Treatment

J. Cole - Power Trip
Treatment

Historical Context - Artist Deconstruction - Will Smith

Artist Profile
Name: Willard Carroll Smith Jr.
Born: 25th September 1968
Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation: Actor, Producer, Rapper and Songwriter
Genre: Hip Hop/Mainstream Rap




Will Smith is one of the most recognizable artists within the Pop Rap genre. He gained notoriety in the 1997 when he released his debut solo album 'Big Willie Style' This album is considered one of the most influential albums for the genre as it was one of the first Rap albums to uses softer lyrics and lighter beats. This album paved the way for artists like Drake and Kanye West in the genre who unlike their Rap predecessors come from a middle class background and don't talk about 'escaping the hood'.



The clothing that Will Smith wears in his music videos will often me the latest fashion if not it probably soon will have been as he and the genre itself were considered the trendsetters of the time. Often his clothing was outrageous and wouldn't be worn on a daily basis but was instead used to make a statement.

Many of the themes of Will Smith's songs are used today, For example the song 'Gettin' Jiggy Wit It' is as the title describes about having sex. He talks about the extravagant lifestyle he lives in his music songs such as 'Miami' and 'Summertime'. All of these themes are extremely relevant to the modern genre and are often the key themes in the song. Although the artist is one of the earlier artists within the genre we are still able to see the relevance he has to it and the evolution the genre has made to become one of the forerunners in the modern music industry

Fetty Wapp feat Remy Boyz - 679

Fetty Wap is one of the most modern Artists in the Pop-Rap genre as he has only been receiving mainstream attention for around 2 years. In this short time he has been able to establish himself as one of the most generic artists in the genre. I have chosen to analysis his newest song 679 which was released in June 2015. it is a conventional song as it's lyrics aren't as harsh as traditional Rap music but isn't as commercial as pop music.

The video itself revolves around a party and the artist, Fetty Wap, chasing a beautiful women. this is a stereotypical theme for the genre and the video also has references to violence, crime, drug use and expensive clothing and cars. The style of the music video is to make it look like cameras at a house party with no real choreography or dance moves, but instead to capture real people having real fun.
unlike may pop rap music video this video is only shot in and around the party, most would usually have shots of cars and bikes racing or pulling up to the house.

The clothing the artists wear within the music video are all labelled and expensive which again is very stereotypical of the genre as the artists are quite flashy and try show off what they own and how much they can spend on clothing. the shot were Monty is showing off all of the money he has again is quite a normal thing to occur in a music video as they are often born into poor areas and families so to them they getting money and making it through 'the struggle' is important so they like to show off their wealth. although this song sides much more towards the themes we associate with Rap it does have one or two connotations towards the Pop genre. for example the language is mainly quite light hearted similar to the theme of the song which is unlike traditional Rap songs which usually take on much harsher subjects.

Artist deconstruction - G-Eazy

Name: Gerald Earl Gillum (G-Eazy)
Born: 24th May 1989
Place of Birth: Oakland California
Occupation: Rapper, Songwriter and Producer
Biggest hit: I Mean It (2014)
Genre: Mainstream Rap/Pop Rap




G-Eazy is one of the current rising stars within my chosen Genre and has gained notoriety within the genre for pushing his music more towards the harder rap side of the hybrid genre. His target audience is mainly the young, urban population of America, his home nation, and the UK. This is largely in part to the UK and America being so similar when it comes to music trends. G-Eazy shows connotations to both Pop and Rap Genres, as he fuses the harsher lyrics of rap with the lighter beat and rhythm of Pop. He again fuses the two genres when it comes his lyrics as they are much harsher than usual pop songs but aren't as hard hitting as traditional rap songs. He also does not talk about the harsher topics that the Rap genre is often accredited for discussing.



This music video has helped me to clarify my idea as although I am  aware that due to its explicit nature I would be unable to use the song itself. I like the idea that the whole video looks like has been recorded in one shot. I also like the Magazine cover affects that take place during the video as I feel it is the unique aspect of the video. this would make the idea difficult to transfer onto my chosen song as the video and music are a perfect match therefore it would be difficult to find a song which could fit having a similar effect for part of it.

G-Eazy has a similar appearance to the artist I have in mind for my music video, a rapper with the good looks of a stereotypical pop star. he sticks to the conventions of his genre as he talks about fast cars, having sex with girls, wearing designer clothes and getting drunk. all of these things make him an artist that I am able to deconstruct and use as an inspiration for my artist and music video.

Pop-Rap mind map - Further Genre Analysis

Genre Analysis - Pop/Rap

  

Pop-Rap, also known as mainstream hip hop, is a hybrid genre of music which combines two of the biggest genres Rap and Pop. It gained mainstream popularity in the 1990's, with artists such as Outkast and Vanilla Ice. It has connotations of Rap but usually has a much more lighthearted lyrics. Modern artists such as Pitbull and the Black Eyed Peas are arguably the biggest stars and are the artists that  have set and pushed the boundaries for the genre.

Generic conventions of this Genre include flash cars, designer labelled clothing and the songs usually have a masculine perspective on relationships and sex. This genre is often considered a sanitized version of more conventional rap music as it, unlike the conventional rap genre, is not so heavily linked with gang culture. The light hearted themes the genre tackles often include parties, fast cars, beautiful women and Jet setters. This demonstrates how the pop side of the hybrid genre has helped to lessen the intensity of the rap genre as it attempts to make the rap music more radio friendly. this is where the name mainstream rap comes from as it is the rap music that sells and can be played on the radio.

The genre has been around since the 1980's with artists such as Vanilla Ice, Kriss Kross and Will Smith recording hit songs in the style of rap but unlike the rap artists of the time they weren't talking about their upbringing in a rough area or violent crime but were instead discussing girls, cars and partying, all things that were referenced in rap of the time but in a far more negative light than these artists were casting them in. These were some of the pioneers in Pop-Rap but the genre seemed to fade away before resurfacing in the 1990's and becoming one of the biggest genres of the next 30 years.

The genre gained notable popularity in the late 1990's and early 2000's with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Akon and Nelly selling number 1 records and albums during the period. this paved the way for what is now referred to as mainstream hip hop and has lead to the introduction of global superstars such as Nicki Minaj, Drake, Pitbull and J. Cole.

J. Cole is currently one of the brightest stars within the genre as his lyrics are much more powerful and meaningful than many of his fellow artists. He is more of a conventional Rap artist than most but some of his songs including the song Power Trip, the one I shall be tackling, have more of a pop influence than others. Although in many of his songs he tackles deeper more meaningful subjects, it is his Pop-Rap songs that have been the most successful of his records. Songs such as 'Work Out', 'Power Trip' and 'Planes' have all been immensely successful in the charts because of their far more general themes.

Preliminary Work

1. I'm my preliminary created a Digi-pack for Drakes song 'Hotline Bling'. I tried to incorporate the ideas that the current album slip has such as the pink background but added my own twist to the design this has included an image of my artist (Sean McGilloway). I think that it was relative success as i was able to experiment with new tools within the Photoshop software package. Making a digi-pack requires many different skills than were required to make a magazine front cover.

I tried to keep to the Generic conventions within my cover by using things like the '6 god' symbol in the top right hand corner of the cover, the clothing he is wearing is all branded, prestigious clothing labels such as Moncler and Versace, as this complies with the conventions of the Flashy genre that is rap.

During my preliminary task I was able to use the 'quick select' function, play around with the exposure and brightness levels of the image. This created the effect which I felt was similar to the one used on drakes previous album 'Take care' so I felt it was appropriate to use this effect on my digi-pack

One of the biggest mistakes I made during my preliminary task was my poor time management as it meant that I had to rush certain aspects of my production meaning that it wasn't to the best of my abilities. Although some of the issues were out of my hands some could have been avoided if I were to plan my time more effectively. I also could have practiced using the equipment before creating my production piece as I had many different ideas which i couldn't execute effectively as i didn't have the appropriate skill set.

I would like to continue to improve my technical skill both behind the camera and using programs such as Photoshop and Adobe premier as many of my ideas require high skill level and much of this comes with practice. Experimenting with new equipment such as a steady cam may help develop my existing skills as I will be able to transfer the skills I have.