The song "Afrika Shox" by Leftfield featuring Afrika Bambaataa is an electronic and hip hop song from the 1990s. The music video was directed by Chris Cunningham, known for surreal and dystopian music videos. It features a disabled protagonist walking through a bleak urban setting. The video explores themes of isolation, societal barriers faced by minorities, and bringing together African and hip hop culture. It uses the urban environment and mechanical electronic music to reinforce these themes through the protagonist's journey.

1. Case Study: Media
Language
Leftfield/ Afrika Shox

2. Information about the song
The song is by Leftfield featuring Afrika Bambaataa.
Leftfield is a British electronic project created in the 1990’s created electronic and
progressive house music. The word ‘leftfield’ has political connotations. The Left Field
was first designed to promote left wing politics (Labour and trade unionism). It
travelled to festivals and showcased political comedians such as Mark Thomas and
Tony Benn, as well as left wing musicians like Billy Bragg.
The song got to no. 7 in the UK charts and was used in the 2001 soundtrack of ‘Vanilla
Sky’ which was a romantic comedy starring Tom Cruise.
Bambaataa has also done other black-racial songs such as “Zulu Groove”, “Zulu War
Chant”, & “Zulu Nation Throwdown”.

3. Behind the music video
It was directed by Chris Cunningham so has close ties to Warp Records, and is
primarily known for music videos for electronic music such as Aphex Twin.
He has also designed many album art works for musicians.
In the Aphex Twin music video for “Come to Daddy” the same urban environment is
used. This motif in his music videos emphasises the freakish and bizarre within our
society and creates them in a nightmarish concept that the audience can watch.
Album artwork for Aphex
Twin by Chris Cunningham
Stills from Aphex Twin “Come to Daddy” directed by Chris
Cunningham

4. Andrew Goodwin’s Theory

5. Goodwin wrote a book called 'Dancing in the distraction factory' where he outlined
the 6 main characteristics of a music video.
He also made 3 different categories that all music videos fit into:
Illustration: The video illustrates the song, the images derive from the lyrics
Amplification: The video adds extra meaning to the song meaning doesn't relate to
lyrics
Disjuncture: The video has no apparent link to the lyrics at all

6. The 6 main characteristics of a music video

7. 1.Genre characteristics
The song’s genre is mainly electronic, hip hop or dance. The pulsing rhythm of the
song dips in and out, in a repetitive pattern to set a pace for the song. The vocals are
spoken rather than sung in a chanting tone which is monotone and robotic sounding.
The concept of hip hop music started in New York with young people trying to break
down racial barriers by singing and dancing. Electronic music started at the end of the
19th century, but became more well known and diversely used in the 1940’s and 50’s
where artists could use magnetic audio tapes to record the music. Electronic music
then became part of pop culture. Mainstream artists like David Bowie, Madonna and
Duran Duran were using conventions of the electronic style in their music. By the 21st
century, electronic is the mainstream pop culture with artists such as Katy Perry,
Beyonce, David Guetta and Calvin Harris all defying

8. 2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
When the word “Africa” is spoken, the African American protagonist looks up to the
sky. It could suggest that he’s looking up and metaphorically at his past and culture.
Throughout the narrative of the video, White Americans, sit and stare as he stumbles
past. It suggests that because of the main character's ethnicity, he is ignored by society.
Furthermore, the lyric “let’s get electrified” is said, the cripple touches the fence. It
suggests that he is trapped in this dystopian, bleak environment and a society in which
he doesn’t fit in. The lyric also signifies the electronic style of music; electronic
through the shouting of “electrified.”

9. The lyrics “Z.U.L.U that’s how we say we say Zulu, Zulu Nation, City of Angels”. The Zulu tribe
are based in Africa, mainly in South Africa. They wear traditional clothing such as necklaces and
head-wear as well as carrying staffs or javelin shaped weapon. It suggests that the Zulu’s are a
community like family which look out for each other. The lyrics are contradict the visuals as the
cripple walks alone with no help. In the second screenshot below, the artist Afrika Bambaataa
plays the hero in the video as he is the only one that helps the crippled man. He wears similar
traditional dresswear as a Zulu warrior such as the staff and necklace, but also a hood and long
black coat which is a more westernised way of dressing. It is a stereotypical and conventional way
of dressing in relation to the hip hop artists of the time wearing similar clothing. It shows that the
two backgrounds of the music video: African culture of Zulus and the culture of Hip Hop: it
conforms the two styles together.

10. 3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
The built up urban environment of New York for the setting of
the music video relates perfectly to the hip-electronic culture
and where it originated from. The harsh concrete, geometric
shapes coincides with the harsh mechanical momentum of the
music.
The genre of the music was created by a mainly African
American culture in New York. Break-dancing and Rapping
originated from Hip Hop and spread to a more wide culture; not
just African Americans. In the Breakdancing scene in the music
video, White males are dancing to supposedly the music the
audience can hear. It shows the audience that Hip-Hop and
electronic music is now apart of the main pop culture and is
made for a mainstream audience.

11. 4. It reinforces the stars image, close ups and motifs
Cunningham uses monstrous and shocking imagery to challenge the opinions of the
mainstream and how we function in society. The artist is only shown at the end, but
rather an unknown male protagonist. The whole narrative of the story starts with the
man emerging from the dark alleyway and walking round the city. Close ups were used
to show the pain in the protagonists face as he was hurt by society's choices and
actions. They are also used to show other people’s reactions to the man. It not only
shows how society looks at African Americans but how they look at a disabled person.
This music video tackles the stereotypical views of our modern age society.

12. 5. Using intertextual references
The architecture of the setting used in the music video is instantly recognisable as New York with
the yellow cabs and tall skyscrapers. This urban environment is intertextual to the Fritz Lang film
“Metropolis” which also gives a bleak, dystopian look on the world. The city is built on inequality
with the exploitation of power and greed which leads to Fascism. The tall buildings in both
“Metropolis” and Afrika Shox are intended to entrap the characters, making the city a
claustrophobic environment. The second screenshot below is at the start of the music video and
shows this entrapment. Because the music video is set in New York, there is the intertextual
signifier of the Twin Towers. A similar photo of the second screenshot is of the Twin Towers in
the third screenshot. It could imply that the building shown in the music video is the building
used in the music video. The Twin Towers symbolises power and wealth, just like “Metropolis”.