1. 1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF
REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
EVALUATION QUESTION 1
2. IN ORDER TO INVESTIGATE WHICH WAYS MY MEDIA PRODUCT COULD DEVELOP, USE OR CHALLENGE
FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF MEDIA PRODUCTS I HAD TO FIRST DEVELOP MY KNOWLEDGE OF
CURRENT MEDIA PRODUCTS THAT EXPLORE MY MUSICAL INTERESTS. DUE TO ALREADY BEING A HUGE
FAN OF BRITISH UNDERGROUND HIP-HOP, I DECIDED THIS WOULD BE A GOOD GENRE TO DELVE INTO -
EXPLORING ARTISTS AND VISUALS I ALREADY HAVE GREAT KNOWLEDGE ON.
3. THE FIRST ARTIST I LOOKED
AT, AND PROBABLY MY
FAVOURITE ARTIST/DIRECTOR
WAS KOJEY RADICAL. NOT
ONLY DID I WATCH HIS WORKS
AND READ MANY
ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS BUT I
ALSO SAW HIM LIVE TO
DEVELOP A REAL IDEA OF
CHARACTER, ENVIRONMENT
AND ATMOSPHERE.
KOJEY RADICAL
4. CHARACTER AND ATMOSPHERE CONVENTIONS
KOJEY RADICAL
• Kojey Radical is the staple idea of an
underground artist. With his articulate
language, thoughtful poetry and
impactful pieces of work, the
performance was nothing short of a
revelation in music. These character
conventions are really what I wanted
to build upon with my own artist.
• Being a young black male, born in a
society of poverty and hardship Kojey
wants to express his inner struggles
via his music. Building a platform from
those in the same position he once
stood in, in society. Painting pictures
against racism and suppression in the
best way he can - via his art.
5. KOJEY RADICAL
TATE BRITAIN EVENT
• Kojey Radical did what not many people have done before,
especially of his age and status in modern society...
• The Tate Britain, usually associated with grand art pieces and
contemporary movement pieces was completely changed for the
one evening.
• Completely unknown to Kojey, who was performing in a tiny room
within the gallery, whilst other artists he invited were performing
elsewhere, the entire gallery was shutdown - gasping with people.
6. — Nation of Billions.com
THE TATE SEEMED TO HAVE CAPTURED THE
NEW SPIRIT OF BRITISH CREATIVES, WHO ARE
UNBOUND BY ANY LIMITS AND EXPERIMENTING
WITH MUSIC, PERFORMANCE, ART AND
LITERALLY ‘EVERYTHING’ THEY WANT TO.
”
“
7. — Nation of Billions
ON THIS PARTICULAR FRIDAY EVENING, THERE WAS
ONE PLACE IN BRITAIN WHERE A NEW REVOLUTION
WAS IN THE MAKING. AS THE TATE BRITAIN LIT UP
INTO THE NIGHT, THE ARTIST KOJEY RADICAL MADE
HIS IMMERSIVE AUDIO VISUAL EXPERIENCE
PREMIERE – NOT ONLINE BUT IN PERSON.
”
“
8. — Nation of Billions
GALLERIES CAN BE SOMEWHAT A CONSERVATIVE AND QUIET
AFFAIR BUT THE TATE BRITAIN IS MOVING IN STEP WITH THE
CHANGING TIDE. ENTERING THE GALLERY TO THE SOUND OF
BLACK MUSIC ECHOING FROM THE SPEAKERS INTO THE HALLS
AND WINDING DOWN THE STEPS, WE JOINED A QUEUE OF PEOPLE
PATIENTLY WAITING TO SEE THE NEW VIDEO FOR ‘OPEN HAND’.
”
“
10. CHARACTER CONVENTIONS
• This humble character is exactly what I wanted to compare my own character conventions too
• which I think I did successfully. With the simple digipak, video and suitable music choice.
• I can truly admit that this event was one of my most favourable. A unique way of showcasing talent and a
chance for creative to come together to view a piece of work live that we all appreciate.
• In baring my own creation in mind, I wanted to take notes of the entire evening from the way Kojey
Radical performed and greeted everyone to the music video that gave me inspiration and influenced by
perception of dynamic creativity - in this sense my product was conforming to similar conventions.
• As many Underground artists are, Kojey was hugely impactful and expressive during his intimate
performance however his usual self is of a more calm and timid matter. A very respectful artist that didn't
seem to boast about his works but was rather incredibly humble and extremely grateful for the turn out
that he had - admittedly seeming a bit nervous for his performances. This is how I built up our own artist
IKE in my mind. No sense of glamour or fame but a real drive for the music and talent which is reflected
in my work.
• For example, the music video is of IKE in his simplest form, simply strolling the streets with short
glimpses of his stage shoes. No signs of glamour, money or cars but the main focus is on the music and
the video acts as a sort of accompaniment for the music. Maintaining the calm tone and mood.
• Also with the DigiPak I have ensured Ike would have a note of 'thank you' for his fans accompanying him
on his journey - maintaining the humble character. The clothing of Kojey influenced my own character,
simply dressed head to toe in black with a baseball cap on.
11.
12. BROKEN CONVENTIONS?
• A way in which my media product did not conform with a product
of Kojey Radical's is with the complexity of some of his visuals
• His own music videos include many visual metaphors and
interesting dynamics. As an director he delves deep into the
context of his music in order to create an incredibly visually
appealing and impacting piece. An example of this is his
production BAMBU, a piece of work that heavily inspired my own.
• In Bambu the way in which the subject character is used as a
metaphor for inner city decay is highly intriguing. Kojey Radical
did not take a simple, minimalistic approach to the genre of
Underground Hip Hop/Grime like many underground artists, and
our own video however he used intelligent visuals for such
intelligent lyricism.
• Our piece compared to this specific media product would
suggest our piece is breaking media conventions. With less use
of dynamic shots, abstract narrative and location our piece would
seemingly be breaking conventions of Underground Music
Products.
13. BAMBU : NEVER WORRIED CENTRES AROUND IDEAS OF PERCEPTION;
USING CONTEMPORARY DANCE AND PERFORMANCE ART TO GESTURE
THE STRUGGLES OF INNER CITY DECAY AND HOW THAT IS TRANSLATED
AND CELEBRATED WITHIN MUSIC AND URBAN CULTURE COMBINING THE
AESTHETIC OF A MODERN FASHION FILM WITH THE STYLISED
MOVEMENT AND GRITTINESS OF DRILL MUSIC AND TRAP VIDEOS.
”
“
14. • Kojey Radical’s Bambu, unlike Mean
Muggin and our piece is of the same
underground culture and genre however is
mostly concept based. Using the main
character as a metaphor.
• In this sense our video breaks
conventions, in taking a much more simple
idea following visuals. It is a video with a
more candid sense and works well with
more casual, less lyrically impacting
underground hip-hop.
• However similar conventions to ours used
throughout the Kojey video is the
emphasis on location - many dynamic
London building shot emphasise the
importance of London culture in the new
underground, youth movement.
15. SIMILAR CONVENTIONS?
MEAN MUGGIN
• 'Mean Muggin' directed by Alia Hassan,
is shot entirely in black and white with
use of candid walking shots. I like the
simple handheld camera use, giving an
incredibly home made feel as he follows
the artists round the streets of London. A
very minimalistic approach to film making
unlike Bambu's complicated concepts
and ideas. The fast paced shots keep up
with the pace of the music.
• This video is much more similar in terms
of conventions - narrative and tones.
However the character aspect of our
product is more that of Kojey Radical. In
a sense we have almost combined the
two to form our final media product.
16. MEAN MUGGIN
• Both of these Directors and visuals heavily influenced my work. With the stern characterisation
of Bambu and the shot use of Mean Muggin. I liked the idea of minimalism, and simple London
culture based imaging and scenery.Mean Muggin is of the Underground Hip Hop/Rap genre.
The typical motif’s it involves is street shots and use of monochrome, much like our own.
• In a lot of hip hop music videos the music often cuts to the beat and tempo changes. One key
part in which this is shown is at 1:14. As the word ‘Wait’ is said, the music and video cuts to
another scene in which one of the artists AJ is freestyling at an event, the film also comes back
to colour also. This creates great juxtaposition and draws the audience’s attention even further
in. In having this scene cut it allows the group to give a glimpse of their live performances to
their audience possibly even generating an interest in seeing them live.
• We also, in a less dramatic form, broke away from the video using concert footage.
• This video is entirely performance-based, not making use of concept or story but simply
following the artists and showcasing them, much like our video. This is popular within
underground Hip Hop/ Rap.
17. BROKEN CONVENTIONS
• Lyricism, our video does not make great use of lip sync. We decided to go for this because of the
disconnection we wanted the audience to have from the artist - this is also shown by lack of direct eye
contact via the artist. This further emphasises the timid character and minimalist approach we decided to
take with the tone of the music - linking in with the characterisation of Kojey Radical but not his media
products as such, in which he seems to transform within.
• Hype Culture, Another convention our product does not follow is the idea of Hype Culture. Shown with House
of Pharaohs, Although the music has a chill vibe and tempo, the group still want to get there ‘hype culture’
shown. They do this by using few fast paced shots amongst slower tempo shots. As they are a big rap group,
they tend to like the idea of elevation and power. They want to be seen as big within the rap scene and as
competition – In achieving this they have made use of low camera angles which makes them appear bigger
and therefore more intimidating to the audience and other artists. Also many of their shots are of them as a
big group, creating a sense of brotherhood and unity making them moreso aggressive.
• Our video breaks this convention because of our choice of character. As our artist is an individual in the
music industry, the song choice we have made would suggest he is making music for a more educational
sense not a competitive sense like many rap groups. Whilst this breaks conventions in comparison to some
media products it does conform to others such as those created by Hawk House and Mick Jenkins.
• The issue I found with finding and comparing media products is the amount of versatility in the Underground
Music Industry. With Underground music, the point is, is that your music and media products are outside of
the box - unlike anything else created. So in this sense it has been difficult to compare my work to any
conventions and underground music is almost all about not being entirely conventional.
19. CHARACTER CONVENTIONS
• I had created a moodboard previously in
order to show the sort of image our artist
reflects. As the artist was born and raised in
South London we have included some more
grimey South-London estate images, this
would be included in his marketing because
he wants to attract the youth of today that live
within these poorer, rougher estates which
many underground hip hop videos do.
• Most of the images are of young black males
- These males are all also from similar
backgrounds however have found their
escape within fashion. Being blogged by
PAUSE magazine which is a big male,
fashion site. Our artist is within these creative
types of youth, who use their knowledge of
their environment and intelligence to really
show achievement and contrast against those
that have all handed to them within the
industry.
