It’s always fun to see DC pop up in music videos

The DC region has a rich musical history. Multiple genres have grown up here and are well loved even if mainstream success has been hard or fleeting for a number of Washington-area artists. But that makes DC’s sound all the more original.

Though most music videos are typically shot in the major media centers of New York City and Los Angeles, DC sometimes takes center stage — whether the songs are explicitly about the city or not. Artists from all over the world have used the city, parts that are both well known and underappreciated, as a backdrop for their art.

This list certainly isn’t exhaustive, but here are some of my favorite music videos set in DC.

Songs about the region

Obviously any song about the region will probably lend itself to a music video filmed locally. That’s especially true in go-go and Hip Hop which have a number of local anthems. Go-go, which is now the official music of Washington, usually contains a lot of hometown references.

The ultimate culmination of this DC pride is seen in the band Mambo Sauce’s anthem “Welcome to DC,” released in 2007. In the video the late Chuck Brown, the Godfather of go-go, assigns the band a secret spy mission to keep the music of go-go alive. After flying into Reagan National Airport, they evade authorities as they ride around the city on their way to a performance.

A couple years after “Welcome to DC” was released, rapper Wale began finding mainstream success as a rapper who incorporated the sounds of go-go into many of his beats. “Chillin’” is one of the most overt, with large sections of the music video filmed along the U Street corridor.

Before that, Wale also released his ode to a DC fashion staple with the song “Nike Boots.” Large parts of the video were filmed at an outdoor performance at Howard University.

In his song “Washington Slizzards,” Ras Nebyu raps about growing up near the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Kennedy Streets. The video features several shots of upper Northwest. Ras also takes time to shout out local bus routes that helped him get around town like the 70 and 62.

You can also see several neighborhoods featured in the video “Proper Livin,” as Raz raps about how his African heritage shaped his identity and how gentrification changed the city he grew up in.

Northwest isn’t the only area of the city that gets featured in music videos. Chelly the MC wrote an irreverent anthem to her Northeast roots with “Northeast Baby.”

Naturally, the video is set in her own neighborhood and largely filmed in the parking lot of the Circle 7 Express on Kenilworth Avenue and the nearby pedestrian bridge leading to the Minnesota Avenue Metro station (which gets a shout out in the lyrics).

Some songs aren’t contained to DC proper. Rapper Oddisee wrote “NNGE” (Never Not Gettin’ Enough) celebrating the entire region and filmed the music video various locations across Prince George’s County. Oddisee and fellow Maryland rapper Toine visit Iverson Mall, Prince George’s Stadium, and neighborhoods in Fort Washington.

Songs that aren’t about the region, but are still filmed here

First up is “Crew” by Goldink featuring Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy. All three artists grew up in the Washington area and the song was nominated for a grammy in 2017.

The song itself has a mid-tempo beat undercut by the verses by both Goldlink and Shy Glizzy who talk about the dichotomies brought about by sudden wealth and fame. The video features shots taken around the city from the past and present while the rappers hang out and dance in a local public park.

Anthony Brown was born in Baltimore but is now the worship leader at First Baptist Temple in Glenarden. He records his Gospel music as Anthony Brown and Group TherAPy. His dance song “BOB Bounce” is filmed both at his home church but also throughout the region.

The song teaches a dance while reminding viewers to count their blessings. The video includes Brown and his friends practicing their dance throughout the region including in Metro stations and even on some of the trains themselves.

Oddisee is back with Toine as much of the video for the song “Different Now” was filmed at Silver Spring’s Tastee Diner. The song plays out as a conversation between friends as they grab a meal together.

Later in the video, they hop on the Metro to Dupont Circle where the video ends with them exiting the station and walking into the city—eventually making their way to the National Mall.

Reston is featured prominently in Benny Blanco’s “East Side” video. It’s split into two parts that delve into the environments where Benny (who produced the track) and the singer Halsey grew up.

It has shots of Blanco’s childhood home in Reston, local trails, and Langston Hughes Middle School. It then moves to New Jersey where Halsey grew up.

Tourists take advantage of the region’s landscape

Of course, a band or artist doesn’t have to be from DC to film a music video here. UK Pop Punk Band Martha has filmed two videos in the area due to collaborating with the creative team of Baby Pony Food.

“Precarious,” off their 2018 album Blisters in the Pit of My Heart, was filmed up and down 14th Street. The song itself is about having a crush on an employee at the local supermarket and the characters in the video play the events out in the song at Trader Joe’s and throughout the neighborhood. They end up at Malcolm X Park where an homage to the iconic Odessa Stairs scene from Battleship Potemkin plays out.

In Martha’s song “Love Keeps Kicking,” the action moves to Kensington Md., where the small main street area around the train station set the stage for a video that parodies 1950’s monster movies. A giant foot stalks various characters and the song plays on while they run for their lives.

Baby Pony Food has also made videos for musician Jeff Rosenstock, a New York-based musician whose video for “Wave Goodbye to Me” was filmed at DC venue Comet Ping Pong and surrounding neighborhood. The song features Rosenstock as a down and out businessman who interrupts a show at Comet Ping Pong and suffers the consequences.

Another song of Jeff Rsenstock, called “Pash Rash,” was filmed at DC9 in Shaw.

Local band Bad Moves has worked with Baby Pony Food, as well. Their “Spirit FM” video was filmed around the Rock Creek Tennis Center and “One Thing” features Gallery Place. In the latter video, band members dress up as either Carmen San Diego or the perpetually-lost Waldo and wander the city.

Do you have a favorite music video shot somewhere in the region? Tell us about it in the comments!