Target audience

1. Hip Hop Audience and
Conventions
Hip Hop Conventions
and Target Audience

2. Conventions Of Hip Hop Genre
• Incidents of crime, poverty, expression and violence are shown,
contrasting with the powerful values also presented in culture, family
and kinship.
• Props such as weaponry (guns, knives e.t.c), displays of wealth such as
the prevalence of designer clothing, cars, excessive jewellery and the
use of recreational drugs are prominent in music videos.
• Settings such as urban, poverty stricken, inner-city areas are possibly
the most conventional of all settings. However, Hip Hop maintains that
the unconventional and original should be implemented in order to
sustain creativity. Thus, abstract, unconventional settings, use of props
and narrative will often be used to subvert audience expectation or
compliment the lyrical content.
A focus on the aspects of
Afro-American culture is a
major convention of Hip
Hop, and is evident in most
conventional Hip Hop
music videos. Often, Afro-
American artists or actors
will feature.

3. The Target Audience Of Hip Hop
• The primary demographic of Hip Hop consists mostly of working class, African American males ranging from
the ages of 11-36. It does of course extend to a range of African and Caribbean cultures and descendants of
these cultures, but to a lesser extent than those of direct African American heritage. However, it’s success in
the mainstream industry has widened the demographic significantly to suburban Caucasian adolescents and
young adults in education, specifically from ages 11-25. The ABC1s of the target audience are particularly
important because of the music and culture’s focus on class and it’s association with politics, social status,
money and power. For example, a social grade C1 or C2 African American would be appealed more by the
messages and conventions of Hip Hop than a social grade A, regardless of age , gender, or to an extent,
ethnicity.
• The psychographics of Hip Hop’s target audience include activities like predominantly American, and in
particular, African American sports. For example, basketball, American football and baseball are all largely
popular sports for the youthful African American community. Interests such as music production,
rapping/singing, dancing and urban artwork are largely typical also. However, a huge aspect of Hip Hop is it’s
focus on contemporary fashion, African American fashion, pop culture, black history and black politics, and
often it’s target audience embodies this in their lifestyle and in the culture’s ever changing trends.

4. How To Appeal To The Target Audience
The prevalence of Hip Hop orientated mise-en-scene is crucial.
African American fashion inspired costume such as work boots,
high-top trainers, statement making clothing, skinny or baggy
jeans, oversized T-shirts and excessive jewellery, along with
urban settings (dilapidated buildings, graffiti laden walls,
unusual areas) are all conventional devices that are sure to
appeal to the target audience. An emphasis on low-key lighting
helps highlight the urban struggle and darker aspects of Hip
Hop, appealing to the lower-class by relating to their situation.
By contrast, the use of high-key lighting accentuates the
accumulation of wealth and success through music and
expression, appealing to the wishes and hopes of the lower-
class. Props such as cars, weapons, music production
equipment and images of significant figures in black history are
all key in reaching the wishes of the target audience of Hip Hop.