Seminal Music Video Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Nirvana were a band from Seattle, Washington who rose to fame in the early 90s in large part to their studio album 'Nevermind' which featured perhaps their biggest hit 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.
The band consisted of drummer Dave Grohl, bass guitarist Krsit Novoselic and frontman Kurt Cobain.
Technical Aspects
Mise En Scene The music video is set in a school gymnasium and is filled with everything you ordinarily expect to see in it, a basketball hoop, crowd seats etc.
As there a cheerleaders in the middle of the gym you expect to see vibrant colours however the dull greyish mise en scene jars with our typical idea of what a packed out celebratory gym would look like.Nirvana play there set in the middle of the gym next to the cheerleaders and its almost as if they are orchestrating the chaos that is transpiring around them as the crowd goes crazy to the grunge they play. Camera Work Sound
The genre of the music played in the video is grunge, which is rather slurred and this is mirrored by the visuals.
At times during the song the lyrics are shouted which again incites chaos, the crowd cheer harder and more aggressively.
Editing Kendrick Lamar - Alright
Kendrick Lamar is a rapper from Compton, California. Born in the late 80s he's writes often about growing up in an era rife with crime, corruption and the constant reminder that the threat of death is always waiting around the corner.
Technical Aspects
Mise En Scene
The video is shot entirely in black and white which gives it a retro feel however it also hints at an element of timelessness something which rings true in his lyrical content as well. Props such as the police's cars and guns highlight their power and authority in the video, something which resonates throughout the video up until the dramatic climax where the subject of the film is shot a policeman who does so coldly with no remorse, this is highlighted by his emotionless expression and the fact that the act is carried out simply with his hands and without the prop of the gun which is a metaphor for the ease in which he murder's Kendrick's character.
Camera Work The production is peppered with close-ups of props, in particular the camera focuses on the prop of the policeman's gun. It does toward the middle of the video and near the end of the video to highlight the impact of the police's physical authority in the street. Sound
The track is introduced by the artist's voice speaking to the audience, he's setting the scene and painting a picture. His attempts to reason with those who mis-use their position of authority - police in america.
The name and chorus of the song are extremely fitting, especially at the time the track dropped. It was during a time of racial and political unrest as essentially african americans were being unjustly murdered by the police.
The track ends in a similar fashion to the intro, Kendrick speaks as an ambient instrumental plays in the background which is effective as it contrasts with the upbeat tone of the song and reinforces the seriousness of the production.
Editing
One of the most apparent pieces of editing in this video is that the subject character is levitating throughout the video, this give the character a 'spiritual like' presence which with the theme of the video with young black men dying is apt.
History and Conventions
Hip Hop was born in the 1970s in the South Bronx, New York City by African and Puerto Rican Americans although it has Jamaican origins. It was a movement that manifested itself in art most synonymous however with music, dance and fashion. The youth would go to clubs and gatherings where they would showcase their best dance moves and styles. Many youngsters in each of the four boroughs of america would spray paint walls, bridges and trains so that everyone would see their tag.
In clubs Disk Jockeys (DJ's) were often seen as the coolest people, they selected what was played and controlled the whole mood and atmosphere of an environment, as they became more skilled at they're craft they quickly began to make names for themselves. Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler) was the most notorious for-father of the art of mixing, cutting and DJ-ing, part of his story is featured in the 2016 Netflix series 'The Get Down' written by Baz Lurhman which depicts the lives of the youth in New York in the 1970s who are at the forefront of the Hip-Hop movement.
Soon wordsmiths began to rhyme and recite poetry over the beats mixed and crafted by the DJ's, this became known as Raps.
1980s
In the 80's groups and collectives began to appear and become recognised not just regionally or nationally but globally. Rap music was commercially doing well which was a surprise to some as it came up from the underground circuit and many of the artists started off simply on the streets, battle-rapping and performing in clubs.
(Run Dmc and A Tribe Called Quest)
Shoe endorsements for hip-hop artists were first introduced in the 1980's, most notoriously with the collective Run- Dmc who were sponsored by Adidas, a company who still endorse rap artists today including A$AP Rocky, Big Sean, Pusha T and Kanye West.
Perhaps the most relevant artists from the 80's are the group NWA who inspired countless rappers that are thriving in the game today like Kendrick Lamar and his collective Black Hippy which also includes Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock and AB-Soul.
NWA were the subject of the 2015 biopic smash hit 'Straight Outta Compton' that tackled issues of race, police brutality and educated the audience on the origins of rap in L.A in the mid-early 80's.
1990s
The 90s was perhaps the golden age of rap, artists such as Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Jay-z, Nas and Snoop Dogg rained supreme alongside the likes of NWA with Ice Cube, Dr Dre and Eazy E.
However the 90's was rife with murder, gang violence and illegality in the streets and in the music industry. The two biggest rappers in the game sparked a rivalry which was blown outward by the media, Tupac from L.A and Biggie from New York were involved in a bitter war of East coast vs West coast which lasted less than a decade and unfortunately in the suspected death of the both of them Tupac 1996 and B.I.G 1997 although both murders were never solved. Both artists released diss tracks aimed at exposing and humiliating each other, something which became a bit of a trend in the decade. Jay - z and Nas sent for one another as well as Ice Cube and NWA.
(Nas, Tupac and Snoop Dogg)
The styles and fashions of the 1990s in hip-hop was baggy and expensive. Big chains, baggy jeans, white t-shirts and timberlands were a common site amongst fans and rap artists alike. Denim was also very in much fashion with items such as jean jackets and dungarees'.
2000s
Since the turn of the century Hip-Hop/ Rap has seen its biggest shift in interpretation and innovation with the introduction of alternative styles such as Drill, Trap and it's responsible for inspiring international artists from all over the world in sub-genres of rap such as grime. Mainstream rap artists such as A$AP Rocky and Kanye West tend to be well rounded musicians that delve into several genres outside of hip/hop in the aim to find that new innovative sound that they relentlessly search for.
The Kanye Years (2003 - present)
Kanye West is without doubt the 'most relevant voice past the age of 35'. West is a model student of the rap game and he is now a role model to young and upcoming artists. For years he studied the art of rhyming whilst he tried to break onto the hip-hop scene, it was a long struggle as he had already become notorious for his beats that he crafted as a youth and people want to hear him they simply only wanted his instrumentals.
After a tragic car accident he dropped his single 'Through the Wire', which he recorded with his jaw wired shut (hence the song name) he finally began to make waves and since then he never looked back, Roc Boys finally put him on and allowed him to create as an artist with full backing and soon enough 'The College Dropout' was released and it revolutionised everything about the game.
Hot Nigga - Bobby Shmurda (2014)
This 2014 song embodies this 21st century movement of innovation in the genre, artist Bobby Shmurda from Brooklyn, New York is categorised as a trap/drill artist and was experiencing mainstream success and gaining worldwide recognition before his arrest the year following, shortly after the release of his 2014 hit song Bobby Bitch.
The success of his single ' Hot Nigga' was helped by it's popular dance named the 'shmoney dance' something which took off and trended worldwide most likely due to social media buzz through sites such as Vine and Instagram with athletes, celebrities and other artists seen replicating the dance.
Present Day
The modern day hip-hop artist is typically versatile and dabbles in producing as well as writing and rapping. Fashion has always been at the forefront of the hip-hop movement and today is no different than before, today you can almost identify different sub-genres of hip-hop by the way they dress and their accessories. Artists such as A$AP Rocky and Kanye West strive for high fashion looks, they attend fashion shows and have their own collections, they even have their own shoe deals respectively.
(Kanye at his own Yeezy season 2 fashion show, sporting his own adidas signature shoe - Yeezy 750)
