Tag: music video

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Ariana Grande’s Image

Ariana Grande‘s thank u, next first piqued my interest because of a harmonic progression that initially contains bass movement of an augmented second. Upon closer inspection, I found this song to be very enjoyable as its message can seem to be pushy toward exes as to their poor treatment of her, creating a terrible environment to which she has an extreme desire to move on or a sincere thankfulness for these experiences that she has taken part in.

There are many references to an overall sense of power and comfort. First, we see her on a bed that is very elegant and surrounded by items of non-necessity. After that, we switch to her walking down a high school hallway, with what could be assumed to be a clique. She takes over the whole hallway and is not afraid to push people around, literally. Later on we see her getting out of an expensive car and wearing what would seem to be an expensive outfit. All these extravagant and luxurious items could be a way of visualizing that she has come out of the relationships with values, such as wisdom and personal emotional strength.

I-Sorta-Exist comments:

“Omg Mean Girls, 13 Going On 30, Legally Blonde…the best movies bihhh”

This comment is in support of the whole concept for the visual aid to give added context to her situation. Mean Girls (2004) is a movie that is involving a girl coming to a new high school. After a short period of time, she is accepted into one of the most popular cliques in the school. Her appearance to most everyone in the school is a sudden popular girl who gets her way because of her new found popularity. 13 Going On 30 (2004) is about a girl longing to be popular and proceeds to wish she was 30 years old in an attempt to get away from the constant incentive to be a popular person that she was trying so hard and failing to achieve. (IMDB) Lastly, Legally Blonde (2001) describes the near perfect life of an extremely popular college student who is (the president of her sorority, a Hawaiian Tropic girl, [and] Miss June in her campus calendar.” (IMDB) All of these movies would be known by most people born around Grande’s time, 1993. So these references could very well be a simple act of communication through known stories of her age group. This gives a sense of reliability to feelings that many have experienced through these romantic comedies .

Chainy MyKala comments:

“This is really everything, I’ll be honest I’ve never really been a huge fan of her, but more and more I’m finding myself drawn to her, she’s just really seems like such a good person, like her kindness in everything she does just like shines through. Ugh yep, definitely a fan now. “

This comment made me re-think my initial thoughts of what the lyrics were meaning. My interpretation, in the beginning, was that of sarcasm. Her lyrics made me think that she was thanking all of these people as a way of regretting those people in her life. With this comment, I am starting to think that there is actual gratuity to the people that, through her knowing them, taught her love, patience, pain. I also began to take the time to really think about all the lyrics instead of listening for just aural aesthetic. These lyrics upon good inspection reflect this pleasant attitude, compared to this bratty attitude I got from it through a few listens.

Manya Barot comments:

“Guys the beginning when they’re speaking…7 rings is playing

SIS WAS GIVING US A TEASER”

This comment brought an interesting idea to the table. The music video’s length is 5:30, while the single release is only 3:27. There is quite a bit of extra material in the video and I find it interesting that Grande included her song 7 Rings, because it happened to become the top single for the week of March 19th, 2019. She could not have known that this would be the case for the song, but this encourages the “popularity/success” idea. I find it highly interesting that she would include this song in the intro to the video since 7 Rings‘ content is about primarily “conspicuous consumption.” The fact that she left it out of the single is to preemptively avoid problems of copyright, as 7 Rings‘ melodic content is a blatant copy of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s and this is why when “Concord requested 90 percent of Ms. Grande’s song, and her representatives accepted without further negotiation.” (NYTimes)

I think this video is depicting how great her life is now that she has had all these experiences to better her attitude, outlook, and demeanor. Grande’s video conveys exactly what she means by her lyrics, “thank u, next.”

Photo Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_Girls

https://www.directv.com/movies/13-Going-on-30-SXh6cGFtL2l5SmpIVll6OG1nUlh1UT09

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legally_Blonde

https://www.billboard.com/photos/8488625/ariana-grande-2018-woman-of-the-year-photo-shoot

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Juicy

In the 1990’s, Chirstopher Wallace, known as The Notorious B.I.G or simply Biggie Smalls, was the definition of rap and street Hip Hop to East Coast audiences. Growing up in a single parent house in the middle of Bed-Stuy only to become one of the biggest names in the Rap industry, Biggie became an incredible source of hope for the working class as well as the black community as whole throughout New York City. And so, as a way to keep that hope and inspiration going, in 1994, Biggie released “Juicy”: a song detailing the events and motivation he had in his life that made him keep moving forward. The way in which Biggie Smalls writes his lyrics with such an inviting, understandable flow as well as creates a music video that so aptly portrays the moments he discusses in his life is the reason why I believe this to be one of the best songs and music videos made in the 1990’s. And so, without further a do, here is Notorious B.I.G’s Juicy

Looking at the first 30 seconds of the music video (which is predominantly the dedication of the rap), we as an audience can already see the three main facets of Biggie’s life that he is going to present: his early childhood as a crack dealer living with his mom, his life in prison, and his life now as a rapper. Biggie also perfectly syncs the aspects of his dedication with the actual subjects (i.e during the lyric “To all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin’ in front of called the police on me when I was just tryin’ to make some money to feed my daughter” Biggie is being shown being arrested in an undercover drug bust and the following lyric “And to all my peoples in the struggle” he moves to a shot of a corner in Bed Stuy where a huge crowd of people are standing expressionless). Biggie then moves into the first verse:

It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! magazine

Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine

Hangin’ pictures on my wall

Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl

I let my tape rock ’til my tape popped

Smokin’ weed in Bambu, sippin’ on Private Stock

Way back, when I had the red and black lumberjack

With the hat to match

In this stanza, Biggie heavily relates to the young audience members listening to his music. Here he is as prolific rap idol having a childhood very similar to any other kid growing up in the 80’s. With this passage, Biggie can be seen in a prison cell (as he was for 8 months when he was 18) hanging cut pictures of people he got out of Word Up! Magazine; an activity which most normal people did in their childhood (minus the prison part!). With instances of drinking cheap malt liquor, shooting dice in the streets, and eating sardines from the can appearing in his lyrics and music video, Biggie is ultimately stating that he was just like everyone else growing up in Brooklyn in that he didn’t have any luxuries.

The chorus then directly addresses the audience with a message of determination and hope. It states that kids shouldn’t let anything “hold them back” and should “reach for the stars.” This is the moment in the music video where Biggie presents the payoff of reaching for the stars. He is seen at a beautiful house with a full pool and pool house partying with a huge amount of people having fun. Albeit a great well written chorus, this is actually one of my favorite Easter eggs in the song. The melody of this hook, as well as the beat, and backtrack are all sampled from the same song “Juicy Fruit” by Mtume, which is why the song is called “Juicy.”

As far as the rest of the verses, Biggie explains that while it may be hard to picture a living a lush life without being deep in low level crimes, it is certainly possible as long as you keep trying and flip from negative to positive thinking. He shows this lush life through the maids he has bringing him and his friends champagne as well as owning his own Sega Genesis (which Michael Che believes he very well could have afforded one even before he was a rapper). In short, Biggie Small’s “Juicy” promises a better future to people who are true to themselves and take advantage of the world around them.

As it seems, a lot of people have taken a liking to this message and Biggie Smalls has in recent times become somewhat of a pop culture icon. Reading through the comments of this official music video, I saw how much Biggie’s style and words meant to his listeners. One listener named Ricardo Zúñiga commented, “This song inspires me so much to push myself and make it big. It’s my anthem. I’m as broke as could be, but I’m putting myself through college… I’m fortunate to be able to live at my mom’s, but unfortunately, she can’t help much beyond that, since she works as a janitor earning minimum wage. And my father is equally as broke. But this song motivates me to keep pushing. I know I got what it takes to pull my family out of this poverty.” In my mind, the meaning of this song completely got through to this person, who is trying to live life to the fullest and achieve his goals. The majority of the other comments, like that of Charcoal Head, talked much more about his flow. They write, “This guy was a lyrical genius! His flows were smoother than water, and the beats Biggie sang over were raw.” Biggie was known as the king of flow with a style that couldn’t be matched by any other rapper at the time. Finally, an incredible number of commenters talked about the ways in which you could compare Biggie to rappers of today. This was usually to display that idea that 21stcentury rappers are much more fragile than older rap artists. For instance, Shady wrote comically, “Biggie and Tupac had beef because Tupac thought Biggie got him shot. Drake and Meek Mill are beefing because one tweeted about the other.” Although this comment was probably out of jest, it is a firmly held belief that modern day rappers like 6ix9ine and Drake don’t live up to the same intensity and strength as 90’s rappers like Tupac or Biggie. These were profound artists and, especially in Biggie’s case, constantly searched for progress in the people around them.

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21 Savage’s Deportation Being Discussed with New Released Track ‘A Lot’

21 Savage’s music video ‘A Lot’ sparked immense attention from the public with excellency of music & lyrics & video altogether, but also his arrestment on immigration status. His Album I Am > I Was, was in the top chart for two consecutive weeks after its releases, earning him Grammy Award nomination, with over 3.3 billion on-demand streams in the US. In his ‘A Lot’ music video, visual is unfolded as if telling a story and it dramatically augments the meaning of lyrics. In his track ‘A Lot’, he raps about brings his personal life story to the music – about his friend who was shot during a drug dealing, reality that money ineffective in solving personal plights, gang violence, trauma, and his fear. Rap is a sublimation of a speech/thoughts/novel transformed into an art form that often becomes a mirror of an individual’s personal stories. However, it sometimes becomes an issue where the boundaries to be set up that reveals how much of personal stories one opens up with the world. It is the question of how comfortably enough a person could open oneself that does not detriment their public images. 21 Savage spoked,

“People will be going through a lot of stuff, but you’ll never know what they’re hiding behind their smiles. Like, nobody would ever know that I wasn’t born here.”

The immigration issue has been one of the hottest topics in the US with the presidency of Donald Trump. It is a predicament to many people who don’t get publicly mentioned nor being much cared from society.

21 Savage was arrested on Super Bowl Sunday in Atlanta by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ironically less than a week after performing his track “A Lot” at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

https://youtu.be/opKizJadkzA

He performed with substituted lyrics where he shows compassion for immigrants and people who struggle to immigrate to the US. “Been through some things so I can’t imagine my kids stuck at the border / Flint still need water / People was innocent, couldn’t get lawyers,” (January 28). According to ICE, 21 Savage is originally from the UK and has been illegally staying in the US with his expired visa. Bryan Cox, the ICE spokesperson, iterated that the arrest was on a “targeted operation with federal and local law enforcement”. 21 Savage’s legal team stated that he was originally born in the UK, however, legally arrived in the US at the age of 7 (in 1999). He has been ongoingly present in the US for almost 20 years, but visited the UK in 2005 due to his uncle’s death, and returned to the US with H-4 Visa. H-4 Visa is “granted to spouses or children under the age of 21”. The visa was expired a year later it was granted in 2006. In 2017, he applied for a U visa, which is “a visa for victims of certain crimes” and his status is still under review. He has been acclaiming that he is from Georgia, Atlanta, and 3 of his children are all lawful US citizens.

All of these Youtube comments are mentioning about his visa status and his revealed UK citizenships:

21 Savage’s lawyer appeared on Good Morning America on February 15th, publicly acclaiming that he was targeted because of his music, fame, and ICE allegedly manipulating the incident to convey the message to non-US citizens. He spent nine days behind bars and was released on February 13th, with a granted bond. According to the most recent news, his hearings on deportation that was scheduled on April 9th has been postponed to no specific dates to come. He has expressed his fear of deportation – “The worst thing was sitting in there not knowing what was going to happen, or when it’s going to happen. Whenever I went to jail before, it was, ‘You’re being charged with this and going to court on this date.’ But immigration ain’t like that. You’re just being held.” Additionally, a fear of losing the home that he identifies with –

“the possibility of me not being able to live in this country no more than I’ve been living in my whole life.”

When an artist publicly brings their voices up, they automatically become the target of governments, organizations, and people. However, they sometimes bring hope to the other groups of people. The big voices become an incentive to one individual, bringing the confidence to fight back to the unjust, biased, prejudiced world of overflowing problems. Artists’ lives depended on what they put on to the markets is daunting and frightening. However, intrepid voices are also the ones that constantly transform our society to be a better place for us all.

‘A Lot’ by 21 Savage – Official Music Video

Additional articles worth reading ->>

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Redefining Gender Expression: A Look at Stromae’s “Tous Les Mêmes” Music Video

Whether we realize it or not, an extreme gender binary is presented to us the moment we are born into the world. Pink means girl. Blue means boy. You want to be a princess, step over here. You want to play football, step over there. From day one, individuality is stripped from us at the expense of societal expectations for our gender. From the clothes we wear to the things we say, our whole lives are dictated by a limited and quite unreasonable presumption of normality.

Take a look at this New York Times article surrounding the limited options parents face when buying clothes for their children: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/well/family/the-gender-divide-in-preschoolers-closets.html Clemence writes, “I buy my daughter boys’ pants because even in an age of female fighter pilots and #MeToo, boys’ clothes are largely designed to be practical, while girls’ are designed to be pretty.” Or how about this article which criticizes the presence of gender stereotypes within children’s television and movies: https://hiplatina.com/gender-stereotypes-are-messing-with-your-kid/

If this gender binary is already thrown upon us at such an early age, what does this say about modern society, and how might it affect those who might not fall strictly on one side or another?

Well, the music video for Belgian rapper Stromae’s “Tous Les Mêmes” presents this issue in a very creative, engaging, and entertaining way.

In the video, Stromae is dressed as one-half male and one-half female, changing positions in the camera frame in order to take on the role of one or the other. While presenting as the male persona, the lighting of the scene is green, and he acts rough, rude, and dominant. In contrast, while he inhabits the female persona, the lighting is pink and he acts restrained, gentle, and submissive.

Here is a rough English translation of the lyrics: https://frenchcrazy.com/2019/03/tous-les-memes-english-translation.html/

It is extremely interesting to read the translated lyrics once on their own, and then again with the video. Stromae is able to quickly turn from male to female within two consecutive lines, changing perspective of the narrative. Here are two consecutive moments of the video in which Stromae completely switches characters and mannerisms:



His male persona frequently mentions having an argument during “that time of the month,” referring to a male’s preconceived notion about a woman’s irritability during menstruation. The female Stromae appears to be objectified and taken advantage of. These two dichotomies at last interlace at about 1:09 in the video, when both genders are presented at once, with half of the background green and half pink:

Stromae then dances along his counterparts with extremely interesting movements that combine the stereotypical softness of femininity with the harshness of masculinity. By seeing Stromae as half male and half female, the viewer is introduced to someone that is not limited to the confines of one category or the other. Instead, this person contains a multitude of qualities that are not simply preconceived based off appearance. This effect allows for a really incredible moment, and one that can only be achieved through the production of the video. Sure, the tune of the song is catchy, and the lyrics do stand on their own…but only through the presence of the video does the full effect of Stromae’s work come to life. Stromae’s music video utilizes different colored lighting, elaborate set design, and dancing in order to help complement the effectiveness of his music.

I don’t look at this music video as pushing a transgender or non-binary agenda. Rather, I see it as acknowledging a fault within society, and suggesting that perhaps men are allowed to be vulnerable, and women are allowed to be tough.

Here’s an interesting article put out by Girl Scouts which explains how parents can allow their children to follow their own path of interests, whatever that may involve: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/raising-girls/leadership/life-skills/everyday-ways-to-bust-gender-stereotypes.html

The fact that this video is readily available on a platform as widespread as youtube is an incredible advancement in technology. Not only can someone listen to Stromae’s music at home, but they can actually watch images that correspond to it as well. This is something that was unheard of a century ago. The combination of image and sound elevates the two separate art forms to create something incredibly engaging. This combination’s early introductions stem from Wagnerian opera and Russian ballet, in which the movements on stage reflected the music emerging from the pit. Today’s tech-savvy world allows for an even greater array of visual and musical possibility.

Here is a paper which chronicles the history of the combining of image and sound, something relatively new in the world of music: http://divergencepress.net/articles/2016/10/27/sound-and-image-relations-a-history-of-convergence-and-divergence

Despite the frequent French trolling in the comment section of “Tous Les Mêmes”…

…there are a few meaningful and relevant comments. Some might come away from the video with an idea similar to Muhammad Fachry’s:

But this isn’t necessarily true. The title of the song, translated to “All The Same,” is repeated throughout the song, especially towards the end. It is easy to see where Fachry is coming from, especially because of the lyrics, “You men are all the same / Cheap macho men / Bunch of unfaithful fools.” In this case, “All The Same” would refer to men in general. But I see this title under a different light. I believe that “All The Same” refers to both men and women. It is arguing that the stereotypes presented in the video are just that: stereotypes. Men and women are allowed to be––in ability, in intellect, and in personality––the same.

I enjoyed this thread of comments in particular:




Brad Bury writes, “It’s good to remember that being a woman is not having particular clothes, makeup or mannered body movements.” Mary Strawberry then asks, “What is being a woman? Or a man, for that matter,” to which DankWolf # very fittingly replies, “a human.”







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The Power of the Music Video

Thinking logically, a music video can do one of three things: enhance, detract from, or do nothing for the music. A successful music video will enhance the music they accompany in a way that increases audience engagement, interest, and attraction to the production. There are multiple ways in which this can be done, and methods will vary across genres of music and what the producer(s) want to highlight. Since the possibilities are endless, for this post I’ve chosen to narrow in on what can make a music video successful specifically in the pop/indie genre.

Of course, whether a music video is “any good” or not is subjective and based on the opinion of the viewers, but one good way to see how the general audience is responding is by viewing the like to dislike ratio of the video as well as the comments (where the anonymity of posting behind a screenname guarantees for brutally honest and raw opinions). Based off of my own opinion and the YouTube audience (33K+ likes to 417 dislikes as of 4/17/19), I think it’s safe to say that the music video to Saw You in a Dream by The Japanese house is doing something right. But what, exactly?

“It isn’t the same, but it is enough”

One main difference between attending a live performance and listening to a recording is when replaying recordings, the human connection that exists in a live performance is somewhat lost or missing. Although it isn’t the same, music videos can create visual and mental connections with the audience in addition to the auditory connections that people make when hearing music.

The music video for Saw You in a Dream by The Japanese House creates a visual representation of the song’s atmosphere as the context of the video is dreamy and unreal. In the absence of the human connection that comes with a live performance, this provides the audience with more to grasp onto, deepening their relationship with the music. This creation of atmosphere is important because often times what makes a live performance so special is the ambiance of the performance: being surrounded with the energy of the audience and the mood created by the hall, performers, staging, and effects. Obviously you aren’t going to get that same experience from listening to a recording or even through watching a video and audio pairing, but when well thought out and produced, music videos can achieve a similar effect by giving the audience a taste of the song’s atmospheric character.

A main way in which the Saw You in a Dream music video creates this dreamy and unreal atmosphere is by switching between the incorporation of dark and cool scenes (dreamy) and warm hazy scenes (not grounded in reality). Additionally, the video incorporate elements from real life but use them to create scenes that would be more likely to be spotted in dreams than in real life.

Pictured above is a lone girl riding a two-person bicycle through a room draped with sheets towards a mural and past a potted cactus with a light coming out of it that casts a hazy glow over the room. These elements are all things that exist in real life, but abstract combination of them together in addition to the warm and fuzzy lighting creates the feeling of a dream world.

Additionally, there are multiple elements of the video that reinforce the music’s lyrics, which helps enhance the audience’s connection with the music (in the absence of the human connection a live performance can provide). For instance, during the lyrics “keep my eyes closed” people reach their hands over the eyes of other people, and during “then I awoke and it was so sad” a bright light shines down in the dark atmosphere and the people arise with the main character holding her hand over heart.

Scene during the lyrics “then I awoke and it was so sad.”

This connects and ties together the audience’s senses of sight and comprehension with their sense of sound, creating a more involved experience. Certain video effects used throughout the video also link visuals to melodic sounds in the song. In the opening, instrumentals slide up from E to B and C#, then back to B. During the melodic ascent, the video fades in from black then zooms into the scene, and as the melody settles back a step down to B, the camera pans upwards to show the surrounding scene. This combination of audio reinforced by camera movement draws the audience into the music video’s dream world atmosphere.

Now that you’ve heard from me… what is the general audience saying?

As previously mentioned, the audience reception (judging by the YouTube likes and comments) is pretty positive. After much scrolling through the top comments, I actually didn’t find any negative ones (this is surprising for YouTube but less surprising when looking at the 33K+ likes to 417 dislikes ratio on the video). Well liked comments like these also show that the music video is effective in bringing the audience into the song’s atmosphere.

These comments, specifically the second one pictured show how the audience becomes so drawn into the production and all its elements that they relate to it on a personal level , even sharing their own experiences.

There are also a variety of comments such as these which bring up another topic – the role of technology (specifically electronic devices) in gaining exposure for smaller/less well known artists:

Gabby’s comment suggests that she discovered this song by hearing it in an H&M. She could have asked someone working there for the name of the song, but what also could have happened is she liked what she heard and decided to look up the lyrics to see what the song was. This illustrates how technology has made things so convenient for us as well as how it can help promote less well-known artists by making it easier for them to be discovered – for example if people hear something they like they easily look up the lyrics on google or a song identification website. Or if the music is used in a video they were watching it will be likely linked in the video description for them to click on for further exploration. This is an example of technology working at its prime to assist both the creator and consumer: convenient for the audience/listeners and helpful for the artist(s).

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Our Favorite Brothers are BACK

Jonas Brothers pose for the cover of their single, Sucker.

The Jonas Brothers took to world by storm when we were children in the late 2000’s, and now they are back to rock our world once again. On February 28, 2019, they announced their reunion, and on March 1, 2019, the Jonas Brothers released their single, “Sucker” after a six year hiatus. We thought 2013 was the last time we would see our favorite brothers, but after a few sudden Instagram and twitter posts, we prepared ourselves for their return. They quickly hit the top charts, reaching #1 on the Hot 100 Billboard. Not only was their song a banger, their music video was unique and unexpected, pulling us closer to our computer screens.

The elegance of the castle and the costumes contrasts with the pop, upbeat feel of the song. But I feel like there is a connection. In the ages where elaborate dinners and large ball gowns were in, there was an emphasis on showing off and giving importance to women. Their spouses are the center of their attention, the brothers singing these endearing lyrics to them for the whole video. Sucker seems to have been inspired by the fact that the three Jonas Brothers have grown up, and now have wives/fiancees. A popular comment from the video was about the brothers including their significant others, someone writing, “lol I love they added their significant others!” The inclusion of their beautiful, powerful spouses adds emphasis to the meaning of the lyrics “I’m a sucker for you”. Each of the spouses personality was shown through choreography, outfits, and even hair styles, adding to the personal effect that they wished to convey.

The video has a mix of old and new, antique and modern. The castle with the long driveway, the butlers, the elaborate dresses and the large dinner party with dozens of guests is a flash of the past, but they twist it to include a more modern vibe, with smaller details such as the colors and contemporary lyrics to add a 21st century feel. The outfits were bright and flashy, symbolizing their stunning return, but also shows how fashion has developed over the centuries, from monotone colors to bright pinks and sequins, but also referencing current fashion trends sported by other celebrities. For example, Kevin Jonas is seen wearing a psychedelic patterned shirt, a reference to one that Beyonce wore on a day out

This music video was everything good and new, and everything we could have hoped for. The technology used was mostly cameras and lighting, using aerial cameras to capture the mansion and its gardens in its entirety. Another effect of this music video was to be confused about the time period: is this a flashback or just a really ornate costume party? Surprisingly, most of the reactions and comments were positive, people stating, “who else is watching this video continuously cause its just awesome.” Everyone was so excited about their return, there was little room for negativity. Most people were just so shocked that they were back together that every other comment was “omg” or “I love them”. Audience reaction was exactly what the Jonas Brothers were hoping for, the video already at 106 million views.

“Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers. 106 million views.
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Childish Gambino’s This is America: An Analysis

I still remember the first time I watched the music video of This is America. It was sometime last year; I was getting ready for bed and decided, foolishly, to watch this trending video on Youtube. I stayed up an hour later than I wanted to because of how disturbed and uncomfortable I was after watching the video.

Warning: This video contains graphic content

Donald Glover (otherwise known by his stage name Childish Gambino) released the This is America and the accompanying music video early May last year. Known for its political stance on gun violence, police brutality and racism in America, the song debuted at number one on Billboard Hot 100 chart, won four prestigious Grammy awards, and has nearly 520 million Youtube views today. The one-take music video, directed by Japanese-American filmmaker Hiro Murai, generated so much attention that TIME magazine even released an article analyzing the different strands of symbolism found over the short four minutes. 

For the sake of research (and a solid thesis), I decided to experience This is America two different times: 

 1) Listening to This is America on its own while reading the lyrics without the music video

2) Listening to This is America with the music videowhile reading the lyrics (some would call it multitasking)

Upon my experiment, I can wholeheartedly say that the accompanying music video certainly increases the impact of the political message embedded in the song.

SHOTS FIRED: THE PLAY BETWEEN TEXTURES

This is America’s most recognizable feature is arguably the stark textural contrast between different textures of the song. The song opens with inviting “yeah-yeah-yeahs” by the choir, some fun guitar accompaniment, and the catchy use of call-and-response. This cheerful introduction is immediately interrupted by an invasive bass (rooted in Trap music) and Childish Gambino’s “This is America, Don’t catch you slippin’ up…”. The juxtaposition of musical genres provide a jarring, uneasy feeling that perhaps mirror the disjointed American society that we live in today. 

Murai utilizes this discomfort and elevates it on a whole new level: the video begins with a man playing the guitar in a warehouse and Glover dancing to the (deceivingly) joyful song…before he pulls out a gun and shoots the man wearing a head cover and hand cuffs to open the trap section of the song. Perhaps the man is a reflection of those who are wrongfully accused of a crime due to the color of their skin. Perhaps it’s a statement on how easy it is for people to access a gun. Regardless, what a statement. 

DANCING AND VIOLENCE: ENTERTAINMENT AND IGNORANCE

Throughout the music video, Childish Gambino is seen dancing with school children (smiling in a way that sends shivers down your spine) throughout the warehouse as violence and gang activity break out around them. Fires, people running, police cars and horses… you name it. 

These shots send an incredibly powerful strong message about entertainment and how the majority of society approach racism, police brutality and gun violence today. The fact that Childish Gambino and the children are dancing in the midst of violence without a sense of reality is incredibly oblivious, almost as if they are choosing to ignore issues that affect millions of African-Americans everyday. Not only does such visuals draw viewers in, but it further accentuates the song’s political innuendos. 

WAIT, THERE’S MORE: WHAT IS WITH THIS ENDING?

The video ends with Childish Gambino running away from a dark room (with some recognizing it as the mental prison that black people get sent to in Get Out) from a group of authoritative figures. Wide-eyed and scared, Glover is running into an abyss with no light at the end of the tunnel.

You just a black man in this world, You just a barcode, ayy

You just a black man in this world, Drivin’ expensive foreigns, ayy

The declaration of the video to African-Americans is clear: You can, and never will, escape America.