Whether it's in the lyrical content or in the music videos, we've long seen the connection between gambling and music. You wouldn't be wrong to say that it all got its start with the release of Kenny Rogers' classic 1978 single, "The Gambler." Both the content of the song and the video deal heavily with the game of poker and knowing when to hold your cards in life (or fold them!).
Since then, the aforementioned connection has grown in a variety of interesting directions. Some video directors have simply flirted with gambling while others have completely embraced it to build the narrative within the visuals. We wanted to showcase how gambling has been presented since '78, though it was admittedly difficult considering not every video from the '80s has found its way online. As a result, a few of the videos we found are much more current. But as a whole, they showcase exactly how directors have put their own spin on how to use gambling as a vehicle for the video's narrative.
"We Been On" is the most recent example of gambling playing a role in music videos. It's a small one, but it serves as a means of showing just how lavish and luxurious the Rich Gang lives. For those unaware, this is a super-group made up of members of Young Money/Cash Money records. On this particular track, Birdman and Lil Wayne are joined by R&B crooner R. Kelly and, at certain points, you can catch glimpses of their high-roller card game at the main table. Gambling was also prominently see in rapper Ace Hood's "Bugatti" video.
Back in the mid-to-late '90s, you couldn't go anywhere without hearing a single from trio TLC. T-Boz, Left Eye, and Chilli flooded the airwaves with singles/videos like "Waterfalls," "No Scrubs," and "Red Light Special." While the last of those wasn't their biggest hit, it did cleverly include a smoky game of poker in the video. It was used more as a means of setting the mood of the sensual night spent between the ladies and the men of their choosing.
Back in 2004, U.K. dance act Uniting Nations caught a small buzz with their cover of Hall & Oates' "Out of Touch." A big reason for that is the music video, which is as close to not safe for work as it gets. Basically, you watch as a crafty young man plays strip poker against a table full of attractive women in skimpy clothing. There's nothing explicit here, but you should probably save it for more private viewing.
A commonly used trope in hip-hop videos is, as you might know, the playing of a dice game. It's typically inserted into a set of visuals to add a more hood feel to the experience. That's evident in T.I.'s clip for "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, which portrays his character's ups and downs that include chillin' on a porch with friends shooting dice before things go south.
The sultry "You're Makin' Me High" video uses gambling in a different way. Onetime R&B songstress Toni Braxton and her friends use oversized playing cards not to host a game of poker but instead rate the men who enter the room. It also makes for the most lighthearted video of all the ones highlighted here.
Of course, we couldn't overlook the video that started it all, Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler." Among other things, it's amazing to watch the piece unfold compared to what we're used to seeing today. Also it's almost like you're viewing an old-school presentation of how to play poker as the Houston native grips a shot of whisky and sits at an empty table.
It'd be interesting to see how this would come to life now, especially with the popularity of online gambling. Instead of posting up at a table alone, we can picture Rogers sitting down with his bourbon in his hotel room with a laptop, firing heading to the Casino at Betfair, and laying everything out there with his lyrics. Also, if Rogers is indeed a gambler himself, he'd be better off playing online—you can interact with other players at your leisure and there are some sweet sign-up bonuses.
