'03 Bonnie & Clyde is a song by Jay-Z featuring his then-girlfriend, now wife, Beyoncé. It marks their first collaboration together.
The accompanying music video was directed by Chris Robinson, and features Jay-Z and Beyoncé playing a modern-day version of the 1920s bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. It was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. The was performed by Jay-Z and Beyoncé on several television shows and was later included on the set list of their concert performances and tours, most notably on their co-headlining On the Run and On the Run II tours.
Music video[]
Chris Robinson directed the song's accompanying music video and filmed in Mexico, in early October 2002. June Ambrose was hired as the personal stylist, and Johnathon Schaech and Lance Reddick appear in the video as the police officers on their tail. Jay-Z and Beyoncé play a modern-day version of the 1930s bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. The video is loosely based on the American 1993 romance crime film True Romance, which stars Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as two lovers on the run from cocaine dealers. The choreography used in the clip suggests a relationship beyond screen, as Jay-Z wraps his arm around Beyoncé while singing his part of the chorus The video also marked a departure for the "clean-cut Beyoncé" and created a symbiotic relationship between her and Jay-Z, allowing them to exchange audiences. The video was premiered on MTV on November 8, 2002.
The video opens with the police officers discussing with Reddick about the criminal couple and how to apprehend them. At the beginning of the song, Jay-Z appears on the screen, driving a gray Aston Martin, and Beyoncé takes the passenger seat . When the two reach the hotel, they cover the car with a cover to avoid being recognized by the police. In the room, they count the money they have stolen while the officers arrive. They head upstairs to the room occupied by Jay-Z and Knowles only to find the cleaning lady there. In addition, the car found under the cover turns out not to be the one belonging to the two. Subsequent shots alternately show Beyoncé dancing to the rhythm of a flamenco guitar, and men in a telephone booth - located against a wall with graffiti paying homage to Tupac Shakur. When it seems that the officers have anticipated the movement of criminals, they set up a large blockade on the highway, which is followed by a gray Aston Martin. Eventually, however, it turns out that his passengers are gas station employees. At the same time, Jay-Z and Beyoncé are moving in the opposite direction in another car, which is the final scene of the music video.