Music video analysis - " What's my name" Rihanna ft. Drake

Music video Analysis - "What's my name" on Prezi

R&B/Hip-Hop music video conventions

After choosing our track for the music video, we dicide to do some research on R&B and HipHop music video Conventions:

Genre conventions:

R&B/HipHop artists tend to use Narrative and Performance as their music video genres:

Performance videos focus on showing footage of the artist.

In an R&B/HipHop music video, performance is quite important. Many solo artitst use choreographed dance routines to make the video more interesting (upbeat songs are more likely to have more movement). They also try to engage the viewers through the camera by using many close-up shots and gesturing. Also the use of fashionable cothing or more explicit clothing is an important way of appealing to their audience. An example of this is Pussycat Dolls - 'When I Grow Up' (it's a well-known song because of its video).

Narrative is used in this type of videos so the audience wants to know what happens next in the video. It can also create a story that the audience can relate or aspire to.

R&B female artists or groups cover a large range of emotions in their music videos. That's why thay tend to have more of a narrative perspective instead of performance.

If the video is a hybrid between performance and narrative then the solo artist often becomes part of the narrative story, acting as the narrator and the main character of the story at the same time. An example of this is Beyonce's music video 'If i were a boy'.

Target audience conventions:
R&B fans are usually  between the ages of 13-25 and a majority of this age group are females. This is because female R&B artists stereotypically make soungs about being in love/heartbroken, which appeals greatly to teenage girls. R&B songs also involve a lot of FAshion wich also attracts females.
In both R&B aand HipHop music videos, females are portrayed in a very sexual way through their outfits, dance moves and lyrics. This is something that attracts males. Men tend to be more attracted to the jewellery and depiction of wealth shown in this videos than females.
Females might find HipHop appealing because they are physically attracted to te male artists.

Conventions:
Money - References to wealth or money in R&B/HipHop music videos are very common. It tends to be rappers that have a stronger reference to money in their videos. This is a way of showing the artist's power. Money can also be shown through their possessions, such as jewellery (usually gold) and expensive sun glasses. They also use 'fast & flash' cars in their music videos as part of their image. Expensive objects make them look good to the target audience.

Women - Women are used as voyeurs in majority of R&B/HipHop music videos to add appeal to the video (ussually occurs in male artists' videos). They wear provocative outfits and have sexy dance moves.
A good example of this two conventions is Mann ft. 50 cent. - 'Buzzin'.

Men - Male artists are usually portrayed as powerful and wealthy people. However, when women use them in their music videos it tends to be in a negative way. They often use their men to express their feelings (e.g. man cheating in a relationship, how males use and abuse women, etc) as we can see in Beyonce - 'If i were a boy'. However, they are sometimes shown as positive, as shown in romantic songs.

Our music choice - "I Wanna be a Star"

This is our song choice: J-Reyez, Traphik & Maribelle Anes's "I wanna be a star". The music genre is R&B/ hip-Hop/ Rap. Our music video genre is going to be performance with some narrative. We chose this song because its upbeat, fast paced and catchy. I'll be playing the main female character and Calvin will play the main male charecter (rapping parts).

Maribelle Anes, J.Reyez & Traphik “I Wanna Bе A Star” Lyrics

(Chorus – Maribelle Anes)
I wanna bе a star
I want everyone tο know
I wanna hаνе thе money аnd thе fame аnd thе clothes
I gotta gο far
I gotta hаνе shows
All I wanna dο іѕ bе successful

‘Cause I wanna bе a star
I wanna bе, I wanna bе
I wanna bе, I wanna bе a star
I wanna bе, I wanna bе
I wanna bе, I wanna bе a star

(Verse 1 – J.Reyez)Yeah аnd I’ma give іt аll I gοt now
I’m heading fοr thе top now, embedded іn thе рlοt now
And I won’t ѕtοр now, thе same expedition
Bυt now I’m more determined fοr thе name аnd spot
Of thе top аnd I rise, thаt’s mу name’s definition
Thе game іѕ a mission fοr thе same recognition thаt I bееn gettin’
And I gotta jump tο thе next step
Room fοr improvement, ’cause I ain’t thе best уеt
I’m јυѕt a musician οn thе rise
Mу ambition fοr thе prize, nο standardize tο thе sky
I’ma keep οn trying ’til thе day thаt I die
Whаt I ѕау іn mу rhymes, іѕ lіkе аnd іt’s honesty
Haters уου саn dеѕріѕе bυt уου suckas ain’t stoppin’ mе
Sау whаt уου ѕау bυt уου suckas don’t bother meee
I јυѕt hаd tο extend thе line
Wе gonna rise аnd I’m talking аbουt thе friends οf mine

(Verse 2 – Traphik)Now уου mау ѕау thаt I’m a idealist bυt I’m nοt thе οnlу one
I саn ѕау whеn I wаѕ 3 іѕ whеn thе prophecy begun
Mу daddy saw mе dancing around thе family tree fοr fun
Stаrtеd snapping wіth thе camera, thе spotlight οn hіѕ son
I caught a bug fοr thе stage аnd thе fame
Applause frοm thе audience, thеу saying mу name
I’m οn a mission аnd thеу saying іt’s impossible
It’s really lіkе I’m pissing ’cause mу flow іѕ ѕο unstoppable
Thеу’d ѕау I’d never mаkе іt ’cause I’m јυѕt a silly Asian
Tο mе іt ain’t a awesome sight, іt’s more lіkе a destination
Eyes οn thе prize аt thе еnd οf thе line
I know thаt I’ma gеt thеrе, іt’s a matter οf time
Everytime I gο out I want TMZ tο follow mе
Wanna hit thе VIP whеrе bottles poppin’ models bе
I lіkе mу haters ѕο I never lеt іt bother mе
‘Cause now I’m mаkіng money, mom аnd daddy look уου gotta see

Star study: Rihanna

Rihanna on Prezi

Case Study: Johnny Cash - "Hurt"



This song is about realizing consequence and regret. It sends a powerful message that we should all proceed through life wisely, because there is nothing worse than being stuck with a label, a pain, a sickness, or a death, that we know beforehand will leave us only wishing things had been different and that we could change the choices we made.

The original song was by Nine Inch Nails (1994).  In 2002, "Hurt" was covered by Johnny Cash to critical acclaim; it was one of Cash's final hit releases before his death. Its video was named the best video of the year by the Grammy Awards and CMA Awards, and the best video of all time by NME in July 2011.

There are some major differences between NIN and Cash’s versions:

The theme of NIN’s music focuses on death and has a depressed and unusual tone to it while Johnny Cash’s focuses on regret and faith, making reference to Jesus and Christianity. Johnny changed some of the lines to remove profanity from the lyrics and to also get this across (e.g. The line "crown of shit" was changed to "crown of thorns", like NIN’s censored-for-radio version.).

 NIN music video is a live performance with disturbing black-and-white images on the screen behind the artists linking to the theme of the song (e.g. there are images of death, violence, etc).

Cash's video was directed by Mark Romanek, an American music film director who previously worked with many top-selling recording artists such as U2, Michael Jackson and Madonna. He also won two Grammys, one for the film ‘Scream’ the other for ‘Got ‘Til it’s gone’.).

In the video, the 71-year old Cash appears very fragile as he sings this from his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. It is a very emotional video and drew a lot of media attention.

The genre of Hurt is a hybrid of performance and narrative. It consists of jump cuts from images of Johnny’s past to him currently singing us the song. At one point you see all his awards and then it  jumps back to him alone at a table with food and wine. This creates a sense of ‘what went wrong’ and a sense of empathy from the audience. There is some intertexuality of religion as we are shown Jesus being nailed to a cross. This scene is a metaphor for the pain Johnny has been through. Perhaps he felt that he was being nailed to a cross of his own and like Jesus is isolated and betrayed by those he loves. Cash isn’t wearing makeup, as there was no attempt to make him look younger or more vibrant through lighting or other special effects.

The video appeared to be Cash's death announcement, as he was in failing health after a life filled with drug-abuse. He died 7 months after the filming of the music video.

Hurt lyrics

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember, everything

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know,
goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way