50 Cent FT Akon Still Will

Features to look for Genre Characteristic General Examples The genre is Rap but the chorus contains an R&B singer. (Akon) This genre usually contains conventions such as girls wearing revealing clothes, artists showing money & car, and artists lyrics being violent and rebellious against society. Detailed Example Despite the majority of the music video being based on the artists being in prison. Some of the performances shown in the video such as 2.22 show 50 Cent wearing a chain and a leather coat. These accessories would be seen as expensive and therefore the typical conventions of the genre are still apparent despite the subject of the song.

What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?

The lyrics on a whole are based on the artists lifestyle. Discussing his neighbourhood where he lives, and his experiences. Rap music usually has a storyline in the lyrics and the visuals tend to narrate this.

Overall the lyrics are about both of the artists violent personalities hence the fight scene in the middle of the video. This scene at 2.50 relates to the lyrics as the song discusses fighting, the visuals illustrate the lyrics.

What is the relationship between music and visuals?

The song has a fast tempo and the instrumental is bouncy. Due to this, there are not many slow motion effects and in a large portion of the video, the camera seems handheld, allowing the movements to look more bouncy.

The music is based on prisoners and as the visuals show a prison throughout, it is a close relationship and very relevant. Akons clothing in the video is very basic; he is wearing plain black trousers and a white vest. This is very much like prison clothing and therefore the visuals match the music. The shots of the singers in prisons could be show John Fiskes theory of genre as he says that or knowledge is based on themes in media. This means that most of the audience would not know what a prison

looks like inside; however we believe the video because of how the media has portrayed it to us.

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

In this genre, there are usually close-ups of the artist when their facial expressions become relevant to what is in the video. There are close-ups of both 50 Cent and Akon throughout the video such as 1.35 where 50 cent is shown in what looks like a cell. He is lifting weights to emphasise he is tough.

There is one particular close-up at 2.47 which shows 50 Cent squaring up to another man as if they are about to fight. Both of them have a serious facial expression which implies their feelings and tells the viewer that they are not on particularly good terms with each other. 1.44 a close-up shot of 50 Cent with his hood up getting out of a black van automatically portrays a picture of someone that is up to something rebellious or illegal. Again this relates to the stereotypes that rappers have developed over the years, including being actively involved in illegal activity. Close-ups are also used to show the artist as the main attraction of the video. This is relevant to Vladimir Propps theory of narrative as 50 Cent would have been seen as the hero of the video by his fans and by having close-ups, this is emphasised.

Is there reference to the notion of looking?

Rappers usually follow a similar trend with the way they look and present themselves. E.g. baggy clothing which is usually black, fast cars, jewellery etc.

2.19 50 Cent is show with a baggy, black hoody on, making him look more formal and urban in comparison to someone of another genre of music such as Pop. This helps the audience establish that he is a rapper. He also wears a bandana, this is an accessory commonly associated with gangs. This allows the audience to assume he has gang relations. At the start of the video, another one of 50 Cents songs is playing on the TV, showing him with girls, nice cars and expensive clothes. This contradicts the whole of this

video and could follow Levi Strausss theory that there is always some form of binary opposites in media. In this case, rich and poor.

Are there intertextual references?

Unless the song itself is based on another piece of media, intertextual references are usually irrelevant in Rap music.

There are no obvious intertextual relationships in this video

Is it performancebased, narrativebased or conceptbased? How much of each

This video is mainly performance based; however there is some form of Narrative throughout.

The artists in this video, (Akon and 50 Cent) are in a prison cell. This is narrated without the music at 50 seconds in where another prisoner is shown walking the corridors and pushing food in a bowl under the cell doors of the artists. 1.15 is an example of a performance based video as the artist is shown singing the lyrics as they are being played.

Jay-Z FT Mr Hudson - Young Forever R&B/Hip-Hop Features to look for General Examples Detailed Example

Genre characteristic

This song has a particularly sad theme and vibe to it and so R&B songs that have this theme usually have a slower paced video.

This is the case here most of the video is various short clips which are in slow motion; this automatically provides a calmer vibe. An example of this is 0.18 when there are some young boys playing basketball in slow motion. The song content is fairly deep compared to other rap songs, this could be because rap music is changing as a whole and artists are developing and moving away from the gangster image which has been built up. This could show Andrew Goodwins theory of genres changing and evolving.

What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?

In a song like this, there would usually be a story line to match the lyrics, however, it would be difficult to do this here as the lyrics are talking about being young in general, and it does not follow a story. Despite this, all the short clips which are included in the video show younger people doing activities.

An example is 1.35 where a young man is shown to be skateboarding. A second example of many would be at 2.47 where a young girl is shown dancing. These two clips relate to the song lyrics of being forever young. This has been done to help narrate the song better. At 2.28 Jay-Z is talking about pretty girls driving cars and at this time in the video, there are a group of girls smiling and driving through a field, almost looking care free.

What is the relationship between music and visuals?

Due to the calm theme which the song takes. The visuals would also be calm and laid back. This can be done through the colours used.

The whole music video is black and white which helps provide the song with a calm vibe. The visuals also contain clips of people who do not look as if they are worried about life and are care free, such as the skateboarders, American football players and the fans at the concert etc. These all show people who are having fun, relating back to the song itself Forever Young.

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

There are not many close-ups of the artists, but when there are, they show the artist with lack of emotion on their face, emphasising the somewhat depressing nature of the song as it is slow Rap. Jay-Z is a rap artist, and so a common motif of rap artists is an urban look. In this case, the artist is shown wearing sun glasses which are a commonly associated accessory which hip-hop artists wear.

An example of lack of facial emotion on an artists face is Mr Hudson at 1.19 He is performing the song with no smile or any sort of emotion, compared to Sean Kingstons smile throughout This shows the difference in song theme. This close-up helps maintain a laid back vibe. If Mr Hudson was shown smiling and joyful, it would go against the whole theme. Jay-Z wearing the glasses which are commonly associated with rap artists help fit the criteria of the genre. This supports Denis McQuails theory on genre as he said that all media lives up to an expected criteria.

Is there reference to the notion of looking?

Jay-Z has common characteristics of a rappers image.

Jay-Z is shown wearing black, loose clothing with trainers which has an urban look. Rappers tend to follow this trend throughout the genre. He is also wearing sun glasses which cover a large proportion of his face, it is common in this genre that the artists cover their face to portray a shadiness effect to their image.

Are there intertextual references?

There are no intertextual references in this video. Direct intertextual links are not relevant and not needed in this video.

Despite there being no intertextual links in the music video, there are various clips which look as if they have been recorded on a home camera, rather than a professional camera man, I believe this has been done to create a simplicity theme in the video and it looks as if the video contains memories from other peoples minds This relates to the young song lyrics.

Is it performancebased, narrative-base or concept-based? How much of each?

Mostly concept-based, but some performancebased. Not narrative-based as there was not a clear story line.

As I previously mentioned, the concept of the video is to show people who do not have worries and are having fun. The footballers, skateboarders, young children dancing and fans at the concert all share the same fact that they are having fun. The message of the song is effectively to enjoy life, and all these clips share the same concept of enjoyment, due to this, I conclude that it is mainly concept-based. There are some performance-based clips such as Jay-z on the top of a sky scraper and Mr Hudson performing alone in a dark room. The dark room and loneliness effectively tells us that Mr Hudson wants to be alone to reflect back on life and have personal thinking time. This works well with the theme of the song as it could indicate that the artist is thinking back to when they was young themselves.

K-Koke FT Rita Ora Lay Down Your Weapons Features to look for General examples Detailed example

Genre characteristic

The genre of this song is Rap with some R&B A common characteristic of this would be to have an urban theme throughout to match the Rap music style.

An example of this in this song is the setting throughout the video. It is a prison wing. This is obviously an unwelcoming, rough place to shoot a video but it works well with the genre as rap artists commonly associate themselves with toughness and a prison would help emphasise this. This common theme of toughness in rap helps cater to the audiences needs and helps them recognise the genre. This is Christina Gledhills theory. It also shows Gunther Kresss theory as he says that all genres follow their own template and pattern. The tough, urban theme is the common pattern in rap music videos and it is continued here.

What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?

Lyrics match the visuals as the song consists of the artists effectively giving a message to Lay down your weapons, and to avoid doing criminal activities and ending up in prison. As the setting is a prison, lyrics and visuals are linked closely.

2.23, the artist says Picture living in this prison. At this time in the video, he himself is sitting on a bed in a small, dark room which looks like a prison cell. This helps illustrate the song better and helps the audience visualise what K Koke is saying.

What is the relationship between music and visuals?

The music as a whole is fairly slow paced and as the song has a moral and a meaning, there is a story inside the video. There are also slow motion shots throughout the video to match the vibe.

At 2.33, the prison inmate is shown walking through the prison in slow motion which emphasises the story more and allows the audience more time to look and understand the video better. It allows a better impact in comparison to if the video was sped up, as this would distract a viewer from the song as they would be trying to keep up with the song.

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

There are close-ups at some points, usually of Rita Ora who is the singer of the chorus, K Koke himself does not have many close-ups

Rita Ora has close-ups because she is thought to be a good looking artist in the music industry and close-ups of her would keep the male audience interested. Not only this but her facial expressions looks fairly sad and laid back which matches the song theme .E.g. 1.32 Despite the song having meaningful content, K Koke is dressed in a way which may be similar way to other rappers who may portray themselves as gangsters e.g. the black clothing and peak cap. This shows a binary opposite of good and bad (Levi Strauss), as he is giving a message but still following negative stereotypes.

Is there reference to the notion of looking?

Voyeurism is often used in this genre, which is done to keep the male audience interested; it also means that women viewers are forced to take a male approach to the video. In this case, Rita Oras costume is not really voyeuristic as she is covered up in black clothing.

Rita Oras costume battles the common dress code of women in this genres videos. 2.58 shows Rita Ora and her costume. She is wearing some chains around her neck which may show she is dressing as a male and the jacket she wears effectively looks like a males. This matches the urban theme.

Are there intertextual references?

There are no intertextual references.

Intertextual references are not usually relevant to this genre of hip-hop, unless the artist is referring to a particular subject which needs a reference. In this case it is not a characteristic.

Is it performancebased, narrative-base or concept-based? How much of each?

This video is split between performance based and narrative based.

There are cuts between the artist performing (lip sync) and the storyline of the prison inmate and his journey in prison. Similar to 50 Cents video, the audiences image of prison is created by the media as most people have not been. Therefore the setting in this music video would support John Fiskes theory of genre as he said that our knowledge is based on what the media shows us.