My Prerogative

My Prerogative is a 1988 song by Bobby Brown that was both written and produced by him, Gene Griffin, and Teddy Riley. It appeared on the album Don't Be Cruel.

Background

After Bobby Brown had already finished the sessions for the album Don't Be Cruel, the thought came to him to record one more song. He traveled to New York with the songwriters and recorded the song there. In an interview with The Hour on March 17, 1989, Brown explained the meaning of the song, saying, "The song is my way of expressing myself, everyone has the right to do what they want, but it has to be the right thing."

My Prerogative is a New Jack Swing song that fuses hip-hop beats with synth pop and soul elements. It was released on October 11, 1988, and the song became a number one hit in the United States. In 1995, another version of the song was released under the name My Prerogative '95, which reached number 17 in the United Kingdom.

Music video

The music video was directed by Alek Keshishian. The studio musicians play the song on a stage, and later Bobby Brown joins them. He wears a black suit and a headset. He dances with two women, one of whom plays on a cape keyboard.