Research and Understanding- Three Music Artists

Artists- Lil Wayne, Beyoncé and James Blunt

I have chosen to look at these three artists because they each have different styles and work in different genres. Lil Wayne focuses on Hip Hop and Gansta Rap, whereas Beyoncé's more Pop, R&B and Hip-Hop, and James Blunt is classed as Folk-rock/Soft Rock and has more of an acoustic vibe.

How is Lil Wayne represented?

In Lil Wayne's video John, Lil Wayne uses as many typical Hip Hop values and stereotypes as he can. Throughout the video you can constantly see that his whole body is covered in tattoos and that he has piercings and tattoos on his face too. These show that he is being represented as a 'gangsta' as a lot of criminals that have been to prison have tattoos and that is what he's showing.

We also see him wearing a huge diamond chain around his neck with an NY symbol which is commonly linked with rappers and other artists in this genre. He wears a baseball cap too, which is an item of clothing that most urban artists wear. He wears a headband that says the word 'Chaos' which instinctively makes the audience think of him as a destructive person. He also has golden teeth which shows wealth, which is a common link to all other artists in this genre.

Th lyrics in this song are very explicit and he uses words that are used a lot in Rap and Hip Hop like 'motherfucker' and 'nigga'. He also refers to guns in this son, speaking of them as if he uses them all of the time, which is another common theme in this genre. A lot of rappers are religious and Lil Wayne displays this theme too when he does the symbol with his hands for praying.


Looking at the mise-en-scen of this video you can see that the rooms are all dark and smokey which suggest that he has a dark personality. If everything was bright and pink the whole persona of him being a 'gangsta' would have been lost. Also, there are lots of close-up shots on females that aren't wearing much clothes and what they are wearing have lots of little metal spikes which are associated with sex.

Also, throughout the video Lil Wayne is the only person in the shot and he is the centre of attention, emphasized by a spotlight pointing directly on him.

There are lots of thing on the floor and falling from the ceiling which are a sign of destruction throughout the video, which imply that Lil Wayne has destroyed it and destruction is a theme that again creates the image of him being a bad person.




Looking on the right at the picture of one of his album covers you can see that he is trying to use all of those themes again. Here we see his face tattoos up close and you can see that he is wearing a baseball cam and a big diamond earing. These things are typical Hip-Hop artists' themes.







How is Beyoncé represented?

Throughout her career Beyoncé has altered her look and tried to present herself in different genres. She started off as a Hip-Hop artist and then developed into more of a pop queen.

 The picture on the right shows Beyoncé on the cover on one of her earlier albums. Here she is showing lots of typical R&B themes, with things like her glittering outfit that reveals a lot of her body. She's using this because it shows her sex appeal, plus her hips look like they're in motion and her eyeline's straight at the camera as she is the main focus and it's as though she is looking at you. Her name and the album name has been pushed to the bottom so that it doesn't take centre of attention as she is the main attraction as a new artist.

 On the right is a picture of one of her more recent single covers. Here she is going for the more beautiful pop queen look but she still keeps some urban qualities with the picture being in black and white. She seems more Pop in this cover because she is at a beach which implies that she is living in paradise, her hair's got that slicked back look of being wet and her face has more attention as the clothes she is wearing cover up her body. As well as this, her hand's covering her lips and the other arm is in an arms crossed position which is defensive and shows her innocence.


In Beyoncé's music video Single Ladies she goes for an R&B style song.Yet again she goes for a black and white look which emphasises her urban culture. She also wears clothes that are quite revealing which increases her sex appeal. Her dance moves are very defensive which is common in R&B and also she has backing singers and is not the centre of attention.



How is James Blunt represented?

James Blunt is represented as an accoustic soft rock artist and he has quite an independant look. His album displays this with his face almost blending in the background and being unrecognisable with the symbols and his name being more prominant. This creates the impression that he wants to be known for his music and not his image. The colours are also a bit funky which shows his links to indie and the symbols he has seem to be totally random.

The image on the right is one of his lateralbum covers. Again his face is unrecognisable and his name is the most prominant thing on the cover. He's gone for another indie look again with the montage making out his face which is interesting and clever but hides his identity. It also shows that he has a good relationship with his fans as the montage is of them and they get to be on his album cover.






In James Blunt's Your Beautiful video he yet again has a very independant style. Although he's the centre of attention the audience ficuses on what he is doing rather than is eyes as he is getting undressed in the snow. The snow itself implies that he's a long way from home and lovesick as he's so far from the one he is singing about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oofSnsGkops&ob=av2e