TW: Comparison of two music videos

 

How do music videos contribute to an artist’s meta narrative?

The music video for the song – ‘It Ain’t Safe’ by Skepta (feat. Young Lord), a rap-grime song, varies hugely with regard to connotations of meta-narrative, in comparison to ‘No No No’ by Beirut, an indie folk band.

 

Goodwin’s theory reveals that rap music videos are largely amplifying, in comparison to the more disjunctive nature of folk music videos. The illustrative nature of the relationship between lyrics and visuals in ‘It Ain’t Safe’ is revealed by the fact the chorus – ‘It Ain’t safe on the block, not even for the cops’ is illustrated through . This is furthered by the amplifying nature of the visuals during the line – ‘You say you always got the toast’ showing a male drinking a ‘toast’.

 

In comparison – ‘No no no’ has a largely disjunctive relationship between lyrics and visuals, such as the lyric – ‘if we don’t go now, we wont get very far’ coinciding with the visuals of a skunk with the word ‘NO’ edited over it. The disjunctive nature of this relationship is further exemplified by the appearance of food in the place of instruments:

Goodwin’s theory also reveals that grime songs are more reliant on intertextual references and visual motifs to contribute to an artist’s meta narrative than folk music videos. While ‘Skepta’ includes a number of visual motifs – such as pit bulls, smoking marijuana, are iconographic of being powerful and free, therefore contributing largely to Skepta’s meta-narrative. The still may imply that Skepta and Young Lord are so feared – even pit bulls, iconographic of being vicious, turn their heads towards them, and pay attention. Furthermore – an example of an intertextual reference is when Skepta says - "This niggas follow fashion, don't look comfy in their clothes, see them on the road, getting lovey dovey with the hoes" occurs when Skepta is outside other rap group, ASAP Mob’s streethold – this intertextual reference is a ‘diss’ to ASAP Mob, therefore professing Skepta as ruthless, and contributing to his meta narrative. On the other hand – Beirut’s visual motifs tend to be unrelated and random, such as the pianist ‘playing’ a barbeque. This reveals the importance rap groups place upon visual motifs and references, in comparison to the more ‘open’ nature of folk music.

Richard Dyer’s theory of ‘star image’, one component being where he argued that ‘stars are representations of persons which reinforce, legitimate, or occasionally alter the prevalent preconceptions.’ This reference to ideological discourse is more evident in ‘It Ain’t Safe’ than ‘No No No.’ Not only does the song, ‘It Ain’t Safe’, profess bitterness and opposition to the policeforce, but many visuals in the song reinforce this legitimation of anti-police attitudes, such as a balaclava being an iconic sign of rebellion.

On the other hand, folk group Beirut do little in attempts to challenge or reinforce dominant ideologies – if anything, doing the opposite through portraying the main singer as a normal person, as the video shows him receiving make-up.

However – this is evidence of Beirut performing Dyer’s paradox argument, whereby he argues that stars must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary. This is more evident in ‘It Ain’t Safe’, however. A prime example is Skepta’s presence among a group of friends prompting audience affiliation with having nothing to do, juxtaposed with the shot of phone and money above, an iconographic shot of a successful drug-dealer.

 

Using Dyer’s theory here, I can conclude that rap stars tend to possess and flaunt more ‘star image’ credentials than folk groups, furthered by the fact that Dyer’s star image credentials, such as youth rebellion, originality, and a disregard for social values all explicit in ‘It Ain’t Safe.’.

Barthes’ theory centred on the idea that meaning is created due to interpretation by the audience, rather than the creator. This is more evident in folk song, ‘No No No’ than ‘It Ain’t Safe’ – perhaps revealing much about the contrasting intelligences and interests of both opposite audiences.

An example of Barthes’ action code in ‘No No No’ is where a clear link in the narrative between the band-member playing with bread, and a painter eating bread while staring at the performance. This action code may signify Beirut’s attempt to assert that anyone can achieve anything, by linking the two characters – whose status also forms a binary opposition:

On the contrary – rather than using Barthes’ narrative code to profess the power of the audience, ‘It Ain’t Safe’ uses narrative codes to strengthen Skepta’s meta-narrative. An example of this is the semic code of the phone and notes having connotations of lawlessness and rebellion, therefore:

This reveals that folk bands typically create more ‘open’ texts than rap groups, as rap groups may decide to leave less to interpretation – therefore lessening the chance of the artist’s meta-narrative being compromised or weakened.

Derrida’s binary oppositions is highly evident in ‘It Ain’t Safe’, epitomised by the chorus – ‘It Aint’ safe on the block, not even for the cops.’ This binary opposition is constructed to portray Skepta as extremely dangerous and powerful, as his influence even makes it unsafe for the stereotypically protective and secure, police force.

However – binary opposition is an integral part of ‘No no no’ in relation to meta-narrative, as the binary opposition between an instrument and a skunk not only hints at the skilled nature of the trumpet-player, but also has connotations of creativity and randomness – furthering the audience’s perception of Beirut.    

 Archer's reference to ‘meat’ shots essentially means where the majority of camera shots lie. This varies with each video. ‘It Ain’t Safe’ is largely comprised of close-ups, which prompt audience affiliation, or medium shots where Skepta breaks the fourth wall – therefore further engaging the audience.

Furthermore – the use of the close-up two-shot not only prompts artist recognisability, it also implies closeness and connection between the two artists – therefore positively contributing to their meta-narratives. 

 

 

‘No No No’ does little to engage the audience through purely the distribution of meat shots. The shots range largely – and even medium shots such as below do not break the fourth wall. This strengthens the authentic nature of the folk song. 

Overall – the illustrative nature of ‘It Ain’t Safe’, combined with Skepta’s larger utilisation of ‘star image’, as well as less ‘open’ narrative codes in comparison to ‘No No No’, and meat shots, as well as breaking the fourth wall, means a solid conclusion from this analysis is that rap music videos are more important for rap artists in maintaining and advancing a meta-narrative than folk music videos, such as this one from Beirut.