New School Rap - Album Covers

New School Album Covers

The new school sub genre of rap was developed in the early 2000's, with Kanye West being considered one of the biggest names in moving the genre of rap in a new direction. Rappers subject matter deviated from more than the traditional 'thug life' message, and production incorporating elements from other genres creating a new kind of rap music. Along with the new message in the music, the album art also developed into something more just a rapper stood in front of camera. 

Kanye West's 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak is an album that has had a profound effect on rap and popular music as a whole. This development of the genre is something that is reflected in his cover art. The style implies a vulnerability that is not usually present with rappers, with the depiction of a heart and the different shades of colours on the left showing an emotional side. It is also minimalist which is something that has become a convention of the genre.

This makes a strong contrast to the largely traditional 2pac album cover for 'all eyez on me'. The majority of the cover is a picture of 2pac and the only other elements are the album title and the artist's name. Being released in 1996, it makes a good comparison for how the genre has developed over time, depicted the change in artistic choices between two of the biggest artists of their era. 

When creating our digipak, I think we should look to emulate the minimalist style that has been popularized in recent years by artists such as Kanye West. This would ensure that we are following modern conventions. 

Star Theory

Richard Dyer's Star Theory

Stars as constructions

Richard Dyer's theory suggests that stars are constructed by organisations, using elements such as Unique Selling Points (USPs) to create an image for a star that people buy into. An example of a unique selling point within rap is Kanye West's shutter glasses which used to be a big part of his individual iconography. Whilst stars are constructions, people want to buy into the reality of these personalities and their extravagant lifestyles and inspiring careers.

Industry and Audience

Dyer suggests that the main purpose of these stars is to make money for organisations, such as the music labels. This focus on money can lead to music stars being 'manufactured', creating a monotony that some resent. This is particularly relevant to pop music, with a prominent example being One Direction as one of a chain of boy bands. Some critics accuse the modern star of being superficial. 

Ideology and Culture

One of the purposes of stars is to create a shared culture and ideology. The effect of this can be seen as pop and rap stars set fashion trends. Again referring to Kanye West, the shutter glasses and his shoe range have had waves of being in trend in recent years. Further to this, social media gives many modern stars a way to extend their message, away from their music. 

Character

Many stars' character's are only rooted in reality. These characters are often used to give people an idea of what the perfect person is like and as such can't realistically be a depiction of the reality for these stars. Some stars pride themselves in providing a difference to this supposed 'perfection'. 

One interesting advantage that music stars have over other kinds of stars such as actors is that their music provides a way for them to create their own message. Whilst actors depict a script written by someone else, the stars (usually) have a large influence on the music they create. Their albums provide an approximately one hour long conversation between audience and the star, making consumers feel a more intimate relationship than with other kinds of stars. This could arguably make musicians more marketable. 

Applying this to rap

Two of the biggest stars in modern rap are Drake and Kanye West. Kanye West in particular is an example of how star theory is very applicable to rap. Between his fashion and his music, as well as his association with Kim Kardashian, Kanye has created a very strong brand. 

Social media is something that new school rappers utilize, with rappers such as Chance The Rapper taking to Twitter to voice their opinions on matters such as police violence and interact with his fans developing the intimate relationship that their music creates.

Our Music Video
Star Theory is relevant to our music video as videos provide a way for stars to extend their message. Especially in rap, party lifestyles could be an influence on fans and product placement is a way for stars to generate money and influence the culture of their audience. Whilst a lead singer would appear to be essential to stick to star theory, a more artistic cinematic video could also develop meaning in a way that a rapper performing in front of a camera could not. I think going forward this artistic vision is what I want to incorporate in our video. Kendrick Lamar himself as an artist is not creating a celebrity image in the same way that rappers like Kanye are and therefore I don't think it is essential in this case.

Swimming Pools - Lyric Analysis

Next Steps Analysis

Having furthered my research into the production of my music video, I have developed the ideas previously outlined in my 'initial ideas' post. Within this post I feel that there were more vague ideas and having furthered my research I feel I can offer more concrete plans.

Setting

A setting that I would want to include within the video is a party. I feel this is a perfect place to depict excessive drinking and peer pressure. I also feel that it would create an entertaining video which was a popular response in our questionnaire. One problem with this is that it may be logistically difficult to create this realistically as some people in our social group are underage, however we could work around this problem by refilling bottles. An interesting factor would be depicting the negative side of drinking within the party atmosphere in order to stay true to the song.

Props/Iconography 

One thing that I discussed in my initial ideas post was the idea of a golden flask.

Another element I want to include is a flashback in the narrative, making it non linear. This would be on the lyrics:
"Now I done grew up 'round some people livin' their life in bottles, Granddaddy had the golden flask,"
I think portraying the powerful symbol of the golden flask would help to add depth to the character and also reinforce the message of the song with regards to drinking culture. 

Having seen that my audience like a music video to have meaning in a video, I really want to incorporate the golden flask. It would represent the value that people give to drinking despite its harm and add another layer of depth to the video.

Camera

In order to create the party atmosphere that the song demands, hand held camera work will be a necessity. The loose nature of the shot will help to communicate that people have been drinking. 

Editing 

Two things I said in my initial ideas post still remain true after researching more into our audience. These are: 

Another convention I think would be effective for the video is the screen flickering black at parts of the video that needs a fast paced feel. This is a convention of rap videos and I think it would help to create a party feel for the video when necessary.

An editing technique that we would definitely want to include is editing in time to the beat. The beat in this song is more prominent than some others and this makes it essential for this video so we don't lose the impact.

I feel that these will really help to make it an entertaining video, blending both meaning and entertainment in a way that our demographic research showed us is necessary. 

Questionnaire Analysis

QUESTIONNAIRE

In order to get a better understanding of my demographic and the kinds of things they enjoy when it comes to rap videos, I created a questionnaire to find more information about them. The questionnaire was as follows:

1. Please put your name, age, and gender.
2. What apps or websites do you listen to music on?
3. Which of the following describes you best? Pick one.  

(A digital, free spirited, creative young single)
(Someone with high aspirations but low economic status)
(An aspirational, fun seeking, active individual)
(Part of a high driving, high involvement couple) 

4. List your three favourite rappers.
5. If you chose creative, what would you change about rap videos?
6. If you chose high aspirations, why do you watch rap videos?
7. What is your favourite rap album and rap video?
8. What would you expect to see in a rap video? Does it need to be linked to the song?
9. Do you prefer rap videos to be entertaining or to have a message?
10. Do you believe we'll need a lead singer for our music video?

 ANALYSIS

To gain a greater level of understanding of the numbers that my questionnaire gave me, I have decided to analyse them. This should give me a more concise insight into what the results show me about my demographic.

This is an important question to have asked, in order to have an idea of what direction we need to take our music video in. Looking at the responses to this question, it seems that it is quite a close cut thing with regards to what people prefer; there is only a difference of 3 between the number one option and the others. However, the most common response was that people prefer a video to have a message. This is what I would have expected, considering I was expecting my demographic to be people with high aspirations. In my opinion they may want a message in a video as it gives them something to be inspired by. Therefore, when creating my video I think that we should try not to lose the message of the song. Luckily, the song is also entertaining whilst having a powerful message which could make it easy to incorporate both elements in an effective way. 

This question gave us some insight into our demographic. From the results I can see that the most common group is high aspiration, low economic status, which confirms what we expected from our demographic. As well as this, the digital, free spirited, creative young single was a group we expected to have some prominence and this is confirmed by the results. One thing I didn't expect from our results was the aspirational, fun seeking, active young demographic. However, this may be because we weren't selective enough with who we gave our answer to.  

This question was designed to help us gain an understanding of how our demographic watch music videos, and what they judge to be a successful one. Looking at the results, it appears that the majority think that a lead singer is necessary. This is arguably congruent with the high ambition demographic we have who would have idols to help drive their ambition. Therefore when we create our video, we need to consider that a lead singer is highly desirable by our audience, however there is still a large amount of people that don't see it as necessary. This leads me to think that if the final product is of a high enough standard, a lack of a lead singer isn't going to be a fundamental flaw. One limitation with these results is that we weren't specific enough with the people we gave the questionnaire to. Not everyone's favorite genre was rap and a rapper is a different kind of icon to a pop singer, particularly in the eyes of rap fans.  

To summarize, when creating our final products I think that it is clearly essential that the message of the song is not lost as this is something that the majority are open to, judging from our results. I think the positive moral message would also appeal to the high aspiration group that we have established in our questionnaire.

Audience Research

In researching potential ways to categorize demographics, I found a few different methods which could help to give an insight into my audience.

ABC1 C2DE - Demographic Profiling

The first way of identifying a demographic I found was the ABC1 C2DE form, which bases different groups upon the social class of the audience. Applying this to the genre of rap music, I think that it would focus most upon the C2, D and E sections. This represents the working class section of the system. The reason I think that this would apply particularly to rap music is because a big part of rap is talking about the money you've made and often how hard you worked to make it. This would clearly resonate more with the working class, who would struggle more with money and can relate to the messages shared in the song.

However, one flaw with this method of profiling is that it is quite vague and even the most specific category can encompass a wide range of different people from different cultures. A method of profiling which is more specific and could help to identify a target market more precisely is The Four Cs (Cross-Cultural Consumer Characteristics). This method has four different groups:

Mainstreamers - Largest demographic, made up of those who prefer well-recognised brands.

Aspirers - People who are looking to improve themselves; often associating themselves strongly with the ideologies of high status brands, almost hoping that people will connote this high status with them.

Succeeders - People who feel in control and reinforce this feeling through their music

Reformers - 'Idealists' who buy into brands that are environmentally responisble.

A development of this is the individual; somebody who expects high production quality from the brands they buy into.  

Evaluating these, I don't think any of the demographics are a perfect fit to the genre rap, but I think there are elements that can still be useful when developing the idea of our demographic. For example, mainstreamers will overlap with rap often, as the genre has broken into popular culture amongst young people; the use of the word yolo was popularized through a rap song. Aspirers partially apply too. The idea of people looking to improve themselves is something rap listeners may be able to relate to. Although, succeeders arguably fit best. The genre of rap is something that can often be very empowering and this could help to create a feeling of control.

Another method of profiling demographics is the Life Matrix segments. Unlike The Four Cs, in this case one particular category stood out to me as far as the rap genre goes. The struggling singles category (high aspirations, low economic status) seems to fit in perfectly with the demographic of rap, which is in my mind ambitious young people in adverse situations, 

To summarize, one thing that my audience research has taught me is that a very strong demographic for rap music is the working class. Furthermore, the ideas of rap listeners wanting to improve themselves and having high ambitions is something that also fits in with my understanding of the rap genre. Therefore, adding elements to my video which appeal to these desires may help to make it more successful. A simple way to do this which is seen in most conventional rap videos is to have money shown in the video, and if suitable this would be a good way to appeal to my demographic.

Is meaning created through music videos? Media Magazine Analysis

Is meaning created through music videos?

In the September 2013 episode of Media Magazine, rapper David Aidoo, aka ThisisDA, discussed 'reading' lyrics in rap songs. He spoke about deciphering the meanings of songs, his writing process and whether or not we should decipher the lyrics at all. As I am creating a music video this year, whilst reading this I couldn't help but apply it to music videos and the way in which they can work in tandem with the lyrics of a song to create an even stronger meaning.

Interpreting Songs

Towards the start of the article Aidoo says that the way music makes us feel is where the 'basic interpretation' of the song's meaning comes from and I think that this feeling we get from a song is completely supported by the music video. Watching, just as much as listening, creates a visceral reaction (Altman), and combining them both together creates synergy between the two products; a good music video together with a good song creates a much bigger reaction than each one on it's own, at least in my opinion, allowing us to interpret in an even stronger way. I think this is most obvious with the music video for Stan by Eminem. The song, contrary to the ideas of Lyotard, has a very strong singular narrative following the story of the character Stan and in this sense it is the perfect song for translating into a music video. This is utilised well in the video, with Eminem almost becoming a narrator for the video.

"Sometimes I scribble addresses too sloopy when I jot em" 

This screenshot is a clear example of where meaning is added to Eminem's story through the video. It gives a visual representation of the basement in which Stan writes his letters to Eminem. The use of mise-en-scene, particularly the prop of the magazine which has an article open about Eminem. This creates the idea that Stan is obsessed with Eminem, confirmed by the setting, with the pictures of Eminem's face on his wall. This shows a child like fascination which appears unhealthy at Stan's age. The dark lighting also sets a very obvious twisted tone to the video, representing Stan as someone hidden away from society. This clearly shows how meaning can be portrayed through a music video and gives another tool to intepret the music. However, Aidoo debates whether or not we should stick to this raw visceral reaction that the lyrics create.

Kanye West in the studio

Visceral Reactions

For example, he tells the story of when he was watching a documentary on Kanye West which shows him producing Late Registration. He tells us that Kanye West inspired him to 'record on the spot' without pre-written lyrics because, in Kanye's words, it allows you to 'connect with the beat more'. This 'connection' is clearly a way of creating a more visceral reaction to music, abandoning a more methodical, intellectual approach. In my opinion this is just as a valid way of producing and writing music as any other, backed up by the 3.1 million sales Kanye's Late Registration has made, making it a triple platinum album. One thing I wondered was whether or not this visceral approach extends to Kanye's music videos and viewing the video for Gold Digger seems to tell me that it does.

A screenshot from the Gold Digger video

This screenshot is a good example for the theme of the video; portraying Kanye looking behind his back at a provactively dressed woman. The shots of Kanye and Jamie Foxx singing throughout the video create a very raw visceral image, as do the images of the provactively dressed women on magazine covers. The screenshot itself has been created for a very visceral response. The setting of the shot, with the black background with a red light tells you everything you need to know. The red is a very raw colour, as it can represent ideas of both love and anger, arguably two themes present towards the women referenced in the song. Therefore, I think that a music video gives a very good way of anchoring meaning (Goodwin) from the artists perspective, in this case creating the very raw visceral emotion that the song is looking to create. 

Screenshot from an Eminem video

Dangers in interpreting songs

Another part of Aidoo's article which I think can be translated in an interesting way to music videos is his views on interpreting lyrics. Whilst I disagree with his view as far as lyrics go, I think it can be applied to a music videos. He says that people should 'admire from afar' when it comes to rapper's lyrics and not interpret them too much in order to avoid creating controversy from misinterpreting the words, adding that the older generation have a tendency to 'blame rap for much of the violence that goes on within the younger world'. To some extent I disagree, as I think that if you were to not attempt to interpret a video, it would be easy to blame rap for the violence you see in the media. When you see the iconography of guns in videos or Eminem gesturing as above, it would be easy to take this view, without considering the video holistically, with the song and its context included in that. However, looking too much into the videos can lead to misinterpretations and make the issue worse. A lot of the older generation would not have an understanding of the context and culture behind songs and whilst there is no other way to gain it, it can clearly lead to misunderstandings and represent rap as a genre in a negative way. A contrasting perspective to this is the fact that a large amount of rap fans are young people who are stereotypically more impressionable. Glorification of violence as well as other factors such as negative gender representations for women can result in social problems.

Summary

To summarize, I feel reading Aidoo's article and applying it to music videos has given me a new perspective on what I want to create going forwards. Previously I had in mind a very singular narrative video for the song, but having read his views on the visceral reactions lyrics can create, I want to interpret this with my video. The idea of Kanye West coming into the studio without any pre-written lyrics for a beat and just seeing what resonates within him is something that I feel I can apply to our creative process for the video. The visceral way the Gold Digger video is created with very basic elements such as colour has changed my views on creating a music video. However one thing I still want to consider is whether the song we choose is appropriate for the visceral interpretation. The current idea we have is Swimming Pools by Kendrick Lamar, and the visceral message of the song is completely different to the intellectual interpretation. On the surface, it seems like a drinking anthem, due to the chorus of the song. However, when carefully considering the lyrics it is clear it is the complete opposite of that and actually advocates self control whilst drinking. Overall, I think it would be interesting to interpret the difference between the visceral and intellectual reaction into our video. If I could create a video which initially looks like a pro-drinking video when in reality it is the opposite, I think I would be doing the song justice.

Source: Media Magazine, Issue 45, September 2013

Ancillary Task Practice - Magazine Advert

In order to prepare for creating a magazine advert for one of my ancillary tasks, I have made a practice one for a currently unreleased Drake album. I used a picture of Toronto found on Google Images which would obviously have copyright issues but for practice I figured it would be fine. I included the artist name, the album title and the fact that the album is now released and made the image the same dimensions as another advert I have analysed. I also added a parental advisory sign; I'm not sure if this is required on an advert so this is something I need to find out for creating my final product. One thing I wanted to include was the actual 'views from the six', so I found an image showing off famous buildings from the city. I also used a calming photo filter to try and match what I expect from the album thematically. Furthermore, Drake is extremely loyal to Toronto and two sports teams from the city use this colour so it gives an element of continuity. I also used the healing brush tool to try and add the number 6 to the buildings in their lights. Drake refers to Toronto as the six because of the area codes for the city so I thought it would make the image unique and bring it together. The idea for adding it to the building lights is something I found online with the image below and I wanted to try it myself. One thing I need to consider when creating my actual ancillary task is that the advert needs to be portrait and not landscape. However in this case I was just looking to practice my editing skills and the photo I liked was more suited to a horizontal image. 

A mock up album cover I found online

Magazine Advert Analysis

Preparation for music video practice

In order to better understand the processes involved in making a music video, our group has decided to make a short clip from a real music video. This should help us understand some of the conventions of recording in more depth and also give us an idea about all the small details involved, such as storyboarding and planning recording sessions. The music video we have chosen to recreate is Roses by Outkast. This was chosen as it has a set very similar to something in our sixth form so we should be able to accurately recreate it.

The segment of the video we are initially aiming to recreate is 0:57 to 1:27. As part of our planning, we created a storyboard and took pictures of the shots to give us an idea of what we are going to be filming and how to frame it and set up the set itself.

The storyboard we prepared

The folder with the pictures we took in preparation

Comparison of one of the shots

 

Another comparison of a shot we recreated

Ancillary Task Practice - Album Cover/Digipak

In preparation for my ancillary task of creating a digipak for the music video, I have created two different album covers as practice. 

Swimming Pools - Kendrick Lamar

This is an album cover I created for the song Swimming Pools. I found a stock image of Compton, Kendrick Lamar's hometown. This idea of loyalty to where you are from is a strong convention within rap and this is something I had in mind with the creation of the of this cover. I wanted to make the city look like a prosperous place to live and as such I created two layers of the stock image and applied a soft light layer setting to the top layer and blurred the bottom layer. I thought that this would make the lights look brighter. I also slightly moved the bottom layer to create a feeling of distortion in order to be congruent with the themes of the song. To further the feeling of distortion I also added noise to the image. I think this also had the inadvertent effect of making the city's lights look brighter and busier so this is a skill that I learnt in the creation of this cover. One thing I would look to improve for this is my font choice for the text 'Swimming Pools'. I think it contrasts and compliments 'Kendrick Lamar' well but I think there is something about it which looks unpolished that I would like to improve. Therefore when creating my final ancillary task I will take extra care with my font. However I do think that the text placement on this cover is something that I did well as it shows off the interesting parts of the image, such as the skyscrapers, whilst clearly communicating the text.   

U - Kendrick Lamar

This is another album cover I created, this time for the song 'U' by Kendrick Lamar again. I took the image for this cover myself and this is good practice for the final ancillary task as it avoids copyright issues. I wanted to created a grimey kind of feel for this cover, reflecting the topic of the song. Therefore I desaturated the image and created a red glow on the hand print to create the look of blood on the hands. I used a paintbrush and reduced the opacity so it blended into the image and wasn't an abrupt change to colour. Similarly to the other album cover, I feel that my font choice is something I can improve on. I think the 'U' is something a little hard to read and I am unsure if the 'Kendrick Lamar' text is place well. My thinking was to integrate it with the gaps in the bricks but I don't think it worked as well as I wanted. 

Digipak analysis

Initial ideas

For our music video our initial idea is the song Swimming Pools by Kendrick Lamar. This means that our video will be in the rap genre. I wanted to do this genre because it is a type of music I have an interest in and it also has conventions that are easy to follow and recreate.

One of the main attractions to this song in particular was the subject matter present and the way that it demonstrates this. It is a song that in the verses preaches the negatives of excessive drinking and the destructive influence of alcohol, however due to the catchy hook (or chorus) of the song it has become popular at parties and has become a drinking song. I feel that the way in which the song has been misinterpreted adds to the message in an ironic way. I think that this mixed message is something that could be translated into a music video. For example, if we depicted a house party where there are people having fun but also someone suffering from their drinking would illustrate this message effectively. This message would allow for us to create a thought provoking negative representation of young people who drink excessively, allowing for self reflection.

Another element that I think would make a good video and attracted me to the song was the idea of drinking itself. It is something that allows for a lot of creativity and gives context to more visceral imagery (Altman), in that more abstract ideas are more common when drinking. Another way in that it suits the vision my group has for the video is that drinking suits a more mixed narrative, straying from one meta-narrative (Lyotard). It would mean that we could have a main narrative which shows the dangers of drinking but also stray away from it frequently, depicting the fun that can also be had. 

One thing that I would want to stray away from in comparison to the original video is the negative gender representation of women in the video. I don't feel that she adds anything to the video other than to serve the male gaze, an theory by the feminist Laura Mulvey. Even though this is a convention of the genre, I think it is one that has negative consequences upon an audience of largely young men and therefore I don't think it should be carried forward into our video.

Specific elements

One thing I would look to include in the music video would be something similar to this screenshot from Collard Greens by ScHoolboy Q. There is a part of the song where the main character's conscience is talking to himself. I feel having a green screen with the character talking to himself somewhat similar to this would be effective. 

Another element I want to include is a flashback in the narrative, making it non linear. This would be on the lyrics:

"Now I done grew up 'round some people livin' their life in bottles

Granddaddy had the golden flask,"

I think portraying the powerful symbol of the golden flask would help to add depth to the character and also reinforce the message of the song with regards to drinking culture. 

Another convention I think would be effective for the video is the screen flickering black at parts of the video that needs a fast paced feel. This is a convention of rap videos and I think it would help to create a party feel for the video when necessary.

An editing technique that we would definitely want to include is editing in time to the beat. The beat in this song is more prominent than some others and this makes it essential for this video so we don't lose the impact.

Roles:
Aidan Emberton - Print Media Editor/Director
Dan Grayer - Video Editor/Director
Charlie Adams - Cinematography/Director

We chose these roles as they fit the areas where we have the most ideas and most talent. We also decided to share the role of director as we all have creative ideas that we want to have inputted into the video. 

Conventions of music videos

This is a word cloud I have created detailing the most prominent conventions within music videos. As a list, these are: Narrative, Lip Syncing, Unique selling point, Main character, Editing in time to music, Montage editing, Combining narrative and performance, Lead singer, Promotional aspects and relating the video to lyrics. 

These are all conventions that apply to rap videos as well. For example, editing in time to the music is in almost every rap video. For example, King Kunta which I have previously analysed features this, making the beat more powerful as part of the video. In any rap song the beat is a vital part of the song and his helps to pronounce this effect. Another convention that I think is very vital in rap specifically is the main character. This is because such a big part of rap is making a star of the rapper and the video can help to create this. Again, this is a prominent in the video for King Kunta. In my opinion this is because the lyrics of the song have a theme which is self congratulating. 

In summary, when we create our video, one thing that is clearly important is following the beat with our editing and cuts between shots. This creates an element on continuity between the two products and makes them feel related. It also has the impact of pronouncing the visceral impact of a rap beat, meaning that the video itself helps to make the song better as well as having its own meaning itself. I think this idea is very suited to Swimming Pools by Kendrick Lamar which is a song we are considering at this stage. 

Representation analysis

In Kendrick Lamar's 'Alright' one of the key things that is being represented is conflict between African Americans and police officers in America. I think the representation is not one that can be categorized as either positive or negative overall. It is obviously very negative with its tone towards the conflict and condemns it. Although some aspects of the representation, particularly the attitude of African Americans is a positive representation. 

This still frame from the video helps to show how the relationship between the police and African Americans is portrayed. The focus on the gun and not the officer dehumanizes the officer making it easier to feel dislike towards him, or possibly see police as one object and not a group of people. At this point in the video, there is also a voice over of Kendrick Lamar saying "a war based on apartheid and discrimination". This reiterates the idea that there is a conflict going on. This scene, as well as the rest of the entire video, is shot in black and white, perhaps poignantly considering the fact that in a general sense, the conflict is between white and black people. This could be an attempt to highlight a binary opposition between the white police officers and the young black community in America. 

 This long shot shows police carrying a car full of famous rappers down the street. This could perhaps be representative of Kendrick Lamar's ideology with regards to police officers with racist attitudes. This shot could portray how he feels he is morally above them and this is shown in a literal sense here. The performance of the police officers also helps create this image of heightened status. They look to be suffering in order to carry the rapper's car.  

This is another long shot that helps empower the African Americans in the video. They are central in this long shot, stood on top of a police car. Again, this literally places them above the police. This could be perceived as either above the law, or above the police officers morality and their attitudes. The muscle car surrounding them could also be interpreted as mimicking how the police surround criminals, turning it on its head. I think that this creates a positive representation of the black community in their struggles and conflict with the police. 

This mid shot of the police officer, similarly to earlier in the video, hides the face of the officer in order to make it harder to make an emotional bond. This could be to communicate an ideology of disgust towards police officers or implying that these are the kind of people that it is hard to bond with. 

This mid close up on the officer shows him firing a gun that he has made with his hands. He is also making a gun sound with his mouth. I interpret this to be a suggestion that police officers are somewhat childish in their discrimination and racial profiling of the black community. This creates a clear negative representation of the police officers. 

Despite not being relevant thematically to the video, it still creates a negative gender representation for women. This is one of the more negative aspects of rap: it objectifies women as sexual objects and this is the case here. Despite being in the video for only a second, having this woman here doesn't add any meaning to the video other than being there to look at. 

One thing I really liked about this video was the decision to shoot the video in black and white. It is a really simple thing that adds a lot of meaning to the video considering the subject matter. If possible, I would like to interpret something like this within my own music video if at all possible. 

To summarize, I think that this video has a positive representation of the black community in America and a negative representation of the police officers accused of racial discrimination. Arguably though it creates a bad name for all police officers as it doesn't show any good cops. Although the representation in music video is something that isn't shadowed in mainstream media in America. Until recent times police violence wasn't covered much by American TV but due to the outcry from the general public following things like the George Zimmerman shooting it has become something of a hot topic. Despite this, the entirely positive representation portrayed by the Alright video is something found mainly in this and similar rap videos. In this video, there is a much larger representation of African American's in a positive light than on American TV usually shows. This is clearly because of the two different sides of the coin; the young African Americans will have a much different perspective than the police officers who are more affiliated with government and, as a result of that, the media. An alternate perspective upon this would be to consider the negative aspects of the genre of rap which stereotypically is associated with violence and gang culture. It could be said that this video is somewhat atypical of rap in that it takes a more considered approach towards the conflict that other videos or songs within the genre. For example songs like Fuck Tha Police by NWA help to illustrate how this is not always the attitude shown in rap. Rap has often been accused of creating violence in society and has always been one of the main controversies surrounding it. It could be said that the Alright video shows a progression in the genre of rap since the late 80s and early 90s. This video also touches upon the negative gender representation for women, although it is not as bad as many other music videos in the genre. 

Lyotard's narrative theory

Jean-Francois Lyotard

Lyotard is a post-modern theorist who disagrees with the more traditional theories of narrative. He thinks that instead of one big narrative, there are often many more smaller narratives going on at the same time. According to Lyotard this is as a result of a modern distrust in what he calls 'grand narratives', or 'meta-narratives'. This is arguably most obvious within sit coms where different groups of characters will have a different sub plot within the same episode. In my opinion this theory is suited more to things like sit coms than music videos, in particular rap, which is the media I am focusing on. This is because a music video is more limited in that it is part of a song which more often than not focuses on one topic. However, in a song which tells more of a story it may be more fitting. A video that immediately comes to mind for this is Stan by Eminem.

The video clearly depicts the linear meta-narrative of the song, and at the end of the video there is somewhat of a subplot in which we see Eminem replying to Stan's letter adding depth to the story. However, I think that this video subverts what is expected from the genre in telling such a clear story through the video. Although the song itself is particularly narrative focused so in that sense it is fitting. This is a clear contradiction of Lyotard's ideas, as it depicts a meta-narrative in a modern setting. 

A good point of comparison is the video for Kanye West's 'Jesus Walks'. Whilst, similarly to Eminem, his song covers serious topics such as poverty and racism which may be considered unstereotypical for the rap genre, the music video is put together in a much different way. It contains much less of a linear meta-narrative than the video for Stan even though the lyrics don't rule out that as a suitable choice. In fact, there are a few clear sub narratives in the video, including Kanye in a hallway of fire, images of African American's working in a situation which may be slavery and a depiction of a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The more complex narrative in this video may be due to more ideas being depicted in the song Jesus Walks than in Stan, however it is still interesting to see how different narratives techniques are chosen for two songs that have a serious topic. Personally, I think that the video for Stan had a linear narrative in order to portray the extremely powerful story in Eminem's lyrics and that anything else wouldn't have done it justice. Meanwhile I think the Jesus Walks video had a lot more potential in terms of what could be done with it. Interestingly, there were three different versions of Jesus Walks made so this could reinforce the idea that it was a flexible song to create a video for. Even further, the fact that so many narratives were created for the same message gives strong support to Lyotard's ideas on the death of the meta-narrative. 

To summarize, I do agree with Lyotard's ideas on narrative but it doesn't always fit the genre of rap videos. In the case of the Stan video, it is clear that a linear narrative is effective and present within the genre of rap which means it doesn't fit Lyotard's ideas. Although this doesn't mean that his ideas are completely unsuited to rap. For example if I applied it to Chance The Rapper's Juice (a video I have previously analysed) there is a clear lack of any meta-narrative yet the video, as well as Kanye West's 'Jesus Walks' video, is still very effective.

With regards to my music video, I think that there will be a subplot within the video. This creates a second narrative and in some ways aligns it with Lyotard's theory.There is a part within the song in which Kendrick Lamar talks about his grandparents' drinking when he was little and there is a strong symbol of a golden flask that we want to depict in our video.

Applying Goodwin's music video theory

Andrew Goodwin in Dancing in the Distraction Factory; Music Television and Popular Culture:

"Music videos ignore common narrative as they are essentially advertisements. As consumers, we make up our own meaning of a song in our minds: a music video can anchor meaning and gives the record company/artists a method of anchoring meaning."

I'm going to apply this statement to the music video for Chance The Rapper's 'Juice'.

At the very start of the video it is clear that an aspect of this music video is an advert for the song.

Right at the start there is a slide with the rappers social media and a hashtag for the song, and then again there is his name and the name of the song imposed upon the background of the video. After this there is a bit more meaning portrayed through the video.

This still shows chance looking around New York almost in confusion. Considering the song is about his rise to fame and being recognized within rap, it could suggest that he isn't prepared or doesn't understand it to some extent. The setting of New York helps to portray this as it is one of the busiest cities in the world and arguably home to capitalism, therefore perhaps a metaphor for the success he has achieved. That said, it is not abundantly clear and allows the viewer to develop their own meaning, as suggested by Goodwin. 

These two screenshots help to imply the idea that Chance has made it, as the lyrics to the song say. There are adverts for his music on the billboards at Times Square, which would show he has a lot of money to be able to pay for them, and also give him great exposure. Whilst it is highly likely they have been edited in, it goes to show, again through the method of setting, that Chance is gaining a lot of fame. 

This is a convention of rap videos, with the rapper addressing the camera and the audience. This use of camera work and performance helps to create the idea that the rapper is talking directly to the viewer and makes it feel like there is a bond between the two. Tied in with another convention of rap which is talking about how successful you are, this may be an attempt to make the viewer feel a part of this success. 

This long shot on Chance is arguably an advertisement and cross promotion with Foot Locker. His shoes are deliberately shown as clearly as any other shot in the video and the long shot also clearly includes the Foot Locker logo. There are many other logos shown throughout the video, such as Pepsi, which are repeatedly prominent however being on Times Square its hard to know whether or not they were deliberate, but on this occasion it clearly is. The colour of his shoes helps as they are the same colour as the foot locker logo.

In summary, there is only really a vague narrative to the music video, as Chance moves through times square. As Goodwin suggests, this video seems a lot more like an advert for the song, rather than a story in itself. I also agree with Goodwin in that as a viewer of this music video, any meaning is one that you look for and not one that strikes you immediately. Seeing the rapper walk through Times Square isn't something that gives off a powerful message instantly. However, analyzing it, you see aspects such as the adverts for his song in the background and it is striking that the rapper is being shown as a big deal. This could also link to the ideas of Stuart Hall, which are that the producer wants to the audience to take a specific meaning from the video. Showing Chance as a celebrity within the music video may be an attempt at subliminal messaging to create this idea in reality. In some ways, despite the conflict in ideas from Hall and Goodwin as far as narrative, the two different theorists ideas can work together in this video; the music video is an advertisement for the rapper and the song (Goodwin) and this is depicted clearly within the video to have the effect of an advert of the audience (Hall). Overall, the fact that there is not a clear narrative is something that I think is fairly conventional for the genre of rap. A big part of the genre is talking yourself up and this is not something that usually translates to a story telling type song. However, rap is often most powerful when telling a story, as evident through Eminem's Stan and therefore it is something that is also common but not as conventional.

Researching Rap Genre

Rick Altman

Rick Altman's study on genre found that there are three main types of pleasures gained from genres. These are:

Emotional - This is used to describe a strong emotional response such as a feeling of sadness or excitement. Tupac's music videos are generally a good example of this; Ghetto Gospel creates quite a sad feeling while a video like California Love generates an excited feeling.

Visceral - This is used to describe a physical reaction where you may not be able to identify exactly what it is that is so interesting. A good example of this is Schoolboy Q's Collard Greens video. It is out there yet intriguing.

Intellectual - These videos could also be described as a puzzle that requires thought to figure out.

Genre within Ghetto Gospel

Feeling conveyed

Ghetto Gospel's overall feeling is an emotional one, mainly due to the content of the video. It generates feelings of sadness and to some extent resentment. This could be because of the way the video allows us to get to know the character and how he lives his life which creates sympathy and a link between the viewer and the video. The shot above showing him with his mum in the family home immediately creates positive feelings towards the character implicitly due to the positive connotations held towards home. One thing worth considering is that whilst the emotional response is not something that is stereotypically associated with rap music videos - the visceral response is arguably more typical of the genre - it is still something that is prominent within the genre, particularly for tracks that address more serious topics such as this. 

Codes and Conventions

Costume

The shot above shows the conventions regarding costume in rap videos quite well, especially during the early 2000s when this song was released. For example, looking at the most central character we can see a hoodie, a gold chain and baggy jeans. This is definitely the typical costume worn in rap videos, particularly in this time period. Different rappers definitely have different styles but in terms of a typical costume this is probably the best bet However, as rap is generally linked to the culture of gang culture and to some extent pop culture when considering the biggest rappers this is something is always adapting.

Arguably the above is more representative of modern rap attire. The flat cap is something that is strongly linked with rap culture and this is shown here. The shirt is also something typical. Interesting designs of shirts and tees are also frequent in rap videos. Hoodies are also still prominent attire in rap videos. Jewelry is also prominent as seen the the lower shot; both characters in shot have some gold on them.

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Setting

Rap videos are frequently set in America, with the American attitude towards earning money being in some ways mirrored through this setting, especially seeing as a lot of rappers talk about money in their songs. The American setting can be seen clearly in the above screenshot from Ghetto Gospel. Generally the part of America depends on where the rappers are from with loyalty to where you are from being a strong part of rap culture. For songs directed towards radio popularity with a feel good vibe coming from the music, videos can often be set in parties. This vibe could also be described as the visceral response that Rick Altman described.

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Camera and Editing

In the Ghetto Gospel video the emotional tone is reinforced by more slow paced editing which is somewhat atypical of rap videos. The shots often linger focusing on the main character, possibly in order to create an emotional connection between him and the viewer. However I feel that the convention of editing is more as a result of the feel of the music than a convention in itself and therefore can be changed to suit the effect the editor wants to create with the video. The video for King Kunta by Kendrick Lamar is arguably more typical of the high paced feel often shown in rap videos. The cuts are frequent and in time with the beat which arguably helps to create unity between the video and the music as a singular piece of art. Also a lot of videos use letterboxing, which is leaving the dimensions of the video so that there are black bars on the screen. The could be used to create a vintage feeling.

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In terms of camera work, there are a lot of close ups and mid close ups within the Ghetto Gospel video. This highlights the emotional nature of the video and how this is reflected in the characters. Another convention that definitely still holds true today is the handheld camera shots. In some ways this could be reflective upon how the viewer of the video may aspire to live the lifestyle that is shown in the videos and makes the viewer feel as if they are part of the video. Specifically in Ghetto Gospel this could be used to show the way it feels to be on the streets and how uncomfortable it could be. In the King Kunta video this is also used. This could reflect on the high paced lifestyle that is being depicted in the video itself. One thing that is in both videos and that is certainly a convention in rap videos is a direct address from either the character or the rapper. Especially prominent in the King Kunta video Kendrick Lamar raps looking at the camera through a mid shot, possibly to highlight his confidence and create a connection, mimicking how people feel when given eye contact in conversation. Ultimately the camera work is to create a response to the video. I would argue that this would come under the 'visceral' type of reaction as it is like a gut instinct of desire for the lifestyle portrayed. 

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Subculture

Arguably the Tupac Ghetto Gospel video portrays the subculture the music is targeted to within the video. In the background of this shot we can see young people caught up in gang culture and I feel that this is somewhat close to the demographic Tupac targets. In addition to the group just mentioned, I think the demographic spreads wider to teenagers in general. As time has passed, mainly due to the status of Tupac within the rap scene, the audience has grown into adults but teenagers of today are also an audience.

I feel that people watch rap videos and listen to their music is due to a desire or an interest in the lifestyle that is often portrayed within the genre. Whether it be gangster rap and the specific lifestyle of gang culture or just the more mainstream rap portrayal of a rich lifestyle of excess.

Looking at these conventions, there are many things that I would want to include within our music video. Most prominently, the camera work and editing are things that help create the feeling of a rap video and therefore I think they must be included. Having cuts between shots in time with the beat of the song is something that I feel creates unity between the music video and the song and I would want to include this. Letterboxing is another convention that I would consider if it was appropriate for the video. However, one convention I might try to subvert is the eye contact with the camera. An early plan for our video is Swimming Pools by Kendrick Lamar, which is about excessive drinking and through subverting this it may give a slightly distorted feel to the video which would be appropriate for the topic.