Initial Photo-shoot Test

Before starting our project, we did a trail star photo-shoot with a practice genre theme of 'gangsta' rap/hip hop. The pictures were edited to reflect existing ones in the hip hop genre. Coincidentally, this seemed to fit well with our project, already starting with a strong female character as the artist.

Existing Art Work in Hip Hop

We got several members of our target audience to annotate their thoughts on some existing hip hop album covers. The conclusion to these annotations was that the more 'gangsta' rappers seemed "threatening" on their covers, others were classier. Many were seen as "artsy" in the alternative hip hop genre and many of them suggests roots to their "home town" and childhood.

Music Type Faces

We collected some music type faces together for our target audience to annotate. This helped us know what they would like to see connected to our artist. The majority didn't like the Katy Perry font which is similar to hip hop artist Rye Rye as it was too "pop" and "girly". Classic symbols were recognised as the musician has created an image connected to them, whereas the Radiohead logo was not as successful in being memorable.

Analysing Existing Album Artwork

Pen Portrait for Our Target Audience

Target Audience

For our music video choice we have chosen the hip hop/ R&B artist M.I.A. as we all liked the artist’s style of music and genre. 

We feel that our target audience will be aimed at our age group (17+) as the genre of music has explicit content. 

We also feel that R&B and hip hop have become a genre trend over the past year as it has become more and more popular to listen to these genres. 

Other major R&B artists like Beyoncé and Nicki Manaj like M.I.A portray a message in their songs. 

For example in ‘Bad Girlz’ M.I.A portrays a ‘girl power’ message along with Beyoncé’s track ‘Flawless’ featuring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s speech on Feminism.  

Representation in Hip Hop Music Videos

These music videos show similar representations in the hip hip genre. Things such as: vibrant colours, suburban areas, sports wear and places, common and unusual clothing combinations, features surrounding towns people, sense of community, bling and sing/rapping to the camera. These conventions will inspire our ideas for our alternative hip hop music video.

This Week's Singles Chart

The top 3 singles in the chart this week are:

1. Easy Love - Sigala

2. What Do You Mean? - Justin Bieber


3. Don't Be So Hard On Yourself - Jess Glynne

Sigala is a London-based DJ signed to Ministry of Sound. He is an active presence on social media (Twitter especially), which helps advertise him as an artist. Furthermore, the Ministry of Sound label regularly releases compilation CDs, which feature artists on their roster and recent successful songs from the house/dance music genre. Adverts for these albums (and other albums released on their label) are often seen on television.

Justin Bieber is an International pop star signed to Island Records (part of UMG). Justin Bieber is regularly in the spotlight due to his lifestyle and his millions of fans, so this is part helps promote his music. His albums are promoted using TV adverts, YouTube/Internet adverts and television appearances on chat shows such as The Ellen Degeneres Show.

Jess Glynne is a British pop star signed to Atlantic Records. She has recently released her debut album which has been advertised using a television commercial and posters/billboards across the country, eg. huge posters of her in the shop windows of the HMV store in Manchester's Arndale Shopping Centre.

Which Label Is M.I.A. Signed To And What Are Their Values?

Debut album ‘Arular’ and second album ‘Kala’ were released on XL and Interscope.

Third album “Maya’ was released on N.E.E.T, XL and Interscope.

Latest album ‘Matangi’ was release on N.E.E.T and Interscope. This is the album that features the single ‘Bad Girls’.

XL is a small independent label based in the UK, and it aims to give artists more creative freedom when writing and recording their product.

Interscope is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, which accounts for one of the ‘big four’ record labels in the world. Interscope have more control over their artists’ creativity in exchange for better promotion for their product, because they are more wealthy than small independent labels like XL. M.I.A. is now signed with Interscope and N.E.E.T, and she is more well-known now than she was when her first album was released with XL, perhaps because of the help of these more well-known labels.

XL mostly rely on live music events to promote their artists, as well as social media and the relationship between fans and artists.

Interscope uses advertising such as YouTube adverts and sidebar pop-ups, as well as sometimes using TV commercials and posters/magazine adverts.

Existing Artists In Genre

Artists included: Kendrick Lamar F.K.A Twigs, Nas, Grimes, Kanye West, Tink, A Tribe Called Quest, Jay Z, Kelis, Rye Rye, Beyonce, Santigold, N.W.A, MØ, OutKast, Rita Ora, Azaelia Banks, Snoop Dog, M.I.A, Gorillaz

These artists range from the origins of 'gangsta' rap with N.W.A and Snoop Dog, alternative hip hop with OutKast and A Tribe Called Quest to other alternatives like M.I.A and Gorillaz. Artists like Kanye West moved away from the popular 'gangsta' rap at the time to create a more blues influence in hip hop. Artists like Rita Ora and F.K.A Twigs represent the strong female artists in the alternative industry.

Gülşen - Bangır Bangır: Analysis

I have analysed a music selected music video that includes stereotypes and representations of gender, sexuality and status.

Linking to Richard Dyer's 'Star Theory', the artist Turkish 'Gülşen' is represented as a sexualised, independent female that wears bright clothing. She seems to have been constructed by an institution to aim towards a young, universal audience. Since she is sexualised by wearing revealing clothing it could be aims towards men. However, her music videos suggest independence away from a male, so it could appeal to a female audience too. 

In her music video 'Bangır Bangır', it opens with establishing shots of Turkey with bright lighting, creating a sense of an exotic country in which she lives in. She is then shot at a low angle on a balcony, looking down on men who are washing a car. The men are topless and in a stereotypically female position of cleaning a car. She is contradicting this stereotype, as she is the one objectifying the males. This disagrees with Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' Theory by the camera being represented as being a female gaze as the men are seen as "sex objects", other than the eyes of a man. However, she is still costumed to be attractive and sexual. This represents her as being in power. She is not only dominant in status but she is literally positioned higher than the men. 

The music video matches Andy Goodwin's music video theory of genre characteristics as this pop video includes dance routines and close ups of the artist to advertise her character. She has an obvious visual style and stands out from the background dancers.

The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is that the (translated) lyrics also show her dominance over a man.

"Get your hands up, babe

Surrender! now you're surrounded

Please be patient until the amnesty comes up (to you)

(I'm gonna kick your ass then)

I'm gonna make you kiss the pathways of this home"

In the music video and the lyrics she is basically telling him what to do, subverting the stereotype that women are submissive and are dependent on men. "Surrounded" links to her backup dancers who are seen as her 'group'. The female and male characters are seen on opposite sides and the artist created the feeling the the women are more dominant. 

Connecting to Dick Hebdidge's Theory, the artist's music and fashion forges her own identity, independence from the others. She matches his stereotype of 'fun' youth other than 'trouble', however, the artist in real life is actually 39. 

The stereotypes repressed in this pop video are that women are seen as supporters of each other and are dominant over men. Men are objectified and are featured merely for her to 'use'.

A2 Initial Ideas

For this unit centered around music videos and stars, my group and I researched different genres of music and their videos. We had ideas of an alternative girl band at first as we were familiar with their stereotypes and style, but since doing research we have decided to focus on a hip-hop alternative genre. I have my own personal interests in the hip-hop genre including 'A Tribe Called Quest' and 'Kendrick Lamar'. The hip-hop genre has recognizable conventions connecting to the origins of African American youth in New York. Linking to alternative, we found the artist 'M.I.A' to fit our interests in being able to be creative with our music video but also being able to use recognizable features of a genre that we can follow or contradict.