Saturday, 15 September 2012

Jay-Z; 99 Problems, Music video analysis




·          There isn’t that much of scopophillia, as Jay-Z has no problems with the girls. This video mainly focuses on his problems.
·         This montage could suggest that, these short clips are Jay-Z, 99 Problems.
·         Hip- Hop genre- shows typical ‘thug life’-graffiti, police, criminality, styling- chains, baseball cap, big jacket, baggy jeans. Derogatory treatment of women- ‘bitch’- has a dog clip, which then cuts into a shot of a women; women in a bikini, illegal dog-fight, prison, fences, setting- Brooklyn- run down, basketball courts, balaclavas, shooting, street dancing.
·         Lots of fast cuts.
·         Black and white ‘ghetto style’; referencing old NY films, opposing usual romantic connotations, makes everything seem darker/ more rundown, grimier, urban.
·         Low camera angles to make him look big.
·         Record shop shots, repeated throughout- old school- ‘keepin it real’- representing him as having musical integrity.
·         Hints of race tension, against blacks and whites.
·         Alot of close ups of Jay-Z hands, movements, which are in unison with the lyrics.
·         Alot of close of Jay-Z himself.
·         Exit signs crop up throughout- recurring motif
·         recurring use of ‘ the diamond’ throughout- reference to Rock Nation- promoting artists, on the label as well as himself.  

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