An exploration of Hip Hop conventions in music videos and print.

1. Hip Hop Conventions

2. In the videos, there is a consistent performance aspect of the artist that seems to run through
almost all videos in the wide bracket of “Hip hop”. This is the fact that there always seems to be
a significant proportion of the artist alone as the main focus of the shot simply lip syncing. This is
often done as they are in a place of symbolic important in the context of the rest of the song /
meta-narrative. Another common feature is the dark gradient/filter in the videos – perhaps
reflecting the often dark themes of the music and hardship or grief felt by the artist(s). Another
thing that seems to be consistent is they focus on current affairs to an extent – exploring issues
in society that reflect upon and effect the artist; the clearest example of this are certain black
rappers from America, most notably Kendrick Lamar, directly addressing the issue of police
brutality and the unacceptable number of killings – mainly of black youth – in America that has
recently been occurring. This is clearest in his video “Alright” with him being shot at the end by a
man in police uniform. With this in mind, we could utilise an idea like the media representing
youth as yobs and in a negative light to our advantage.
VIDEOS

3. Kendrick Lamar - Alright
This is Kendrick Lamar in “Alright” –
a song in which he performs above
his home town Compton. The fact it
is black and white shows his bleak
outlook on the situation he is
facing. It also has a metaphorical
value in the sense he has been
deemed “The King of Hip Hop”, and
so the fact he is standing on a
lamppost in a high point of the city
is placing him above the rest –
implying he is the best.

4. Tyler, The Creator - YONKERS
Tyler, The Creator is pictured here in a
trademark Supreme cap whilst
performing. Whilst being a product
readily available to the public,
Supreme is a brand often associated
with Tyler. He is in high contrast in this
video and I feel like this builds on his
meta-narrative: he has an alter alias
within his rap songs, in a Tyler, The
Creator vs Wolf Haley style – both
performed by the same person. The
lack of colour is portraying the lack of
colour that his life has – and this is why
his songs are aggressive.

5. Kano and JME – Flow of the Year
JME and Kano can be seen here, with JME wearing costume products from his collective
group “Boy Better Know” (BBK). This provides an insight into his character providing
relationships and links with other products and artists – similarly to Tyler, The Creator’s
Supreme cap. The video displays them performing the song live and in particular the
audience’s reaction – they seem to be craving more and extremely enjoying it. This is
used to cement their claim as the best and argue that this is the “Flow of the Year”.

6. Stormzy – Where do you know me from?
This shows Stormzy lip syncing “Where
do you know me from?” The t-shirt he
wears is a reference to the lyrics that he
says at this particular moment, “Hashtag
problem”. He is also walking through his
local area – building our understanding
of his character and background.
Another key aspect of this video is the
fact there is no cut, it is one continuous
shot following Stormzy walk through “his
ends” and lip sync the whole song – with
relevant things happening when they
appear in the lyrics.

7. In print work, there is a similar focus on the artist. Whilst in alternative or dance music scenes the print would be
mainly focused on concept art, hip hop is more focused on portraying the artists in a particular way – this can
change from album to album although aspects are more permanent. The themes that are often related to hip
hop are being from a less than prestigious background, staying true to your roots, oppression, and aggression –
more widely the emotional ties of that artist: although these don’t often seem very positive. More recently
artists have been seen to become political; this is as a result of campaigns such as #BlackLivesMatter.
Album artwork