video influences

There are many music videos and films that influenced us in planning our music video. Firstly due to our title underdog music, this creates a theme of being an underdog in something but progressing to become the best this convention can be clearly seen in many films especially urban films that include an individual who is greatly less fortunate or at a high disadvantage due to the lives they live. Our movie idea is usually seen as the rags to riches storyline but with a twist.

 The music video we are recreating is by a south London artist Fab Soares – Underdog music ,the track is briefly about coming from the ‘ghetto’ and trying hard to use your talents to get out of the cycle ,but only if it was that easy there are many problems situated with living in the ghetto. From this screen shot of the music video we can connote that the video has a grimy dark background which clearly shows the type of background our artist represents, this may even show one the factors that cause a lot of talented people to not succeed, the company they keep for example having friends that are always on the streets causing havoc will most likely result in you being part of their criminal activity. One of our artist lyrics are “underdog music for the homies attempting to strive” this lyric totally backs up and goes hand to hand with our media representation of devoting your life to your craft until you perfect it, being the underdog is definitely not the most positive factor but most of the time it helps push you to become the best you can.

 We aim to incorporate many different techniques used in other music videos with similar storylines for example as can be seen below a video of Joey badass kissing his mother before he leaves his home due to the harsh reality growing up in his neighbourhood where he could be killed at any point of the day and just become one of the other statistics like a couple of his old friends. Additionally me and Gabriel went to further develop this picture as it represents all the hard work and struggle many go through just to provide a better life for their family as many of them have no contact with their fathers their sole attention is towards their mother. Additionally from analysing this music video we were alerted about the importance of showing the background to our music video as it sets a story by itself.

 Another music video influence comes from Hopeful by Twista which definitely uses the same idea that me and Gabriel wants to portray from start to finish, the music video shows a young adult who’s passion is basketball he is extremely talented and is on the verge of being scouted for a successful basketball teen, the music video goes through some of the daily stressors he goes through just to try make it through for example just to go and practice his skills he has to walk through gang territory which can be seen clearly in the picture he is being targeted by members of a rival gang his career could easily go upside down from here if he is stabbed or shot, his hopes of becoming a professional will go down the sink, the song which also features Faith Evans is pretty emotional and from the lyrics and visuals shows many stereotypes such as black on black crime.

Lastly another piece of media that also incorporates certain features me and Gabriel are trying to portray is the famous film named Rocky, which is based on a real story about a boxer who works and trains hard and hurdles over any distractions for example in one of his fights he is shot but still manages to come back from that misery, rocky was too focused on his goal that nothing could get in his way, he manages to work his way up to an opportunity of his lifetime fight against a very famous fighter, this shows that hard work and determination always pays of which is the message me and Gabriel are trying to portray, rocky was the underdog who in many people eyes wasn’t able to achieve much but he proved many wrong and became the best at his craft.

hip hop genre research

Hip hop is a very popular genre in music nowadays and is listened to worldwide especially in many urban environments.The hip hop genre evolved from the gritty streets of new york in the 1970s,the genre became very popular within the united states due to the 'blockparty' era,hip hop was strictly confined to the African american population until it became much more accepted. hip hop originated in the bronx.

Hip hop music really began spreading worldwide a few years later ,the main artists from the start include :Ll cool j and Eazy-E 

ll cool j was one of the main artists who helped hip hop music spread throughout the world,he was signed by def jam a major record label in 1984 and released many hits back to back for example 'i need a beat' which sold 100,000 copies.

The hip hop genre over the years had evolved into many sub-genres such as gangster rap and grime which is much more known in the UK.

stereo types

As you may know there are a handful of stereotypes associated with the hip hop genre.Hip hop has many themes associated with it for example the gangster lifestyles living in the ghetto and driving fast loud cars.

Eazy E is one of the most famous hip hop artists from the late 1980s he himself began as an drug dealer from Compton who made around 250,000 dollars and then invested his money into his rap career,he was successful instantly and lived the fast life literally he died a few years later due to HIV,his promiscuous lifestyle was his killer like the stereotype he had 7 children with six different women,but nonetheless his music lives on.

As you may know the us hip hop scene has always been on top of the UK but there are still a few artists that have been making some considerable noise such as sneakbo and Chipmunk but my prominent choice is an artist straight from the most crime infested part of the capital the notorious Brixton Dvs.

 Dvs is known for his hardcore rap lyrics but also he can be very and has a positive vibe,his music is an inspiration to many youths with no direction for example Dvs sees himself as someone young kids from unfortunate childhoods can relate to and strive to become a better person and someone who is valued in society this music i believe is very important especially for young children who listen to rap music but do not have any role models or direction in life.  

lastly chief keef is part of the new generation of hip hop artists he originates from the notorious south side of Chicago where there was more homicides in 2013 than in Iraq that some even refer to the city as Chiraq,the cities homicide rate has spiraled out of control and every weekend on average 3 youths are shot,some blame hip hop music made by artists such as Chief keef who has many fans mostly teenagers who glorify the violent lifestyle and unfortunately a vast number of them end up dead or in jail serving life sentences.Chief keef was only 17 when he signed a 8 million dollar deal with interscope records,some blame the big record labels funding the lifestyle for the violence but will it ever end?

Hip hop has its good,bad and ugly factors but in our project we will show the positive impact of the hip hop culture which will be demonstrated through hard work and never giving up.