Own/ Cash Money Analysis

Music Video Analysis- Cash Money

Visual Codes

The music video is set in a city (Los Angeles), shot in two key locations which are, the streets and an expensive home overlooking the city. The video being shot on the streets could suggest partaking in gangs which is further suggested in one of the frames where a group of people including the artist are dressed in the same clothes out the back of a boarded up building with graffiti on the walls. On the other hand, filming in a mansion represents the artist’s wealth and the fact that it overlooks the city could imply that it is the artist’s city which magnifies his importance. A lot of visual codes (iconography) is used in terms of symbolising the artists wealth such as expensive sports cars, luxury jewellery etc. In terms of shot composition, there is little lead space in any shot throughout the video meaning that there are lots of things happening in every shot which could connote a fast lifestyle that the artist lives. The artists body language connotes his confidence or maybe in this case, his over confidence. The video almost boasts about his lifestyle and he is showing off what he has to the audience. At the end of the video low key lighting is used possibly to show these type of artists in a negative light.

Technical Codes

To begin with, a low angle shot is used on the artist and his crew to make them seem bigger than they actually are. This has been used to exaggerate their importance to the audience and it gives the effect of this gang being at the top of the chain and that there is nobody better than them. A close-up shot is also used on the artist’s watch, which once again shows that he is bragging about his wealth which is typical of this genre. Similar to this, an extreme close up is used on the artists diamond encrusted necklace promoting his recorded label (Last Kings Records) which can be seen being advertised throughout the video. The way that the camera moves helps to tell the story for example, when the artist is driving through the city in his Lamborghini a tracking shot is used. This could have been used to show the camera struggling to keep up with their fast lifestyle but also people follow him and he is somebody that is setting trends. Fast paced editing has also been used to present this as many jump cuts feature throughout the video. This is expected in this style/ genre of music.

Genre

The genre of the artist is typically rap/hip-hop which is shown in this music video of his song "Cash Money". There is not a serious storyline within the video however, the narrative is typical of the genre where the artist is expected to be seen frequently, boasting about their luxury lifestyle (the video reflect the lyrics). Throughout this music video the artist can be seen wearing expensive jewellery and designer clothes whilst driving various sports cars, living in a mansion with multiple women and money in his swimming pool. All of these elements within the video are generic conventions expected to be seen in a rap/hip-hop themed music video. Generic conventions of rap and hip-hop videos are typically expensive items and a lot of close-up shots on the artist to give the impression that their lifestyle is the best and to make the audience jealous.

Audience

The target audience for rap music isn't that specific, in fact it is quite broad as a lot of artists claim that they try to appeal to those of a similar age to them which means that it varies a lot between each artists however, this genre generally appeals to a younger audience rather than older. This typically ranges from about 14-25 for a lot of artists. Once again the demographic status of the audience for rap/hip-hop isn't specific either. The genre appeals more to a male audience however, it is very popular with female audiences as well and race and level of income do not affect this either however, the genre is sometimes related to lower class as many artists were brought up from rough backgrounds which they speak about in their music, therefore stereotypically these types of people are classed as their target audience. The younger audience or lower class may see the video and artist as an inspiration to either imitate this or work hard in general to be able to live a better lifestyle as well. As I have discovered, there isn't a specific target audience for this genre of music meaning that the video cannot specifically target its audience however, it can generally inspire its broad audience. This video does not have a type of narrative where the audience may struggle to understand what is going on if they do not know about the genre as it has a very straight forward narrative that can appeal to anybody which is another reason for this genre to be able to appeal to a wide audience.

Narrative

The general storyline of this video is a representation of the artist’s lifestyle in the sense that they are showing off what they have to their audience. The subject of talk in this video is all about money and what it can buy which is presented within the visual aspects of the video for example, the cars and jewellery etc. Neither narrative theory really applies to this music video however, the artist could be seen as a hero which follows Propp's theory where one of 7 characters can be identified. The video literally reflects the lyrics, for example the title of the song is cash money which is the main talk throughout the song and there are many shots which money features in such as, money floating in the pool. Furthermore, lyrics such as "Rolex", "tattoos on my stomach" and "models in my living room" are all displayed in the video meaning that the video is great example of a video representation of the lyrics.

Representation

In terms of gender, males are represented as being powerful and wealthy in this music video. The artist shows control and success which is a stereotypical representation of a male figure. On the other hand, this artist is a young adult but is presented as being the strongest form of a human being which could be non-stereotypical as he has all of this money at such a young age which is very uncommon as it is usually older adults that are the wealthiest. In terms of place, the video is set in a city in America where a lot of gang activity occurs which is stereotypical as in this video the artist and his crew are presented as being a part of a gang. The artist's role in the video is of a celebrity as it shows him and his gang running the city with no worries which isn't like real life situations and therefore, doesn't reflect reality of most people.

Organisations

Throughout the video the artist promotes his own record label (Last Kings Records) where the logo can be seen on the artist’s chain, printed onto his shoes and at the end of the video on a giant plaque. The use of synergy helps the video to promote the record label and the record label promote the video. Promoting the artists clothing line also takes place in this video as all of the characters are wearing hats that are from his brand. Moreover, the brand Hermes is also mentioned in the song as well as Ferrari and Lamborghini is promoted meaning that there is a lot of synergy within the music video for this song. Finally, the artist is promoted across various social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram as well as on his own website including his online merchandise store. Chat shows and interviews are other ways he can promote his record label, new songs and brand image.

By analysing existing music videos of different genres it broadens my knowledge of conventions expected to be seen in each video. Furthermore, I am able to compare the video to Goodwin's theory and I am able to identify the principles of his theory used within the music video. Finally, analysing existing music videos helps to develop my knowledge of different shot types used within music videos as well as editing techniques such as type/speed of cuts.