YouTube is 21 years old, and since its founding, literally nothing has been the same as far as content. After its launch in February of 2005, countless videos were uploaded daily, creating a new wave of memes and coining the term “viral video.”
It changed content creation forever, especially music. The ability to share music videos and not just see them on MTV meant a new level of accessibility. One of the first videos to signal that change just so happened to be a Houston classic.
Lil’ Keke’s hit was released in 1998, coming off of his debut album, Don’t Mess Wit Texas. Marty Thomas directed the video that would show the world the famous “southside dance” in the same year. Seven years later, the YouTube account redbarrontx uploaded the video to the platform.
Uploading “Southside,” a song that was released in 1998, is a weird move to consider in a vacuum. But as a representation of Houston rap for the newly founded digital content behemoth, “Southside” is on the shortlist for songs that deserve that honor. Who knows what impressionable young person from some corner of the globe, far away from Houston, was inspired by Lil’ Keke, after seeing slabs swang and bang and folks hitting the titular dance?
Due to user uploads and official label channels muddying the YouTube music video waters, it is pretty difficult to identify the “first” legitimate professional music video on YouTube, especially since the platform and licensing have changed over the years. “The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)” by Spanish girl group Las Ketchup (May 25, 2005) is considered the first, or at least one of the first, verified mainstream examples.
This was before VEVO, a music video platform within YouTube that further complicated licensing issues, leading to the purging of many unofficially uploaded videos, so it’s possible that there was a different official rap video up before Lil’ Keke’s. But the “Southside” video has survived 20 years, though content changes and licensing agreements.
The Houston classic is genuinely one of the oldest uploaded videos on the platform, a digital relic of the “before times” on the internet. But it also endures as an anthem for H-Town.