Case Study: GenreUsing

In Da Club by 50 Cent

Hip Hop●For my case study, I will be researching into a certain genre. Instead

of choosing a genre I already know a lot about, I wanted to look at something new. I chose hip hop because it is a popular style of music, and has influenced a variety of other styles such as art and fashion.

●I will then use the conventions I find and relate them to a hip hop music video. I will also reference theories related to media and genre.

Hip Hop and it’s backgroundHip hop was created in the South Bronx, New York City. The youths would plug in their speakers and have massive parties for their block (of houses). The predominant black culture living in the bronx used their music to break down racial barriers. They danced instead of fighting. This is where breakdancing evolved. Hip Hop was also about making a statement.

The music was started through looping short parts of a song with two turntables. Later the rhythmic chants of rap was conventionalised to the upbeat rhythm. From that, beatboxing was made.

Hip Hop has many influences including Rock and Roll. Rebelliousness and ‘carefree’ attitude was shown in Rock and Roll music in the 60’s. Furthermore, Hip Hop also is similar to Jazz with its improvised solos and no need for rules. They were both displayed how a person felt at the time of playing a song.

Hip Hop evolvingIn the 1980’s, Hip Hop spread out from just the Bronx, to the wider African American community. It is now the biggest music genre in the world

In the 1990’s major fashion designers such as Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren joined the hip hop movement and started to sell and promote the baggy t-shirt and jersey that the ‘hip hop’ artists were wearing. In addition, the artists themselves are now releasing clothing lines which tie into their style of music, such as Kanye West did at 2015 New York Fashion week with his own show. This then was promoted in publications such as Vanity Fair and Vogue. The whole ideology of Hip Hop has evolved from being a way to break racial barriers in a rough area to a form of wealth and prestige.

Conventions of Hip Hop Low angle shots: make the artist seem more powerful and dominant. Creates a higher class and that they are important.

Use of crowds: Crowds are used to entice the viewer into listening to the music. It shows us that they are having a good time and invites the audience to dance to the music too.

Power and wealth: These themes run through the majority of hip hop music videos and display the artist as powerful and wealthy. This is displayed through the mise en scene like expensive cars, jewellery and clothes.

Use of other hip hop artists in music videos: In some music videos, other hip hop artists will make appearances to connect the two artists and also gain publicity for both of their music.

In Da Club - 50 Cent

Background information In da club was 50 cent’s debut album and was released in 2003

Won an MTV award for music artist to watch & best rap video and the Billboard ringtone of the year

He grew up in a South Jamaican neighbourhood in Queens, New York. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide

His early life consisted of drugs, crime and violence but he turned it around and became a rapper.

Analysing shotsHere, the rapper Eminem is shown in the music video. It signifies the power of hip hop and how they both use their status to gain recognition in the music industry, and to promote their music videos: form of marketing.

Low angle shot used to show importance and power.

In this shot, 50 cent is doing pull ups. It shows his strength and this is enforced through him being topless. It shows off his ripped physique.

In addition, he addresses the audience directly by looking at the camera and pointing. It allows the audience to be apart of the music video.

The shot is internally framed through the window that Eminem is looking through. We are put in the eyes of him and the other scientists.

In this still, 50 cent is entering the club, with a group of men. This ‘posse’ enforces the theme of masculinity running through the video. 50 cent is the leader and his male friends follow him like disciples into the club. Furthermore it reflects 50 cent’s power and status as he is the at the front, in the centre. He is the most important.

As a viewer, we are positioned at the back of the group but with them. It connotes that we are apart of the artists friends and that by listening to his music, we are now ‘apart of his group’

Another convention used in Hip Hop videos are the use of crowds. In 50 cent’s music video, the majority of the song is set in a club. Hip hop music is predominantly played in clubs so reinforces the surroundings the audience would be in if they heard this song. Furthermore, the idea that all of them are dancing suggests that they are dancing to the same song we are listening to.

Again we are positioned in the midst of the dancing, however we cut to lots of different groups of people dancing suggesting that whatever type of person you are.

Many close ups of the rapper are used to connect us to him and to show more detail of him, like his clothing. He is wearing a gold chain which in the early 2000 was very cool. When relating to collective identity the meaning of the chain could have been evolved through the heavily african american culture being dominated in hip hop music. The chain was originally to entrap and hold slaves down travelling to america. Through music, and fashion culture changing, the chain became a sign of freedom and power and authority. Hip hop music changed the meaning of the chain to fit with how they felt about the world; they just want to be free.

Continued...In addition, 50 cents hat is made by New Era, a famous brand which produce baseball hats with New York on them. It reflects 50 cents background of growing up in New York but also displays a connotation to major fashion designers of the time. If the artist wears this hat, his followers and fans will also want to buy and wear this hat to be like him. It creates more power and a higher authority and idolism for 50 cent to sit on.

Theories on genreDavid Buckingham, a British media theorist, suggests that ‘a genre is not simply given by the culture: rather it is in a constant process of negotiation and change’. This is true of hip hop and 50 cent because the style of their music is constantly changing and new influences are creating new sub genres of hip hop which all have slightly different connotations. For example, hip hop has created many genres, like Crunk which is a club orientated style which consists of shouting vocals in a call and response manner with a heavy baseline. This sub-genre was created in the early 2000 and shows that hip hop is forever changing and evolving into new ideas. This can also be suggested in postmodernist views of identity with theorists like Dick Hebdige who suggested that our style can be read and is a way of defining who we are and where we came from. He also suggests that our identity can be changed and developed through what we wear and listen to: the media around us.

Nicholas Abercrombie, a British sociologist, suggests that music videos should stick to using the typical conventions in a music video or film, as audiences are guaranteed to like them and identify with them easily. This is shown through hip hop and other genre conventionalised music videos through using iconic symbolism and connotations that relate back to that genre to allow their target audience to identify with. For example, looking at where hip hop originated from, their primary target audience are youthful African Americans living in poverty. If a hip hop music video uses the correct conventions the audience will be able to relate and understand the video and the artist better.