Plan B taught himself guitar at age 14 and began writing his own R&B songs, though he felt more comfortable with rap. After being expelled from school, he released his first single "Kidz" inspired by the murder of Damilola Taylor. He gained success with his album "Defamation of Strickland Banks" and its lead single "Stay Too Long." Plan B's album and website designs feature dark themes and imagery reflecting his past struggles and musical style.

1. PLAN B

2. After being expelled from school he was sent to Tunmarsh Pupil Referral Unit
in Newham which were for children who were unable to attend mainstream
schools. He finished school with three GCSE‟s. Plan B taught himself to play
guitar at the age of 14 and started playing Blur and Oasis with his friends and
went on to write his own R&B love songs. However, he turned away from
R&B as he said-
“ The whole reason for calling myself Plan B was that I was doing this sweet-
boy Justin Timberlake shit, but I never felt comfortable… When I started
rapping, it was easier for me to feel comfortable”.
Once he turned to rap and hip-hop at 18 he wrote „Kidz‟ which was inspired
by the murder of Damilola Taylor.
BACKGROUND

3. Plan B first appeared with the track "Cap Back", produced by DJ Wonder
(formerly of Roll Deep). Also in 2005, he released his first single
"Kidz"/"Dead and Buried" as a limited edition 7" vinyl on his own label Pet
Cemetery Records. He soon gained a recording contract with 679 Recordings
and released his second double A-side single "Sick 2 Def"/"No Good" with
his début music video filmed for "No Good”.
Plan B really made it with his second album „Defamation of Strickland Banks‟
as the lead single from the album, "Stay Too Long" reached number nine on
the UK Singles Chart.
HOW PLAN B MADE IT

4. ALBUM ARTWORK
Plan B‟s album artwork is dark which portrays what the album is going to be
like. Also with his head facing down it shows that he is inferior and we can
infer that the album is going to be depressive. This can be linked with Plan B‟s
past as his father ran out on him and he was expelled from school which shows
that he has had a troubled past.
This was from his first album „who needs actions when you got words‟ and
from the album artwork you can tell its going to be quite dark and stripped
down. Also we can infer the theme of the album for example he may sing
about his earlier life and how he was brought up.

5. The website is mainly formatted in a grid method which makes it easier for the audience to access different areas.
Every link has a dark background with red on the page which again shows his themes. Even though there are many
images of Plan B there are no close ups which may suggest he does not rely on physical appearance to be
successful. This is backed up to the many links which show his music therefore meaning that he concentrates on
the music and promotes it a lot throughout the website. Furthermore, the fact that the website has a store shows
the more commercialised aspect of Plan B which the studio may have wanted.

6. PLAN B WEBSITE
Plan B‟s website
is dark which
is similar to his
album artwork
Social networking links for example his
Instagram which shows Plan B is also
targeting a younger audience. Also Plan B
live twitter feed is shown throughout the site.
A lot of links that play his
songs and of him playing live
Typography: A sans
serif font which is a
regular font to use,
all in capital letters
allows it to be easier to read.
Red, black and white dominate the website throughout could be linked with his type of music which can be quite dark.

7. Plan B‟s new album Ill Manors is based on his upbringing in the lower class in a council estate.
The music video shows images and videos of the stereotypical teenage boy that lives in a council
estate which is „violent‟. Throughout the video gang violence is shown and rioting which portrays the
people in a bad way however as Plan B is with them it seems as if he is one of them. Therefore, Plan B is
trying to get across that he used to be in that situation of being judged but now he is a successful musician
he isn‟t judged as much.
Plan B Music Video- Ill Manors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8GvLKTsTuI

8. Throughout the music video we see a lot
of destruction including fires. Also we see
a lot of scenes filled with red which is similar
to his website and red can be linked with death
and blood which can be related to gang
violence which Plan B‟s album is about.
'London's burning, I predict a riot' is illustrated in the music video by a shot of a riot in London.
Though there isn't any landmarks to show it is London they have got a London taxi in the
foreground while all the riots with the London police and youths battling is shown in the
background.

9. Genre Characteristics
Firstly the genre of Plan B‟s Ill manors is Hip Hop/Old School Jungle and the video does follow
some conventions on a hip-hop music video such as rapping into the camera. Also in Hip Hop
there is a some sort of crowd shown throughout and in the Ill Manors music video there is a
gang around him when rapping. Another genre characteristic that Plan B follows of a Hip Hop
music video is the violence of which there is many images of in the video for example the
London riots. Also Hip Hop artists such as Eminem have been seen mocking society in which
Plan B does by an animation of David Cameron in dog poo.
GOODWIN ANALYSIS…

10. Notion of looking
Notion of looking is normally used to sell the artist's music through sex appeal, like in the video
for Beyoncé's Single Ladies. However, in the Ill Manors music video there is no reference of
notion of looking or voyeurism. However, the only reference of „looking‟ that I can find is when
there is an image of a newspaper article and a video is shown through it.
GOODWIN ANALYSIS…

11. Intertextual References
There are many intertextual references throughout the Ill Manors video. The music video is based
on an intertextual reference which is the London in 2011. This is because song was written in
reaction to the 2011 riots across England, and specifically Plan B's perception of "society's failure
to nurture its disadvantaged youth.” Another intertextual reference is the building of the Olympic
village which is shown by the images. Also the music video shows real life footage of violence
including when John Prescott was hit with an egg and reacted violently this can suggest that even
the deputy Prime Minister can be violent and not just the youth and gangs.
GOODWIN ANALYSIS…

12. Close-ups of the artists
There are some close-ups of the artists as seen below however the music video doesn‟t
focus on Plan B as much. This is because the song was made specifically to be a
reaction to the London riots and chaos. Therefore, naturally the music video would
show more footage of the riots and violence being conducted. Therefore, this video is
different to those done by the artist previously because this song has a different motif
and is more of a message to the public rather than full entertainment.
GOODWIN ANALYSIS…

13. There are many examples shown where there is a relationship between lyrics and music
to the visuals.
Relationship between lyrics and visuals
One example is when the lyrics say 'Who closed down
the community centre?' the video shows a closed
community center with loads of youths around it.
Relationship between music and visuals
At 2:23 of the music video you can hear
a glass shatter and you can see that in the
video when a youth throws a rock and
breaks a glass.
GOODWIN ANALYSIS…