The music video for 2 Chainz's "I'm Different" opens with him in a Ferrari on a beach in Miami, using luxury items to represent his wealth and status. It then cuts to a white police officer, playing on racial stereotypes of black criminality. Scenes later show 2 Chainz wearing expensive jewelry and clothes while rapping, again flaunting his wealth. The video has him and another man point a gun and handcuff the officer in a role reversal. It concludes with objectifying a woman and 2 Chainz performing the song, mixing conceptual scenes and his performance without a clear narrative.

1. Micky Hamid
Music VideoAnalysis
2 Chainz– Im Different
The music videoopenswithanestablishingshotof aFerrari withitstopdown,and a beachclearly
visible inthe background.The Ferrari isclearlyastatussymbol of wealth,asonlythe richestcan
affordthese luxuriouscars,therefore emphasizingthe wealthof 2Chainz.Showingoff wealthisalso
a commonstereotype forblackpeople,sohe isalsoreflectinguponhisethnicityinthis
representation.2ChainzisfromMiami,Floridatherefore the beachinthe backgroundisiconictohis
hometown,asMiami has obviousconnotationswithbeachesandwarmweather,whichisalso
shownbythe fact thatthe roof is downonthe Ferrari.The clothingshowninthisparticularscene
againrepresents2Chainz’ethnicityasthe twomeninthe car are wearingsnapbackswhichisan
extremelystereotypical itemof clothingforblackpeople. Overall,however,the representations
showninthisopeningscene are positive,asitisclearlyshowingwealth,sothe viewerclearlygets
the feel thatisgoingto be a musicvideo thatshowspowerandluxury.
The followingscene showsawhite manina police car. Thisisagain a huge representationof
ethnicityasblackpeople have acommonrepresentationwithcrime,therefore negatively
representingblackpeople.Itisalsoperhapsshowinghow whitepeople holdauthorityandpower
overblackpeople.

2. In termsof mise enscene, 2 Chainziscoveredinchainsand necklaces,hence the name,whichagain
isa statussymbol of powerandwealth. He isalso wearingafull Versace leopardprintsuit,whichis
an extremelyexpensivedesigner,sohe isagainemphasisinghiswealth.Thisagainrepresentshis
ethnicityasblackpeople,especiallyrappers,are knowntoexerttheirwealthinextremelyobvious
and ina gloatingfashion.2Chainz alsohasverylongbraidedor dreadlockedhair,thisisobvious
showinghisAfro-Americanroots,againdisplayinghisethnicity.The palmtreesinthe background
are againiconicto the settingof Miami.
Thisscene thenshowsthe twoblack mengetout of the Ferrari,and actuallypointa gunand
handcuff the policeman.Thisagainemphasisesthe stereotypethatassociatesblackpeople with

3. crime,as theyare clearlyviolatingthe law.Itisalsoshowingarole reversal,asitwouldbe more
obviousforthe white policemantobe handcuffingapotentiallydangerousblackman.Thereforeit
againshowsthe thug and violentbehaviourthatisso oftenassociatedwithblackpeople.
Thisscene shows2 Chainzwithhismiddle fingersuptothe camera, whichsupportsthe pointmade
inthe previousparagraph,withblackpeopleknownfortheiraggressivenessandviolence.

4. Throughoutthe video,andthroughoutrapculture,womenare sooftenobjectifiedonlyforsexual
purposes.Rapsuggeststhatwomenare like trophysymbolsof power,andthisscene clearlyshows
that as a womanis shownwearingnoclothingtoemphasise the sexual objectificationof women.
Finally,the style of the musicvideoisamixture betweenconceptualanda performance.Thisis
because manyof the sceneshave meaning,whichIhave explained,anditisclearlya performance as
2 Chainzcan be seenperformingthe actual songthroughoutthe musicvideo.However,there isn’t
much of a narrative storyinthe musicvideo,apartfromthe short scene where the policemangets
involvedwiththe twoblackmen.