Mura Masa - Love Sick

2. Institution Responsible…
The director of the music video was Yoni Lappin, Yoni Lappin has directed 3 other
Mura Masa music videos including ‘1 Night’ - 2017, and ‘What If I Go’ - 2016, and
was the video commissioner of ‘Calling’ - 2013, by Lewis Watson.
Yoni Lappin style of directing is consistent - featuring London, urban scenery -
Lappin has directed music videos for other indie artists.
Yoni Lappin works under the label “Black Dog Films” - an agency which provides a
range of directors, artists and photographers that create content for musicians
The record itself was released via American record label ‘Downtown’ which is a indie
label based in New York.

3. Credits…
The only credit/text featured within the music video is the title of the song
“LOVES$ICK” in bold red writing against a black background - neither of
the artists (Mura Masa or A$AP Rocky) are featured along side the title -
this adds a sense of importance to the song and perhaps sets the
tone/themes featured for the remainder of the music video. The red
writing symbolises the theme of love, whilst the ‘$’ to replace the S adds a
unique urban sense to the music video, and is also a reference to A$AP
Rocky.

4. Key Selling Points…
Firstly, A$AP Rocky is an extremely well known American rap artists - A$AP
Rocky being featured in the song alone is a key selling point as fans of his music
will be enticed into listening to his collaboration with Mura Masa - bringing
international fans to European music.
Further, the music video is based in London - this video features several
references to urban subcultures within London, such as the fashion used (e.g
Nike street clothing) and the settings (e.g London estates, train stations) - those
within urban subcultures within London may be enticed into watching this music
video as they are able to relate to the themes shown.

5. Target Audience…
‘GEARS’ can be used to explain the target audience of
this music video….
Gender
Ethnicity
Age
Region, Nationality
Socio-Economic Group

6. Gender…
The genders shown within this music video are definitely mixed - though initially
at the beginning of the music video, primarily male youths of an urban
subculture are shown together ‘hanging out’ - smoking, riding bikes, sitting in
cars. As the video progresses female characters are introduced, in bed with the
males, at parties etc - it is a video representing relationships within modern
subcultures thus a mix of genders are shown (e.g couples in bed, same sex
couples, couples kissing etc) as well as youths with friends - thus the target
market gender of this music video is both males and females.

7. Ethnicity…
As this music video is largely featured around youths
living in an urban area of London, the main ethnicity
that is shown at the beginning of the music video is
black and mix raced males - though this is arguably
stereotypical of London and urban youth subcultures
within London, as the music video progresses a
mixture of different ethnicities become evident include
asian and whites. As there is a large mix of ethnicities
within this music video the target market could be
youths of any ethnicity - but most certainly those
connected to the urban youth subcultures of London.

8. Age…
Within the music video youths between the ages
of 16 to 21 are shown - this could replicate the
target market age the music video is intended for.
Further, fans of A$AP Rocky and Mura Masa are
likely to be of a similar age range.

9. Socio-Economic Group…
The locations featured within the music video are
flats and estates around London, parks and train
stations - these are typically urban and arguably
working class areas within London, thus, the
target market of this music video is likely to be
youths of a working class London background.

10. Narrative…
The music video follows a loose narrative of a group of a group of
male youths ‘hanging out’ on an estate - the males act reckless and
steal a motor bike, smoke and drink alcohol. The males are
featured to have girlfriends (linking to the theme of modern love
and relationships) and attend a house part in a flat. I like the
narrative of this video as I believe it is a realistic representation of
modern youth subcultures and relationships, the style the
narrative is shown (clustered, acting as a ‘stream of thought’ of the
youths within the subcultures day) adds a realistic and believable
effect to the video, it is almost a documentary of London youths.

11. Release Dates…
The music video was released on the 3rd of
November 2016, however the song itself was released
on the 20th of September 2016 - 2 months before the
video.
This shows how releasing a music video for a song is
a way to promote the music further and reach out to
a larger audience (via platforms such as YouTube) -
this enables fans of A$AP Rocky to view music of
Mura Masa that they may not have been aware of.
The Music video currently has over 23 million views.

12. Lyrics…
The lyrics within this song are focused towards the dysfunction of relationships in modern
times - especially within youths. This is shown within the pre-hook of the song…
“I need you
I'mma wait for my lil momma come home
I want you
Man, I swear to God, she gon' miss me when I’m gone
I need you
I’m a lovesick f*ck and it’s right but you wrong”
The singer is in love however the relationship is complicated and he knows it isn't right - the
lyric states how the couple miss each other when they are apart so much so that they are love
sick - however they both know it isn't right or healthy. This is a reflection of modern day
relationships - youths in modern society are reliant on dating websites and apps to form
relationships that tend to feel pointless and ‘go nowhere’ - this idea is shown within the
repetition of the singer “needing” and “wanting” the other person, this gives the audience the
idea that these are the texts the couple exchange, the remainder of the lyrics act as his
personal thoughts “i’m a lovesick f*ck and its right but you wrong” - these end lyrics reflect
the feeling when they do eventually meet, they are aware of how dysfunctional the
relationship is.

13. Lyrics…
The idea of dysfunctional relationships within modern youth
subcultures is furthered within the lyrics…
“Yeah I heard she got a man homie - Yeah he wanna lay the
hands on me”
This portion of the lyrics act as the singer talking with friends
and discussing the relationship he has with a girl - the use of
“yeah” repeated before he speaks shows the casual tone of him
speaking with friends and perhaps reflects the casual tone of this
relationship and his disinterest in the girl. This also furthers the
‘pointless’ reflection of modern dating-app relationships and
proves that relationships in modern youth subcultures are not
stable.

14. Camera Work…
The music video begins with shots that are filmed on a mobile phone this adds to the
idea of youths, ‘hanging out’ together having fun.
As the video progresses over the shoulder shots are used to show the background of
the locations (e.g an estate) whilst the youths walk/ride bikes together. Panning shots
are also used to show the location of flats as youths ‘hang out’ together.
Further, the video features close up shots of youths faces/expressions (e.g youths
smiling and laughing) this adds a personal feel between the audience and the
characters within the music video. However, certain close up shots where youths are
not laughing or smiling could be a reflection of modern stereotypes of moral panics
around ‘urban’ youths ‘hanging about’ estates - these shots could act as a ‘head shot’
taken by the police and be a reflection of this negative stereotype of youths as ‘trouble
makers’.
Several other shots are used to place emphasis on the locations such as mid shots of
the estates, establishing shots as the boy steals a motorbike and dolly shots as the
youths run down a corridor.

15. Mise-En-Scene…
The props used within the music video are a reflection
of modern youth subcultures e.g cigarettes, bikes, fizzy
drinks and alcohol.
The location used is consistent within the video, it is
based around an estate - specifically a block of flats,
this is the base of where the friends ‘hang out’ and the
party occurs.
The costume used is a reflection of urban youths within
London - lots of sports wear is shown (e.g the nike logo
is reference frequently)

16. Theory…
The main theory for this music video is Hebdrige’s
theory of ‘youth as trouble/fun” whilst some
youths when watching this music video may view
the activities they are involved in (stealing a motor
bike, smoking, partying) as fun - those of an older
generation may view this as trouble and view the
youths of an urban subculture as general
troublemakers - though this music video doesn't
go against this negative stereotype, I believe it is a
realistic reflection of modern youths.

17. Influence On My Work…
The locations used within this music video are a
huge influence on my ideas - such as housing
estates and parks. I believe that these locations
show a realistic representation of modern youth
subcultures and are typically the places that
youths would ‘hang out’.
Further, the themes/props explored within this
music video, such as drinking and smoking, are
themes/props that I believe would work well
within my music video.