Music Video Analysis - Rap/Hip Hop Genre

Summary:

Costume – conventionally the male rappers in music videos wear casual clothes such as jeans and t shirts and sports jackets, most commonly with jewellery like grills, diamond and gold necklaces and

watches with snapbacks. This convention is shown in this video as the two rappers are dressed to fit the stereotypes

Lighting – the lighting in hip hop videos is generally neutral, sometimes it is dark for effect to show the power of a character. In this video it is dim with bright lights showing a car

warehouse

Actors – the two rappers are miming the song and doing hand movements etc. along with it which is common for hip hop videos. The two male rappers are performing whist a ‘sexy’ female is on the screen dancing along to the music, the

use of highly sexualised females is very common in this genre.

Makeup – the male rappers have tattoos etc. which is common, their hair is covered by their snapbacks too. The female is wearing a lot of makeup to emphasise the sexiness.

Props – the used of nice cars is very common in videos in the genre, the opening shots include glimpses of Lamborghinis and range rovers. The use of good cars is common in this genre as it is used to display the amount of money and the lifestyle that the rappers have which is an important part of hip hop culture, the idea of being self-made and hardworking is represented through girls, cars and jewellery. At one point 50 cent is being showered with money which is an action that is (slightly mockingly) associated with this culture.

Setting – conventionally, settings of hip hop music videos include social areas like VIP areas in clubs, driving in nice cars through a city or in a deserted looking place. This video first takes place in what looks to be a car warehouse which links to the idea of expensive cars being used to represent the nature of the rappers. The setting then moves to a nice area that has palm trees etc which represents a leisurely and luxurious lifestyle.

This song ‘Buzzing’ by 50 Cent and Mann is an R&B hip hop song and is based around samples of Nu Shooz’ 1980 song ‘I can’t wait’. The song was extremely popular and gained a place in the ‘UK top 40’ for several weeks. It would fall under the category of Hip Hop/R&B/Rap and has been classified by all of the above over various different music streaming websites.

The Video is predominantly conceptual and performance based, no linear narrative is evident. It is comprised of a compilation of shots cutting between 1) the two rappers in a car warehouse 2) a girl dancing sexily in front of a car 3) different cars. At the beginning, a Lamborghini is driven into the warehouse along with the sound of a big exhaust, so it becomes obvious this video is going to feature a lot of cars. This is something that is always associated with rappers and their lifestyle. The girl is then introduced dancing in a short top and jeans, exposing her cleavage and midriff, the objectification of women and partial nudity is something that is also common within this genre. Laura Mulveys Gaze Theory and Andrew Goodwin’s notion of looking can be identified here, when every single shot of the girl is focusing predominantly on her body or her bodily movements or seductive facial expressions. This objectification of highly sexualized women is what makes up part of this genre, it provides lyrics and visuals to go along with it. In hip hop culture women are treated more as trophies, something to prove that the rapper has ‘made it’ like a car, they are de-humanized. The glorification of cars in this video is also very common in the genre. These two ‘trophy’ possessions are exaggerated in this video in order to create an image that appeals to all members of the target audience, for example men would aspire to be like the rappers and own fancy cars etc, and the women would aspire to be like the rappers girlfriends, who get to enjoy such luxuries.

The overall concept and purpose of this video is to flaunt the luxurious lifestyle which some rappers live. ‘Buzzing’ in urban slang means to be excited and happy, as these rappers are with their lives. This video is promoting hip hop and the materialist attitudes that come along with it. This video has no suggestion of morals or personal value placed on the individual, it is more all about the money and material things, which the director has captured perfectly in the inclusion of medium shots of the lady in front of the car, the lady from behind in the dress, and her dancing in front of the car also sums up the culture. The cultural codes expressed in this video reflects the artist’s outlook on life, as you can see by the way they are dressed, their attitudes and their lyrics. The performance aspect of this video is too, very conventional of a hip hop video and coincides with Goodwin’s theory that the demands of the record label will require close up shots of the artists. The two rappers are depicted together, rapping and making movements with their

hands, and also on their own. These shots display perfectly the aforementioned attitudes of these rappers. The close up shots of the rappers allow us to identify their tattoos, earrings, jewellery etc. which all relate back to the luxurious lifestyle that is being conveyed in the video. At one point, money is literally raining down on to 50 cent, which takes the exaggeration of money and wealth to the next level, almost to a comic extent. The editing in this video consists of simple, quick cuts from the conceptual side of the video to the performance side. This simple technique of editing allows the audience to follow the video easily and focus on the actual visuals on display. However, at the point where upon 50 cent has money poured on to him, a slow motion effect is put on the money to prolong and emphasise the idea of ‘raining money’ and just sheer wealth. Towards the end we are taken to a party environment, in which one of the rappers is holding massive stacks of money and then throws them, he is shown to be surrounded by people who are obviously idolising him. This creation of a party environment also complies with the rappers lifestyle which involves drinking, smoking marijuana and partying – all whilst earning copious amounts of money. Continuity editing is used to cut from this scene, to a scene of a girl with the money falling on here. Here we are brought back to the male gaze theories and notion of looking. Towards the end one of the rappers is driving a car whilst wearing sunglasses, which have ‘Buzzing’ encrusted in diamonds on the sides. This is just another example of the glorification of wealth and material objects that the hip hop/ R&B genre, and this video in particular, encourages. This video depicts exactly the negative stereotype of African American rappers, however this seems to appeal to the target audience of this genre. Theorist Roland Barthes’ Hermeneutic/ Enigma code can be identified within this video, as there is a certain mystery created around the fact that there is no narrative to the video, therefore there could be more to the characters that the audience don’t immediately know about. Elements of the symbolic code can too be recognised within this media text, for example, the money could be symbolic for something deeper, as could the cars, the jewellery etc.