Greatest Music Videos". Sal Ciquemani, from Slant, gave the video a positive review, complimenting Carey's choice to pair the sultry song with a "sophisticated tale of a sexy rooftop encounter". The video re-tells a story of Carey reminiscing a past love and a night they shared together on a rainy roof-top. The video's setting revolves around a dark limousine, a decrepit NYC apartment, and a rainy roof-top, where "Carey is featured at her most vulnerable, with runny mascara and drenched in the cold rainy night." In the conclusion of his review of the video, Ciquemani wrote: "When Carey rises through the limo's sunroof and relishes the warm November rain, she's not drunk on the bubbly but on the memory of past delights." The video was directed by Carey and Diane Martel during the spring of 1998. The music video begins with Carey sitting alone in a limousine, recalling a night she shared some time previous. As scenes of Carey reminiscing in the limo are shown, clips of her dressing in an old apartment are presented. Eventually, Carey joins a roof-top party one night, where she begins dancing and caressing her lover. As the passion between them grown, rain begins to fall, showering everyone atop the edifice. As these scenes end, Carey in the present opens the sun-roof of the limo and stands into the rainy night, trying to recapture those magical moments she shared on that rainy roof-top encounter. The video ends with a wet Carey lying in the back of the limousine, sad and lonely. Live performances "The Roof" has been performed few times throughout Carey's career. The song was performed during her Butterfly World Tour in 1998. During the performances, live male and female dancers were present on stage, grooving and performing classic routines. Carey wore a short beige ensemble and performed light classical dances, alongside a male partner. The song was performed on select dates of Carey's 2014 The Elusive Chanteuse Show tour. Carey would later perform a snippet of it acapella during her set at Jimmy Kimmel Live! while promoting #1 To Infinity, later expressing to be happy at the fact the audience knew the lyrics to the song. Formats and track listings European maxi CD single "The Roof (Back In Time)" (Album Version) – 5:15 "The Roof (Back In Time)" (Mobb Deep Radio Edit) - 4:26 "The Roof (Back In Time)" (Mobb Deep Extended Version)