Richard Dyers theory against Jay-Z

1. Jay-Z- Star Image
By Jamie Tilsley

2. Richard Dyer’s theory
The theory of Richard Dyer is a construct that states pops
stars are generated by the industry with the purpose of
gaining fans and achieving a mass market interested in
their music and purchase their songs. These celebs have
more than just a music carer, being able to stay in the
tabloids and public eye without even producing records.

3. Jay-Z
• In this task I will be applying Richard
Dyer’s theory of the industry creating
popular stars with the purpose of
staying in the public eye and earning
attention and money to the popular
rapper Jay-Z, and seeing if he fits in
with the pop star theory of Richard
Dyer. This information gained from the
task may possibly allow me to discover
how to create my own pop star in the
coursework tasks further down the line.

4. 1. How Do you become a pop star?
-Clever management has ensured Jay-Z has remained relevant.
Jay-z has been subject to various news stories and has shown
his relevance in pop culture for quite some time. Recently, he
has been in the spotlight due to his famous wife, Beyoncé.
Their relationship problems and details have been revealed to
the public through the personal lyrics within her album
“Lemonade”. This shows people are interested in his
entertaining relationship with Beyoncé, rather than the music
and rap career which got him famous. He has also been
featured in news stories in the past for things such as
confrontations with other rappers (Nas), Stories from his
past- where he shot his brother in his youth, and the news of
his new born baby girl.

6. 2. Stars as constructs
Dyer stated that “ A star is an image, not a real person
that is constructed out of a range of materials”.
Pop stars are portrayed as “real” and “relatable”
people when they are actually created, have calculated
moves to cause publicity and are constructed.
Jay-Z, especially in rap has a unique selling point
which is his voice. His voice comes with people trying
to mimic it and make fun out of it. However, even
though he is subject to these jokes, they keep him
relevant and people find out about him through the
jokes that are made.

7. 3.Industry and audience
• Often times in the media, the larger pop stars will refrain
from creating any experimental pieces and will mainly try
to play to the fans tastes by producing a similar style of
music they always have. For some artists, it is a matter of
the industries getting them to change their music to cater
to a mass market to get more people interested in their
work. With Jay-Z, he has mainly stuck to his roots, getting
the same producers in for songs. But he has been subject to
getting his music out to a mass market, with features in
songs such as: Suit and Tie by Justin Timberlake and Crazy
in Love by Beyoncé. These songs are in the pop/R&B
genre, which is much more popular than the rap genre and
will get Jay more recognition. Also, Jay’s verses in these
songs have much more toned down subject matter and
lyrics, with the intent of the song being open to younger
listeners and with the ability to have the songs played on
the radio.

8. 4.Ideology and Culture
• This aspect of Dyer’s theory is in regards to the
pop star in question getting involved and giving
their 2 cents about relevant subject matter that
has already got the worlds attention. This is an
easy way for the celebrity to get publicity and to
be quoted on the current affairs as people care
what they have to say. For example, with Jay-Z,
he has gotten attention from the “black lives
matter” movement which is in support of
stopping violence against blacks and has already
become a big subject matter. Jay-Z added his
name in the black lives matter discussions by
donating $1.5 million dollars to the movement.
This action makes him become a part of the
subject matter and he is talked about because of
things other than his rapping career, which got
him famous in the first place.

9. • Inside the heading of ideology and culture, Jay-Z
can also be credited by starting his own clothing
line “Rocawear”. This stem out into the world of
fashion also makes Jay relevant, with a lot of his
rap fans following suit and purchasing his
merchandise. This is also a type of cross media
convergence, introducing fans of fashion, who
know little about rap, to the genre through his
clothing line.

11. Character and Personality
• The personality of Jay-Z has seemed to of evolved since his
career began as a rapper. Audiences got a small glimpse of his
character and opinions through his lyrics in rap. However
more recently, to offset his lack of records being made it
seems, his personality has come out more in the media, due to
stories about this home life and more personal information. In
the beginning of Jay’s career, audiences were introduced to a
rapper who had come from a poor family, portrayed in one of
his early songs ‘Hard Knock Life’ which discussed some
hardships the rapper had come from. This immediately added
to the persona of the up and coming Jay-Z which people
seemed drawn to, as his hardships made for interesting
content in his raps. This persona has only grown since then
and meant that he has become more and more relatable and
enjoyable for audiences, keeping him relevant in the media.