Synopsis

Moby and Gwen Stefani appear in an exaggerated fantasy of pop-star excess. Moby plays a swaggering celebrity in fake fur, sunglasses and a gold tooth, surrounded by champagne, models and flashy luxury imagery. Stefani joins him in stylized performance scenes framed by oversized neon name signs. The video repeatedly undercuts its own glamour, revealing the artificiality behind the spectacle, including a convertible that appears to be moving even though it remains inside the studio. A stark room with a potted sunflower provides an intentionally awkward contrast.

Factoids & Trivia

• Moby described the video as an intentionally over-the-top parody of standard hip-hop videos, using the image of a skinny white electronic musician dressed as a decadent rap celebrity for comic effect.

• The apparent road-trip footage was staged inside a studio rather than filmed during an actual drive. The fake luxury setting is part of the video's joke about manufactured music-video glamour.

• The video contrasts its flashy sections with deliberately plain imagery, including a bare room, subdued clothing and a potted sunflower. This plays on the familiar "brick wall and plant" look often used in artful videos.

• Stefani's vocals were missing from the version of "South Side" originally released on Moby's 1999 album "Play." Moby later explained that he disliked the mix with newly recorded live drums, and her vocals were restored for the single version used in the video.

• "South Side" won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video in 2001. Moby later suggested that Stefani's presence helped the video receive substantially more exposure on MTV.

• The video helped turn the collaboration into one of Moby's most recognizable singles, even though the album version of the song does not feature Stefani.