Synopsis
Playa's "Cheers 2 U" opens with Smoke E. Digglera, Static Major, and Digital Black seated separately in a dark room, waiting through a brief silence before the beat arrives. The trio then performs in an intimate, low-lit setting that emphasizes the song's romantic and reflective mood. Rather than following a narrative, the clip relies on close-ups, relaxed group poses, and old-school R&B styling, creating a restrained visual counterpart to the song's message of comfort and devotion.
Factoids & Trivia
- "Cheers 2 U" was released as the second single from Playa's only studio album, also titled *Cheers 2 U*, in March 1998.
- Timbaland produced the track and co-wrote it with Playa members Benjamin "Digital Black" Bush and Stephen "Static Major" Garrett.
- The single reached No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
- The dark, seated opening gives the video a deliberately intimate presentation instead of the larger-scale performance style common in many late-1990s R&B clips.
- Playa's lineup in the video is the group's original Louisville trio: Smoke E. Digglera, Digital Black, and Static Major.
- The album's restrained ballad was built around a distinctive Timbaland production approach, pairing a romantic slow-jam atmosphere with a more pronounced rhythmic pulse.
- Static Major later became widely known as a songwriter and vocalist beyond Playa. He died in 2008, adding retrospective significance to the group's surviving video appearances.