ENGL 1101 - Fall 2020 - Hip-Hop Reader - PEASE

The music video being analyzed is "Super Bass" written by the one and only Harajuku Barbie herself, Nicki Minaj. The release of the remarkable song is arguably what established her as one of the most popular artists of the decade. The music video certainly matched everything about her, from the abundance of bright colors to the flirtatious behavior exposed in the video. In an interview conducted before the release of the video, Minaj expresses her intentions where she wanted to display the "sexy and playful world" she's wrapped in. Without a doubt, she executes her intentions perfectly in a setting where attractive men are starstruck by her appearance. The various features exhibited in this video certainly aided in the creation of a massive production and introduction of one of the few female mainstream rappers out.

Nicki Minaj, one of the most influential female rappers in the twentieth century, is known for holding her own in a predominantly male fulfilled industry. For many years, women have been looked down upon when trying to adapt into the world of music, especially the genre of hip hop. Multiple factors have impacted this oppression, including lack of learned skill in the industry, disencouragement, etc. Not only is this prevalent currently, but still remained an issue years ago. In fact, Tricia Rose includes that back in her day, “Even under less intimate circumstances, young women were not especially welcome in msle social spaces where technological knowledge was shared.” (23) With that, the music industry can be seen as a patriarchy where the men are the most dominant. However, in this video Nicki switches this idea towards the end when she is pictured along with her crew members dancing seductively  only on top of the men in the neon background scene. The roles flipped here, allowing them to be the dominant beings while the males remained seated and constrained.

Furthermore, in “Super Bass” the camera shots consisted mostly of closeups in the music video. Closeups are a popular feature in most hip hop videos, where the artist or individual occupies the majority of the frame. This effect is displayed at the very first second of the video where Minaj opens her eyes and blinks as the focus zooms out to focus more on the artist’s face. This technique is utilized to emphasize and establish power of the most prominent figure in the video, Nicki herself. Closeups occurred throughout the majority of the video, but mostly where the male models were pictured, heavily capturing the model’s stomach and lips. Being that an abundance of Nicki’s videos are laden with sex appeal, the intent of this was to sexualize the men with the aims to boost his appeal to the viewers. In addition to this, low angle shots were present where Minaj’s most famous, large assets quickly became the main stars on camera. It is common in modern hip hop music videos to see women dress provocatively to attract the attention of the opposite sex and clearly the female rapper does nothave any issues conforming to the “norm.” Although these elements can be utilized as a tool to sexualize or seduce the audience, they can be represented as displaying dominance in film.

Additionally, in the music video pink is amongst many of the vibrant colors featured in “Super Bass.” Pink is a color that appears numerous times in all of the artist’s music videos. However, in this specific video pink is predominant in every single scene. From the color to the water in the pool, to the half of her wig, to the background, and even the color of the airplane, pink is heavily represented through the video. However, this all makes sense when connecting her personality to her work, or more specifically personalities. Barbie is one of Minaj’s few alter egos but is the most unique to her and her fans, in which she identifies as “Barbz.” Pink is the most popular color associated with the Barbie brand and Nicki highlights this color well throughout this video and her entire career.

Lil Baby & Lil Durk

     Dominique Jones, widely known as Lil Baby, and Durk Banks, also known as Lil Durk, are two of the hottest rappers in the industry right now. Young people from across the nation listen and enjoy their music as it frequently top charts. Different areas across the nation produce different styles of rap. This concept is highly recognized in the city of Atlanta and Chicago. While the two rappers are different in certain aspects due to there native regions, Baby from Atlanta and Durk from Chicago, they definitely share some similarities as well. As a fan and consistent of the two artists, there is no doubt that versatility is a problem within their music. Even though music they release are predominantly established under the "trap" sub-genre, they have no issue diving into "trap R&B" from time to time to reveal their more compassionate sides. In the songs created under this collided genre, the artists main topics involved are usually love and relationships. In fact, one of Lil Durk's most popular mixtape series is called "Love Songs 4 the Streets" that feature a mix of smooth jams praising the impact of unconditional love in his atmosphere and of course, gangster anthems. Lil Baby also can be passionate in his lyrics as witnessed in one of the most recognized songs in 2018, "Close Friends" where the rapper reflects on his relationship with a his current girlfriend that began as friends and transitioned to be official prior to dating. Not to mention the two joined forces to make a song in this very music range. Both Lil Durk and Lil Baby are versatile rappers that know how to keep the audience engaged with a little bit of rhythm and blues and are the perfect candidates if the listener wants to switch to rappers who deliver with a more mellow flow.

     While a factor the hip hop artists share is their ability to be versatile in rap industry, the two are different is various ways. Chicago and Atlanta rap offer two different prominent styles that the artists abide by. Even though Lil Durk can step into his emotional side from time to time, it is important to remember his lifestyle and surroundings definitely have impacted him. With that, it is no surprise that Chicago is most known for style of rap identified as "drill" which is defined by the violent and ominous lyrics that are centralized around the crime in the city. Durk simply conforms to this style as a product of his environment where violent is something that has become normalized. Guns, drugs, killings, robberies, and gangs are all things that are highly mentioned by the artist and many others of the area that are supposed to portray while they are entertainers, they are still not to be messed with. In contrast, Lil Baby offers a less violent tone in his rapping. HIs style is mainly just "trap" which originated in Atlanta and focuses mostly on the use of drugs and promoting their newly transformed lavish lifestyles. This style of rapping is definitely not as hardcore as drill rap however, this does not mean that all is positive on this side on the industry. The term comes from the idea of "trap house" where illegal activities take places including the selling of drugs for profit. Lil Baby continually brings up this lifestyle he used to live before the rap and how now he uses his profits to support his family and friends. Money is a something that is praised by Baby throughout most of his songs in addition to his multiple cars, designer clothes, and expensive jewelry that are all acknowledged by artists under this sub-genre to demonstrate their wealth. Both musicians are favored for their specific style in the industry regardless of their similarities and differences.

Atlanta Vs. Chicago

     The evolution of hip hop music continues to expand throughout the years as various styles and artists are introduced to the world. Two styles of rap that are currently dominating in the hip hop industry are "drill" and "trap music." Trap music is a subgenre of rap that originated in the South during the early 1990s. The popular subgenre can be identified through its content which is heavily based on the selling and manufacturing of drugs in addition to other street life aspects. The term comes from the idea of a "trap house" where illegal activities take place mainly consisting of the selling of drugs for profit and serving as a hiding spot for stashes of said substances. In comparison, drill is a newly established style of rap that branches off of trap and is prominent in the southside of Chicago. This style can be defined by the dark and ominous beats and lyrical content that reflect the high rate of crime in the city.

Environment's Correlation to Lyrical Content

     Identity can play a huge role in the production of music, especially in the case of hip hop. Many rappers are products of the environment that are accustomed to and have no problem reinforcing listeners of this idea in their songs. Said artists come from unfortunate backgrounds where the violence in their lyrics is personal, as they have witnessed the harsh activity mentioned first hand. These dark experiences in street life influence the lyrical content in the production of trap and drill. Given that Atlanta, and especially Chicago, are areas where crime continuously rises, topics of this nature are going to continue to be the main theme of the music being produced as a result of the atmosphere the artists are surrounded by. Dominique Jones, widely known as Lil Baby, and Durk Banks, also known as Lil Durk, are two of the hottest rappers in the industry right now. Young people from across the nation listen and enjoy their music as it frequently tops charts. While it’s understood that different areas across the nation produce different styles of rap, this concept is highly recognized in the city of Atlanta and Chicago. While the two rappers are different in certain aspects due to their native regions, Baby from Atlanta and Durk from Chicago, they definitely share one common similarity: history with an unstable environment.

Different Regions Produce Different Artists

     Even though Lil Durk can step into his emotional side from time to time, it is important to remember his lifestyle and surroundings definitely have impacted him. With that, it is no surprise that Chicago is most known for the hostile content produced within drill rap. Durk simply conforms to this style as a product of his environment where violent is something that has become normalized. Guns, drugs, killings, robberies, and gangs are all things that are highly mentioned by the artist and many others of the area that are supposed to portray while they are entertainers, they are still not to be messed with. Popular song “When We Shoot” is an exemplary example of this being that Durk’s first two lines are “I be with demons and yeah I admit it, Get too high gotta flush my kidneys.” The rapper is making it known that demons, Chicago slang for killers, are the people that he associates himself with, which is already intimidating enough at the beginning of a song. Which is then proceeded by “F*** my opps we on his a** Catch’ em blast nobody nervous, We on his a** Ain’t no pass, Foenem do him dirty...I’m with the killers and I be comfortable ‘round them gangstas… And you can’t run when we shoot.” Those few lines themself illustrate a mental image of the horrific events that take place in his presence of him and his gang. The foreign listener can instantly gather after hearing those lyrics that within his vicinity, bad things are bound to go down.

     In contrast, Lil Baby offers a less violent tone in his rapping. His style is mainly associated with trap like most Atlanta based rappers and focuses mostly on the use of drugs and promoting their newly transformed lavish lifestyles. Although this style of rapping is certainly not as hardcore as drill rap this does not mean that all is positive on this side on the industry. Not only does the term trap act as a noun but can also be utilized as a verb where the party “traps” or sells drugs to make money. This is something Lil Baby mentions he was accustomed to before the fame quite often in his songs. Growing up life was not easy for Baby, resulting in him dropping out of highschool his first year and unfortunately ended up serving time for the intent of selling drugs and possession of marijuana, among other charges. In song “Dreams 2 Reality” reminiscing this period in his life, he states “I close my eyes, I still have flashbacks when I was in the joint.” Having such a traumatic experience at a young age is what aided him to push harder to be able to use his talent to stay away from that harsh atmosphere. Following the previous line in the song, Baby raps “I hit my knees, I’m thankin’ God I’m praying every morning”, I check the schedule and I’m booked up I’m finally tourin’,” revealing he has achieved this dream of being placed into a new environment fulfilled with success. But because at the end of the day his background is who he is, he doesn’t fail to remind the audience he is not one to be messed with. “One hand on my steering wheel, other arm to work the blicky, Imma be forever gang but smart enough to keep my distance” are few lines of him implying this very idea about himself. The content of his lyrics definitely reflects his current lifestyle amongst the many high profile figures in Atlanta versus how poorly he used to live once upon a time.

Content Condoning Crime?

     However, with such harsh delivery and anthems that occupy the ears of adolescents, it’s debatable whether these various styles of rap can have a negative impact on their surroundings. The audience of the rappers in the particular genre are mostly comprised of teenagers and even younger than that age range. The anger and violence can trigger the young listeners into molding into the figures that they hear and look up to, in addition to the hostile environment they’ve already likely been exposed to. In fact, “So far this year, Chicago has recorded 3,033 total shootings and 716 killings. Shootings and homicides remain up more than 50% through the first 11 months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.” (Matterson, 2020) Coincidentally, the involvement of these violent crimes are all young people's doings. The content of the ominous lyrics that are played on a daily basis is a reflection of these new statistics. This is not a surprise given that the widely known nickname for the city is Chiraq given that there are supposedly more murders that occur in Chicago than in war in Iraq. With that being said, could such an impact of music influence this crime? According to New York Times, “Most of its practitioners are young and coming into their creative own against a backdrop of outrageous violence in Chicago, particularly among young people  —   dozens of teenagers have been killed in Chicago this year  —   and often related to gangs...That their music is a symphony of ill-tempered threats shouldn’t be a surprise.” (Caramanica, 2012) It’s already a known fact that there’s a connection between Chicago rap and Chicago gangs, as disses are featured in nearly every song released. It would not be shocking if the explicit phrases and threats did not have any correlation to the unfortunate increase in casualties over the years.

Compassion Condoning Content?

     Although the dark music is most certainly still there, the audience is fortunate enough to experience different sides of the artists from time to time. Referring back to rappers Lil Baby and Lil Durk, there is no doubt that versatility is not a problem within their music. Even though the music they release is predominantly established under the "trap" sub-genre, they have no issue diving into "trap R&B" from time to time to reveal their more compassionate form. Segueing from killings and threats, the songs created under this collided genre, revolve around the main topics of love and relationships. In fact, one of Lil Durk's most popular mixtape series is called "Love Songs 4 the Streets" that feature a mix of smooth jams praising the impact of unconditional love in his atmosphere and of course, gangster anthems. Lil Baby also can be passionate in his lyrics as witnessed in one of the most recognized songs in 2018, "Close Friends" where the rapper reflects on his relationship with his current girlfriend began as friends and transitioned to be official prior to dating. This is evidence that being surrounded in an environment with love and heartfelt emotion can be impactful to artists as well. Similar to how they may have experienced the crime faced in their cities, the rappers experience feelings they’re free to express like every other individual and utilize music as an outlet. It’s all about who and what one surrounds themselves with that has an influence on the raw music the audience listens to. Through the different topics, the artists are the perfect candidates if the listener wants to switch to rappers who can deliver mellow flow in addition to a monstrous flow.

Never Ending Cycle

     It’s apparent that one’s lifestyle can exert influence on their surroundings. In the case of Lil Baby, he made a necessary change in his life that was pertinent to his desired success life. Not only is he one of the hottest rappers out, he is a mainstream figure through his less explicit work. While the dangerous rap that Durk spits makes it a little more difficult for him to reach his status and attract the needed attention. Regarding to the hardcore content that’s not suitable for all ears, it’s harder to be recognized as industry award winners. That is why it is important to not let your background define you and to consider altering your life choices to be in a better position.

Works Cited

Caramanica, J. (2012, October 04). Chicago Hip-Hop's Raw Burst of Change. Retrieved December 08, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/arts/music/chicago-hip-hops-raw-burst-of-change.html?pagewanted=all

Masterson, M. (2020, December 01). Chicago Has Seen 700 Homicides, 3,000 Shootings Thus Far in 2020. Retrieved December 08, 2020, from https://news.wttw.com/2020/12/01/chicago-has-seen-700-homicides-3000-shootings-thus-far-2020