editor was deeply moved today by the arrival of his lunch.