It brought revolutionary anger back to hip-hop, the anger presented in this music video reveals the government flaws and explicitly reveals the anger, whilst Lamar is more subtle in his approach acting like a voice of reason and change rather than a voice of explicit anger.What both videos essentially portray are the themes of political and social commentary, not just for African Americans but have this underlining idea of reforming society to better ourselves.
Like 'Alright,' African Americans are being presented in both music videos. The video begins with a news-type clip about the 1963 march on Washington. The effect of having this little extract to begin with emphasises the political commentary that Public Enemy embodied, the extract also finishes with 'The End' almost like a traditional cartoon would. This may therefore represent the irony of the situation and reveals Public Enemy's ideologies as they believe that this march did not change anything as African Americans are still being discriminated, therefore could represent the negative aspect of the situation. Chuck D then addresses the camera directly stating that the march was "a bit of nonsense" and "they ain't rolling like that no more." Or perhaps this 'end' may represent the end of the social divide and the act of reforming. The main group of black people are represented in this video and it almost mirrors the beginning extract of the 1963 march in a further hyped way.
The main difference between the representations within 'Fight the Power' and 'Alright' is that large groups are represented in 'Fight the Power' and a large group of African- Americans, therefore allows self identification if the consumer is also an African-American. But they are being represented as protesters and loud individuals, which is similar to Lamar's representation as he also presents the urban youth as defiant and rebellious, rebelling against the law enforcement and the 'power.'
The whole video is shot in one setting, a conventional street. The fact that this video lacks several settings almost focuses on the main point and purpose of the video, to politically comment on the issues of the government. There are constant uses of iconography, revealing posters of Martin Luther King and banners that read Brooklyn and other states. The iconography of 'Fight The Power' is seen throughout the music video, from the banner on the float to people wearing t-shirts and holding posters of the words; these iconic words highlight the anthem as a political protest anthem, similar to 'Alright;' the constant repetition causes the music to become influential through the catchy melody and iconic phrasing that cannot go unforgotten. It shows both of these artists to be in favour of Pluralism and the idea of a liberal state of freedom of speech.
The conventions of this music video are more typical of a hip-hop video, through the constant addressing of the camera, the fast paced rapid pans also reveal the quite traditional style of music videos, similar to N.W.A and the pre-2000s, whilst Lamar's style is quite iconic in becoming alternative through the stylistic iconography within and his hidden messages through his artistic forms. The difference between the zeitgeist is the explicit message being revealed, Public Enemy clearly opposed the government and wanted to present their ideologies across to audiences in the most brutal way possible, through anger and passionate lyrics, whilst the approach that Lamar takes is more subtle in the way that he lyrically forms his work to become more artistic yet still brutal. 'Alright' is undoubtedly one of Lamar's most angry toned songs, not only through the lyrics but the way he performs the song and almost shouts throughout, similar to Public Enemy, revealing the passion these artists have in terms of their ideologies and their views towards the government and the law enforcement.
The zeitgeist is clear to notice here as this 1989 text embodies the idea of hip-hop being a political platform for artists to express themselves, which Lamar explores in his own work. The use of the Jazz beats at the end of the song 'Fight the Power' is also mirrored throughout the whole of Lamar's album To Pimp A Butterfly and this referral back to the roots of hip-hop, through these Jazz beats, reflects the political commentary within hip-hop music today and how artists are more socially able to explore political themes. This idea that Chuck D raps, "our freedom of speech is freedom or death," dating back to the late 18th century - original slogan was of Revolutionary-era France, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death." The difference between the way that Public Enemy express themselves and Lamar does is the main focus on love of everyone; Lamar's ideologies revolve around the idea of God and love of everything, whilst Public Enemy and the idea of cultural appropriation was something that they were against through their dislike towards Elvis. This later changed and they began to respect him, however Public Enemy would reason well with racism towards blacks but they often had offensive Farrakhan-transplant views on Jews, women and gays, which jaded their message.
Other Texts
Tupac. (1991). Trapped. Shock, G.
-focuses on police brutality
"They got me trapped"
-the black male is trapped within a society where there is a social divide between the white and black community, the main idea of a moral panic within the black community.
KRS-One. (1993). Sound of da Police. Showbiz.
-the lyrics refer to police, in places like the Bronx: they’re a protest against institutionalized racism, oppression and violence against the black community
"Be an officer? You wicked overseer!"
"Take the word overseer, like a sampleRepeat it very quickly in a crew, for example Overseer, overseer, overseer, overseer. Officer, officer, officer, officer. Yeah, officer from overseer"
-the comparison between a police officer and an overseer reveals the extent of police brutality and how the officers are now considered as corrupted individuals, who simply punish African-Americans. Officer and Oversee; pseudo etymology as the two words come from completely different language families
N.W.A. (1988). Fuck tha Police. Young, A; Carraby, A.
Kendrick Lamar. (2009). Vanity Slaves.
"My cousin from the South, slavery start in the South and I bet ya, He overcompensates for the life of his ancestors"
-the idea of the new slave, which is the vanity slave, the materialistic being now
Kendrick Lamar. (2015). Institutionalized.
-wealth's corruptive powers and how people are brainwashed by becoming rich. The poor and disenfranchised are institutionalized by prison, racism, classism, and the rich and the powerful are institutionalized by fear, dogma, and the almighty dollar. Everyone is a loser in this game, perspective is the only answer.
theme across album of the caterpillar and the butterfly
Kendrick Lamar. (2015). To Pimp A Butterfly.
-whole album adopts the past zeitgeist, spirit of the age, bringing back the Jazz beats and interesting harmonies
-focuses on ideas revolving around vanity and hip-hop artists today
-focuses on the theme of racial profiling, discrimination and the African-American
-focuses on God, love, religion and himself as an artist and fruitful lyricist
Like 'Alright,' African Americans are being presented in both music videos. The video begins with a news-type clip about the 1963 march on Washington. The effect of having this little extract to begin with emphasises the political commentary that Public Enemy embodied, the extract also finishes with 'The End' almost like a traditional cartoon would. This may therefore represent the irony of the situation and reveals Public Enemy's ideologies as they believe that this march did not change anything as African Americans are still being discriminated, therefore could represent the negative aspect of the situation. Chuck D then addresses the camera directly stating that the march was "a bit of nonsense" and "they ain't rolling like that no more." Or perhaps this 'end' may represent the end of the social divide and the act of reforming. The main group of black people are represented in this video and it almost mirrors the beginning extract of the 1963 march in a further hyped way.The main difference between the representations within 'Fight the Power' and 'Alright' is that large groups are represented in 'Fight the Power' and a large group of African- Americans, therefore allows self identification if the consumer is also an African-American. But they are being represented as protesters and loud individuals, which is similar to Lamar's representation as he also presents the urban youth as defiant and rebellious, rebelling against the law enforcement and the 'power.'
The whole video is shot in one setting, a conventional street. The fact that this video lacks several settings almost focuses on the main point and purpose of the video, to politically comment on the issues of the government. There are constant uses of iconography, revealing posters of Martin Luther King and banners that read Brooklyn and other states. The iconography of 'Fight The Power' is seen throughout the music video, from the banner on the float to people wearing t-shirts and holding posters of the words; these iconic words highlight the anthem as a political protest anthem, similar to 'Alright;' the constant repetition causes the music to become influential through the catchy melody and iconic phrasing that cannot go unforgotten. It shows both of these artists to be in favour of Pluralism and the idea of a liberal state of freedom of speech.
The conventions of this music video are more typical of a hip-hop video, through the constant addressing of the camera, the fast paced rapid pans also reveal the quite traditional style of music videos, similar to N.W.A and the pre-2000s, whilst Lamar's style is quite iconic in becoming alternative through the stylistic iconography within and his hidden messages through his artistic forms. The difference between the zeitgeist is the explicit message being revealed, Public Enemy clearly opposed the government and wanted to present their ideologies across to audiences in the most brutal way possible, through anger and passionate lyrics, whilst the approach that Lamar takes is more subtle in the way that he lyrically forms his work to become more artistic yet still brutal. 'Alright' is undoubtedly one of Lamar's most angry toned songs, not only through the lyrics but the way he performs the song and almost shouts throughout, similar to Public Enemy, revealing the passion these artists have in terms of their ideologies and their views towards the government and the law enforcement.
The zeitgeist is clear to notice here as this 1989 text embodies the idea of hip-hop being a political platform for artists to express themselves, which Lamar explores in his own work. The use of the Jazz beats at the end of the song 'Fight the Power' is also mirrored throughout the whole of Lamar's album To Pimp A Butterfly and this referral back to the roots of hip-hop, through these Jazz beats, reflects the political commentary within hip-hop music today and how artists are more socially able to explore political themes. This idea that Chuck D raps, "our freedom of speech is freedom or death," dating back to the late 18th century - original slogan was of Revolutionary-era France, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death." The difference between the way that Public Enemy express themselves and Lamar does is the main focus on love of everyone; Lamar's ideologies revolve around the idea of God and love of everything, whilst Public Enemy and the idea of cultural appropriation was something that they were against through their dislike towards Elvis. This later changed and they began to respect him, however Public Enemy would reason well with racism towards blacks but they often had offensive Farrakhan-transplant views on Jews, women and gays, which jaded their message.
Other Texts
Tupac. (1991). Trapped. Shock, G.
-focuses on police brutality
"They got me trapped"
-the black male is trapped within a society where there is a social divide between the white and black community, the main idea of a moral panic within the black community.
KRS-One. (1993). Sound of da Police. Showbiz.
-the lyrics refer to police, in places like the Bronx: they’re a protest against institutionalized racism, oppression and violence against the black community
"Be an officer? You wicked overseer!"
"Take the word overseer, like a sampleRepeat it very quickly in a crew, for example Overseer, overseer, overseer, overseer. Officer, officer, officer, officer. Yeah, officer from overseer"
-the comparison between a police officer and an overseer reveals the extent of police brutality and how the officers are now considered as corrupted individuals, who simply punish African-Americans. Officer and Oversee; pseudo etymology as the two words come from completely different language families
N.W.A. (1988). Fuck tha Police. Young, A; Carraby, A.
-protesting police brutality and racial profiling; expressing violence against the police
-anthem similar to 'Alright' and 'Fight the Power' and 'Sound of da Police.'
"A young nigga got it bad ‘cause I'm brown. And not the other color, so police think
They have the authority to kill a minority"
- 1986 emergence of crack cocaine - racial profiling and discrimination reached it's peak in the late 80s.
-anthem similar to 'Alright' and 'Fight the Power' and 'Sound of da Police.'
"A young nigga got it bad ‘cause I'm brown. And not the other color, so police think
They have the authority to kill a minority"
- 1986 emergence of crack cocaine - racial profiling and discrimination reached it's peak in the late 80s.
Immortal Technique. (2003). Point of No Return.
"This is the point from which I could never return, And if I back down now then forever I burn"
"This is the point from which I could never return, And if I back down now then forever I burn"
-becoming a revolutionary, there is no going back, the idea of reforming and making a change and become that revolutionary figure. The 'point of no return' has sexual connotations and could emphasise how the government politics is essentially 'fucking us over.'
-American rapper, urban activist; lyrics focus on global politics and his lyrics comment on politics, socialism, class struggle, religion, poverty, government, imperialism, economics and institutional racism.
-Immortal Technique has aims to retain control over his production, and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music. He claimed in an interview to have sold close to a combined total of 200,000 copies of his first three official releases
J Cole. (2014). Be Free.
-mourning over the Michael Brown case
"All we wanna do is take the chains off, all we wanna do is break the chains off, all we wanna do is be free"
-psychological binding of slavery in the world today between the problems of police brutality
-the chains of brutality and injustice on a whole ethnicity of people
Dreamvillian Website - "I'm tired of being desensitised to the murder of black men"
J Cole. (2013). Chaining Day.
-rappers are slaves to the materialistic lifestyle, the idea of the hip-hop industry revolving around affluence and materialism rather purpose
J Cole, Omen. (2015). Caged Bird.
"freedom is just an illusion"
-the idea of not being free and the whole race being targeted, can you ever truly be free in a society where the ruling elites are running
Dr. Dre, Anderson .Paak. (2015). Animals.
-reveals how African-Americans in Compton and America in general are being mistreated, with police resorting to inflict ruthless violence and other inhumane acts. This song also illustrates how the media always pays more attention on the wrong doings instead of the peaceful acts the African-American community commit
"And the old folks tell me it's been going on since back in the day, But that don't make it okay, And the white folks tell me all the looting and the shooting's insane, But you don't know our pain"
-portrayal of blacks from past to present
Dre. Dre, Anderson .Paak, Justus, Kendrick Lamar. (2015). Deep Water.
-mention Eric Garners death and focus on the unforeseen difficulties within the rap game
-the metaphor of life being 'deep water' and like an aquarium where some people sink and some swim is an interesting idea that focuses on how hip-hop artists flourish and some sink by becoming slaves to the materialistic lifestyle
Ab-Soul. (2016). Huey Knew.
-references Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton - the rapper immortalizes the iconic photo of Newton sitting in a wicker chair, wearing a leather jacket with guns in hand
-throughout the video, the screens surrounding Ab-Soul flash images of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, instances of police brutality and Donald Trump, whose race-baiting rhetoric has dominated headlines for months
"Pale white horse when I black out"
-pale white horse is a metaphor for the Armageddon
"Even white lives matter when I black out"-American rapper, urban activist; lyrics focus on global politics and his lyrics comment on politics, socialism, class struggle, religion, poverty, government, imperialism, economics and institutional racism.
-Immortal Technique has aims to retain control over his production, and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music. He claimed in an interview to have sold close to a combined total of 200,000 copies of his first three official releases
J Cole. (2014). Be Free.
-mourning over the Michael Brown case
"All we wanna do is take the chains off, all we wanna do is break the chains off, all we wanna do is be free"
-psychological binding of slavery in the world today between the problems of police brutality
-the chains of brutality and injustice on a whole ethnicity of people
Dreamvillian Website - "I'm tired of being desensitised to the murder of black men"
J Cole. (2013). Chaining Day.
-rappers are slaves to the materialistic lifestyle, the idea of the hip-hop industry revolving around affluence and materialism rather purpose
J Cole, Omen. (2015). Caged Bird.
"freedom is just an illusion"
-the idea of not being free and the whole race being targeted, can you ever truly be free in a society where the ruling elites are running
Dr. Dre, Anderson .Paak. (2015). Animals.
-reveals how African-Americans in Compton and America in general are being mistreated, with police resorting to inflict ruthless violence and other inhumane acts. This song also illustrates how the media always pays more attention on the wrong doings instead of the peaceful acts the African-American community commit
"And the old folks tell me it's been going on since back in the day, But that don't make it okay, And the white folks tell me all the looting and the shooting's insane, But you don't know our pain"
-portrayal of blacks from past to present
Dre. Dre, Anderson .Paak, Justus, Kendrick Lamar. (2015). Deep Water.
-mention Eric Garners death and focus on the unforeseen difficulties within the rap game
-the metaphor of life being 'deep water' and like an aquarium where some people sink and some swim is an interesting idea that focuses on how hip-hop artists flourish and some sink by becoming slaves to the materialistic lifestyle
Ab-Soul. (2016). Huey Knew.
-references Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton - the rapper immortalizes the iconic photo of Newton sitting in a wicker chair, wearing a leather jacket with guns in hand
-throughout the video, the screens surrounding Ab-Soul flash images of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, instances of police brutality and Donald Trump, whose race-baiting rhetoric has dominated headlines for months
"Pale white horse when I black out"
-pale white horse is a metaphor for the Armageddon
Kendrick Lamar. (2009). Vanity Slaves.
"My cousin from the South, slavery start in the South and I bet ya, He overcompensates for the life of his ancestors"
-the idea of the new slave, which is the vanity slave, the materialistic being now
Kendrick Lamar. (2015). Institutionalized.
-wealth's corruptive powers and how people are brainwashed by becoming rich. The poor and disenfranchised are institutionalized by prison, racism, classism, and the rich and the powerful are institutionalized by fear, dogma, and the almighty dollar. Everyone is a loser in this game, perspective is the only answer.
theme across album of the caterpillar and the butterfly
Kendrick Lamar. (2015). To Pimp A Butterfly.
-whole album adopts the past zeitgeist, spirit of the age, bringing back the Jazz beats and interesting harmonies
-focuses on ideas revolving around vanity and hip-hop artists today
-focuses on the theme of racial profiling, discrimination and the African-American
-focuses on God, love, religion and himself as an artist and fruitful lyricist
No comments:
Post a Comment