Staples 2

Max StaplesAshley HumphriesENC 1101-00016 March 2015ChumAnalyzing visual and written texts is how we are able to find additional meanings in the works of artists such as Earl Sweatshirt. Earl is a rapper who uses both visual and textual mediums to engage his audience in his work unlike many other artists. His verses, while sluggish and monotone, are clever and insightful and are accompanied on occasion by artistic videos that compliment his lyrics. Once piece of work in particular that showcases this talent is his song Chum. The song easily connects the visuals with his lyrics for an even more impactful effect.I think that Chum is a great song for this report because it really gets the viewer/listener thinking about the lyrics and also analyzing the video and seeing how the two connect to each other. I started off my analysis by first watching the music video with no sound on. While watching I really paid attention to what was going on in the video and made connections. The first thing that I realized was that the video was in black in white. This must have something to do with the general mood of Earl during this time. He was very solemn because his privacy was invaded and he felt like he couldnt really trust anyone (Markman). A few times in the video there are also these very odd faces. The faces must have something to do with what Earl feels others visualize him as, an outcast or different. Throughout the video I also realized that there was a frog that was shown frequently. The frog starts out normal sized and then in one of the last scenes you see not one from but multiple frogs and they are absolutely gigantic. The frogs also may have something to do with what Earl believes others view him as or just what he feels like at the time. The frogs were huge and disgusting looking so maybe as the song progresses, and as Earls life progresses, they become larger and more disgusting. Im not saying that Earl thinks he is ugly but that maybe he thinks his personality or thoughts are ugly and that as he goes on in life they get progressively worse, but eventually he finds more frogs, his new friends.After I watched just the visual part of the video I listened to the lyrics and turned off my computer monitor and tried to connect the lyrics to what I had already noticed from the video itself. His lyrics did not directly correlate to most of the song but when looking for a deeper meaning in what he was saying I could see that most of my assumptions from just watching the video were correct. I also used the website RapGenius for this part as it gives a line by line analysis for the song and really helps to aide in making connections.When I finally watched the video with sound and picture, I could see how the lyrics and video correlated. The correlation isnt word for word in the sense, its not like as Earl says pendulum swinging that there is a picture of a pendulum swinging but they correlate in another way. They correlate by both helping the viewer to understand what is going on in Earls life at this point and also how he feels about what is going on in his life.Earl Sweatshirt has led an odd life and it is important to note that at the time he was writing this song he was at an extremely difficult point in his life. He is only sixteen and recently moved back to America after his location being revealed against his will in a hip hop magazine (Stone). The lyrics and video both cleverly and effectively convey his emotions during such a difficult time and provide deep insight into his experience.In the beginning the camera is focused on a seemingly normal frog which is surrounded by darkness. The frog is immobile except for its gentle croaking and the video is also clearly in black and white. As the first line begins the camera cuts to a blurry image of Earls face as it slowly becomes clearer and rotates. While this happens Earl delivers the line Something sinister to it, pendulum swinging slower a degenerate moving This line is fascinating as it very cleverly introduces Earls state of mind. First he mentions that there is something sinister to it in this case he seems to be referring to an aspect of his old home he has recently returned to. He had only been back a week when this song was written and thus he seems to feel out of place like there is now something sinister to a place that used to be so familiar as well as possibly something sinister within himself. This conflict and uncertainty are mirrored by the blurry image and the rotating camera focused on Earls face implying a degree of confusion.The second half of the line is equally interesting. The pendulum swinging slower could be a reference to Poes work The Pit and The Pendulum and possibly implying that Earl feels in himself a kind of impending demise or uneasiness (Chum). The description a degenerate moving is a description of, not only the pendulum slowing down, but also of Earls own movements. He feels like a degenerate, he feels cold and alone, there is no warmth or appreciation of the city he once called home there is only a frigid disconnect (Chum). The video reflects this perfectly as Earls face shows no emotion, his features are completely relaxed, and as a result the viewer can almost feel is despondency and displeasure with his new environment. Further along in the chorus, in fact the final line of the chorus, Earl says Get up of the pavement, brush the dirt up of my psyche. This lyric is another which clearly reflects Earls adjustment to his recent changes in his life. He is still picking himself up and figuring out himself while he writes this song. This inner confusion is continually reflected in the video as the camera keeps rotating around Earls head when he delivers the chorus.In the following verse Earl begins to reminisce about his father who left when he was young and describes his feelings towards him. Following this he delivers the line Sixteen, Im hollow, intolerant, skip shots I storm the whole bottle, Ill show you a role model. This line again reveals Earls inner conflict with himself as he doesnt seem happy with himself being the way he is and seems frustrated that his father, who left when he was still very young, did not teach him how to be a better person. He also mentions the amount he drinks and states that hell Show you a role model this is a response to the increased amount of attention he is getting now that he is back in America and he doesnt seem to like it or at least doesnt feel that he deserves it or is a good role model. These feelings are reflected in the video as he delivers the line. First the camera cuts to Earls feet and we see that they are not actually on the ground. Earl is not walking but simply gliding along through the various scenes of the video as he delivers his lyrics. This is not only one of the first instances of the video not necessarily being set in what previously appeared to be reality but it also reinforces the point that Earl is gliding through life in the despondent nature reflected in his facial features. His opposition to the spotlight he is receiving is also displayed; as he delivers the lines there is always a spotlight on him and the surrounding area is darker or even fully black and even through this constant hyper attention he maintains his depressed and blank stare while coolly delivering each lyric.I would like to take a moment to describe how important it is that Earl keeps his lyrics in tune with what is going on in the music video. He doesnt necessarily show exactly what he is saying but he shows the audience more of how he is feeling. He wants the listeners to be able to benefit from being able to see the video and hear the music at the same time more than they would benefit from just absorbing either the video or the music. Many rappers nowadays dont really connect what they are saying in their music to what is going on in the video and those that do may do it on a more literal level whereas Earl does it on a more figurative level and that causes the audience to think about the lyrics and really understand what is going on in the song.Earl goes on to further describe his childhood as well as childish antics that reflect on his inability to be the role model he feels people wish him to be. Towards the end of this verse he again begins to evaluate himself and says Im indecisive, Im scatterbrained, and Im frightened, its evident and them eyes where he hiding all them icicles at. This further reinforces his ideas of self-doubt and he even acknowledges the coldness of his gaze, comparing his eyes to icicles.In the video these themes are reflected in a number of ways. The camera continues to spin around Earls head on occasion and Earl continues to float through the various surrounding without really seeming to pay attention. As he delivers the begging of the line about being indecisive a dog appears but its face is obscured in a large fuzzy black circle. When Earl finishes the line and mentions his eyes the camera cuts back to the dog and the face is revealed to be an evil looking cartoonish face that is quite startling. This again reflects Earls thoughts that he might not be who people want him to be. He previously had had a blank face and people simply projected their own thoughts onto him but now if they look closer they will surely see in his face something sinister to it.The chorus repeats and the camera continues to rotate around Earls head as he delivers it. The camera also briefly cuts to the toad which was shown in the beginning of the video. Following the chorus the first line Earl delivers is Time lapse, bars rotten, hearts a bottomless pit. Time lapse in this line is simply referring to Earl skipping from before he was away to being back after an extended absence. He mentions the rotting bars insinuating that his rapping, also known as bars, is suffering due to his internal conflict. His heart being a bottomless pit refers to how as he is trying to discover himself in this new environment he is also exploring his emotions and feelings and they seem to be endless. If the pendulum line does refer to Poes story then this might also add the pit and Earl is searching for what it contains.During the delivery of this line is when the video ramps up. Earl is suddenly not just floating a few inches above the ground but is now suspended multiple feet in the air and upside down. This could reflect Earls feelings that his life has been turned completely upside down by such a big change and it could also add to the perception that Earl does not feel connected to reality anymore and seems to feel very alone in his own world. It is also around this time that we first see Earls back. For a brief moment the back of his jacket is clear and the words What the fuck is really happening this adds to the idea that Earl doesnt seem to really feel connected to anything going on in his new world. He feels disconnected from reality and is still trying to acclimate to and begin to understand his new surroundings. This could also be a call for the viewer to look more closely at the lyrics and the video to discern their meaning and get closer to an understanding of who Earl is and what he is trying to communicate with this song.

Works CitedChum Rap Genius. Genius Media Group Inc., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.Markman, Rob. Earl Sweatshirt Lets Us Into His Psyche on Chum. MTV.com. Viacom International Inc., 2 Nov 2012. Web. 20 Feb 2015.Stone, Rolling. Earl Sweatshirt Floats in the Ether in Chum. Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 5 Dec 2012. Web. 20 Feb 2015.

Chum music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCbWLSZrZfw