Music Video Influences

Lyrical Analysis

"I'm back with voodoo and I'm breaking UKbarriers, differently, viciously. So hit the deck, best protect your neck, cos your life could go in seconds. They reaching for the weapon, all in the name of: money, power & respect"

This is a extract from verse 2 ofFab Soare's trackUnderdog Music. Immediate from the get gothe artistis promoting and selling himself. Billed as thistype of rapper we can recognise hisdistinctflow and rhythm to the jazz infused90's resonating beats. The word aggressive is appealing to myself as it fits in with the type of video that we want to make about a aggressive young adolescent who faces depravity but faces it head on through boxing. The second line states'so hit the deck best protect your neck.' Thisis a direct reference to Mobb Deeps lyrics from survival of the fittest.This line can relate to the instinct of survival asyou could be targeted or threatened at any time. Line 3 infers that things such as guns and knives are commonplace in the cycle of depravity andpeople would do anything to gain fame, money and respect.

Our Video Concept

We areusing the track entitled Underdog Music by the unsigned artist Fab Soares. Having analysed the lyrics of the video I found a distinct link between the subject matter of lyrics to that of artists such as Nas and Mobb Deep. In his track he reiterates themes regarding social problems such as drugs and gangs and the hardships of living in London where money is regarded as a metaphor for power and success. This is something that appeals to us as we want tointegrate these themes into our video.We are using theconcept of the 'Underdog' and the stereotypes behind this ideal. Using the narrative format Fab Soares track willaccompany lyrics that relate to a protagonist who comes from a deprived area. He has becomeembroiled into the world of petty crime including selling drugs to support his single mother. He wants to break out from this lifestyle and hopes he can achieve it through his passion of Boxing. Boxing is a sport which conforms most to younginner city kids who are involved in the life of crime and often its seen as a saviour for those who have fallen on hard time. We can use the representations of and the symbolisms behind the film which relate to a underdog attitude andresilience against the established favourite.In essence our video is going to relate to themes such as hope,handwork and desire in contrast to the repressive negativity of crime and poverty.Essentially our video is going tochallenge the conventions of hip hop music video. Instead of a variety of themes that represent the usual connotations of power, money, women and respect our split narrative will question whether that path to riches is really the right one.

Video InfluencesWe are very much influenced by the recent surge in East Coast rap music with the emergence of rappers such as Joey Badass and Dillion Coopers videos inspiring us. So regardingthe cinematography and the use of colour and ambient urban shots of the area that they represent this is what is going to inspire some of the shots that will be seen in the video. For example for the opening shots to our music video I've looked at Dillion Coopers video State of Elevation and his other video Kung Foo and at the beginning the visuals show a montage of shots of a urbanenvironment that cut quickly synchronising with the pace of the beat. The visuals are shot in black and white whichemphasises and portrays the area as rough and gritty which is something which we want to fit into our video and this can link to the narrative of the video and the domestic situation of the protagonist.

Joey Badass's video Waves is also a video that we seeinspiration from. At the beginning of the video it shows Badass getting up out of bed to start his today. This is effective for us as it can show that everything seems routine and normal for our protagonist until he picks up the things that he needs to sell his drugs showing thathis life is different to others. Next to it is a shot of boxing gloves showing the contrast of ideals and responsibilities that our protagonist has. Additionally there is a shot of him kissing his mother. We could perhaps twist this image to show money being given to his mother from his illegal gains.

Influence has also been drawn from other musical genre's for instance pop artist Lorde's Royals video. The simplistic nature of some of the shots create a sense of realism and that is something that we want to reflect in our product. For example the shots denoting one of the actors in the video plotted against a blank grey background.

Other important music video influences include the definitive and very prominent tale of the theme of revenge which is told in the video by Murs - Walk like a man. He use's simplistic narrative that compliments his lyrics well to navigate the viewer through a street narrative that involves the protagonist of the story avenging the death of his gangster friend. Such symbolism's is something which we can use and import into our video regarding the themes of gun crime and we can use the gun as metaphor for success or failure. In Murs video he also toys with a split narrative regarding the protagonist implicating himself into a world of crime and prison or whether he can challenge that anger through music. Also regarding visual representation, I've discussed with my partner that we could include a variety of shots that represent the protagonists alternate lifestyles. This could be seen through a single shot of the protagonist in a black background wearing boxing attire I want to use Tempa T's next hype video for example, a performance video where there rapper is seen topless in just a black background that's the type of finish that I want to achieve. This could split to mis en scene of expensive clothing and drug taking. These are just some idea's that we could use and that have been drawn from videos such as Rick Ross's Thug Cry and so fourth.