DRAKEDRIZZY DRAKE

BIOGRAPHYFULL NAME: AUBREY DRAKE GRAHAMaka: DRIZZY DRAKEDATE OF BIRTH: OCTOBER 24 1986GENRE: R&B/Hip Hop/ Rap/PopPLACE : Toronto, Ontario, CanadaERA: 21ST CENTURY MAINSTREAM HIP HOP/ RNBOCCUPATION: RAPPER, SINGER, ACTOR AND

SONGWRITER-ACTOR: 2001-SINGER: 2006LABELS: YOUNG MONEY, CASH MONEY,

UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC

Drake has collaborated with many popular artists such as Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Jay Z, J Cole, Young Jeezy, Trey Songz, Rihanna, Eminem, Kanye West, Chris Brown, Rick Ross, Robin Thicke, Timbaland and many more

SONG TITLES

So far gone mixtape:1) Successful 2) I'm goin in3) Fear4) Uptown5) Best I ever had6) Houstatlantavegas7) The Calm

Thank me later – Album:

1) Fireworks2) Karaoke3) The resistance 4) Over5) Show me a good time6) Up all night7) Fancy 8) Shut it down9) Unforgettable10) Light up11) Miss me12) Cece’s interlude13) Find your love14) Thank me now15) Best I ever had

Drakes song titles portray that he sings and raps from his heart about his journey to fame and his life as a famous celebrity.

Drakes first mixtape “So Far Gone” song titles are more about his journey to fame and the beginning of his new life. The song titles from “Thank me later” are about him living the glamorous celebrity life which all hip hop artists have. Song titles that display this are “fireworks”, “fancy”, “Up all night”, and “light up”. The “Thank me later” album also shows that even though he's caught up in fame, he is still searching for love, song titles that show this are “Shut it down”, “Find your love” and “Best I ever had”. Drakes sings and raps about his family and friends and how his life has dramatically changed, although he is still the same old Drake. He raps about how the glamorous celebrity life has changed him and he’s just a lost man trying to find his way back.

Target audience: Drakes target audience are young people aged 16+ who appreciate hip hop and rap, both male and female as they relate to his lyrics and understand his music. As drake raps about drugs, sex, alcohol and life issues which is what 16 and overs can relate to.

Awards and Success Awards Wins Nominations

BET AWARDS 2 7

BET HIP HOP AWARDS

3 14

GRAMMY AWARDS 0 6

JUNO AWARDS 2 10

MOBO AWARDS 0 3

MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS

0 3

MUCHMUSIC VIDEO AWARDS

3 9

SOUL TRAIN MUSIC AWARDS

1 7

TEEN CHOICE AWARDS

2 9

YOUNG ARTIST AWARD

1 5

TOTAL AWARDS WON = 28TOTAL NOMINATIONS = 85

-Ranked #3 Hottest MC by MTV (2009)-MTV's Hottest Mixtape of The Year for "So Far Gone" (2009)-Complex's #3 Best Albums of 2009 for "So Far Gone"-Complex's #5 Best Mixtape Album of The Decade for "So Far Gone" (2009)-Ranked #4 Hottest MC by MTV (2010)-GQ Man of The Year (2010)-Named #4 Man of The Year by MTV (2010)-Thank Me Later #6 Top-Selling Album Of 2010 on iTunes-"Thank Me Later" ranked #5 on Top TIME LP List (2010)"Thank Me Later" A #1 album at one point during 2010.

Star Image Album cover:The colour theme for this album cover is red, black

and white, all bold, bright colours that contrast from each other to stand out. The cover is simple yet interesting, drake is not portraying any big brands or expensive jewellery like other hip hop artists, this challenges conventions and shows that he is a simple man, not obsessed with glamour and fame just a motivated artist passionate about his music. The background and his face are white which symbolises innocence whereas he has a black shadow highlighted in red over a quarter of his face showing he may have another side or split personalities. He is looking up with an inspired expression on his face as if he is looking up to reach his goals and succeed.

Drakes star image in this portrays the genre which is Hip Hop. He is wearing baggy trousers, trainers, a t-shirt, a leather jacket and a silver chain. Although drakes star image portrays hip hop, he is also very unique showing he doesn’t conform to other hip hop artists. The typical hip hop look would be a big white t-shirt, with baggy jeans, a lot of jewellery and a new era cap or a lot of jewellery with a suit. Drake challenges these conventions and sticks to his own look with a cool stylish leather jacket, unique brown jeans and a simple silver chain. This shows he is not all about flashing brands and ‘bling’ like all hip hop artists. Although the Aston Martin car behind him does portray the glamorous life which displays the hip hop genre.

GOODWINS THEORY DRAKE : ‘OVER’ MUSIC VIDEO

1) Links between lyrics and visuals

Goodwin stated that lyrics will have constant references with visuals on screen. An example of this in Drakes video is when he says “one thing bout music when it hits you feel no pain” as he says this the words come up on screen in sync with the lyrics.

2) Links between music and visuals

Goodwin also stated that the music and visuals will have a link. This is found in the video at the beginning, as the loud thunder sounds hit, the fire effect inside drake flashes in sync with the thunder sounds.

Another example of this is as the song slowly starts the lights turn off and there's a dim projection on the wall of a slow journey on a road but as the beat kicks in the projections gets brighter and faster which is also in sync with the beat

Starts slow with less light and effects but as it gets faster effects and light increase

3) GENRE CHARACTERISTICS

Goodwin stated that you can spot the genre characteristics in music videos. A genre characteristic in this video is drakes clothing as he is wearing a white t-shit, a hoody and a silver chain. This is a typical look for the hip hop genre as it portrays money by his silver chain and hoodies are typical of the genre.

4) Intertexual Reference

A really popular intertexual reference is used in this music video, the lyrics “one thing bout music when it hits you feel no pain” which is from ‘hip hop’ by Dead Prez. This is used to interest the audience as it is significant to them as Dead Prez are a well known hip hop duo and also ‘hip hop’ was a big hit in the hip hop industry

5) Notions of lookingThere is frequently reference to notion of looking (gaze), Goodwin

stated that in music videos women are usually seen as objects. Drakes video includes this as there is a woman dancing in revealing clothes. This attracts an audience as males see it as pleasurable as its an attractive woman. Females see the model as a style icon and also desire to have a similar body as its the ‘ideal’ body.

6) DEMANDS OF THE RECORD LABEL

Record labels have many demands over their artists. This involves close ups so the artist is more recognisable and appeals to certain audiences , how the artists represents themselves and also mentioning the record label in songs so that it is well known to the audience. In drakes video there are many close ups of Drake. The reason for this is as many females like R&B and Hip Hop therefore close ups are used so that females find Drake more attractive and sexy. Also males look at him as a role model and style icon. Also at the beginning of the song Drake mentions his record label as he says ‘Young Money’

J COLE

BIOGRAPHYFULL NAME: JERMAINE LAMARR COLEaka: J COLEDATE OF BIRTH: JANUARY 28TH 1985GENRE: R&B/Hip HopBORN IN : FRANKFURT, GEMRANY MOVED TO : FAYETTVILLE , NORTH CAROLINA

(AT AGE OF 8)ERA: 21ST CENTURY MAINSTREAM HIP HOP/ RNBOCCUPATION: RAPPER, SINGER, AND PRODUCER-SINGER: 2007LABELS: ROC NATION , COLUMBIA, SONY MUSIC

ENTERTAINMENT

J Cole has collaborated with many well known artists such as Drake, Jay Z, Miguel, Wale, Trey Songz, Beyonce, Rihanna, B.o.B, Talib Kweli, Big Sean and many more

Website : http://www.jcolemusic.com

SONG TITLESFriday Night Lights mixtape:1. Friday Night Lights (Intro) 2. Too Deep For The Intro 3. Before I'm Gone 4. Back To The Topic (Freestyle) 5. You Got It 6. Villematic 7. Enchanted 8. Blow Up 9. Higher 10. In The Morning 11. 2Face 12. The Autograph 13. Best Friend 14. Cost Me A Lot 15. Premeditated Murder 16. Home For The Holidays 17. Love Me Not 18. See World 19. Farewell

Sideline Story – Album:1. Intro2. Dollar And A Dream III3. Can’t Get Enough4. Lights Please5. Interlude6. Sideline Story7. Mr. Nice Watch8. Cole World9. In the Morning10. Lost Ones11. Nobody’s12. Never Told (prod. No I.D.)13. Rise & Shine14. God’s Gift15. Breakdown16. Cheer Up17. Nothing Lasts Forever [Bonus]18. Work Out [Bonus]19. Daddy’s Little Girl [Bonus]

J Coles song titles show that he raps about real life issues and his life experiences before and after fame. He also raps about love similarly to Drake he is searching for love. J Cole raps a lot about his childhood, family and friends. Most of his lyrics are about past experiences in his neighbourhood such as losing close friends and family over drugs and violence. However he doesn’t just rap about his story, his lyrics also tell the story of other people such as young women who lose themselves in life somewhere along the line (Daddy’s little girl), or girls who’s hearts get broken by infidelity (Never told), to the torment of a potential breakup (Nothing Lasts Forever), to the struggles of young parenthood and the decision of aborting a child (Lost Ones).

Target Audience: J Cole’s target audience are males and females aged 13 and above. The reason for this is as he raps about his childhood regrets and problems, he’s trying to send a positive message out to help people going through the same thing such as growing up without a father, drugs or pregnancy. His lyrics are true and from the heart as he reveals his emotions and feelings which an audience aged 13 and above can relate to. Also he is telling the story of peoples everyday struggles such as abortion, break ups and young parenthood or death.

Awards and Success Awards Wins Nominations

BET AWARDS 1 3

UNDERGROUND MUSIC AWARDS

1 2

•J Cole – ‘Friday Night Lights’: Won Best Mixtape 2011 BET MUSIC HIP HOP AWARDS•Nominated Best New Artist 2011 BET MUSIC AWARDS•Nominated Rookie of the Year 2010 BET MUSIC HIP HOP AWARDS • Won male artist of the year 2011 UNDERGROUND MUSIC AWARDS

STAR IMAGE

The spotlight on J Cole contrasts from the background to stand out and show J Cole is the Star

Varsity baseball jacket with baggy jeans fits the hip hop genre. Although he is not portraying any brands or expensive jewellery which shows he is simple, this challenges conventions as other hip hop artists always have expensive clothes and jewellery.

Closed hands symbolises peace and serenity this also complements his facial expression and rosary beads

‘J Cole’ is written in plain white font which stands out from the background to make it easier for the audience to read. The ‘O’ has devil horns whereas the ‘E’ has a halo which portrays evil and good, which suggests he may have split personalities one being evil and one being good.

J Cole is wearing rosary beads which portrays religion and peace. This complements his calm facial expression.

J Cole's face is expressionless which portrays him as calm and relaxed,. However it also creates mystery being expressionless which attracts the audience to the CD cover as they might think why is he expressionless.

This is J Cole at the awards ceremony where he was also doing a performance with Wale and Rick Ross. He looks very casual not as dressed up as other artists would be.

Casual checked shirt shows he is simple, he also doesn’t expensive designer brands

Baggy jeans fit the hip hop genre as it is typical of a hip hop artist to wear them

High tops also fits the hip hop genre

Goodwin's Theory

J Cole – Work Out Music video

1) Links between lyrics and visuals

Through out the video there is a relationship between J Cole’s actions and the lyrics. One example of this is when he say “Or is it just a hit and run” and he does a running action with his hand.

Another example is when he says “I know what's on your brain” and at the same time points to his brain.

When he says “You probably hoping never would end” he does the praying gesture with his hands closed which symbolises hope

When he says “or is it just a one night stand” he puts one finger up and smiles implying it is

2) Links between music and visuals

All through the video the cameras movements are steady and calm and there are no effects in the video. However the camera movement at the start is just slow and still but when the bass kicks in at 0.50seconds the camera rocks side to side slowly and also when ever the beat drops the camera switches to a new location or camera angle

3) Genre Characteristics

Throughout the video you can spot many genre characteristics. Firstly the setting and location portray a hip hop genre. The location is a basketball court which is a typical setting for a hip hop video as it displays ‘the hood’ where all hip hop artists start and include in there videos. Many hip hop artists use basketball in there lyrics and videos such as Drake (forever, best I ever had), J Cole, Skee Lo (I Wish), Wiz Khalifa (roll up), Chris Brown (Excuse me miss), The game, 50 cent, Lil Wayne and many more.

Another genre characteristic ...The clothes is another obvious genre characteristic. The male characters in

the video are wearing sport clothes such as the baggy shorts, big t-shirts and fitted hats and high tops, which portrays the hip hop genre as its urban clothing. The females in the video are wearing very tight revealing clothes such as tight denim shorts/jeans, crop tops/bikinis and also a lot of make up, this also portrays the hip hop genre as it is voyeurism and portrays the women as object to attract the male characters attention.

5) Notions of lookingThe women is this video are portrayed as object as they are wearing

very revealing clothes such as denim shorts, crop tops, bikinis and also a lot of make up. This attracts the audience a males would find it satisfying and find the women attractive. Also females would look up to them as role models with there clothes, jewellery, make up and figures.

6) Demands of the LabelIn the video there are many close ups of J Cole and the camera is

focussed on him through out the video to portray his start image and show he is the main artist. Many camera angles are used such as high angle shots, low angle shots, close ups and mid shots. This is so the audience recognise him more and are able to identify him.

LIL WAYNE

BIOGRAPHYFULL NAME: DWAYNE MICHAEL CARTER, JR.aka: LIL WAYNEDATE OF BIRTH: SEPTEMBER 27 1982GENRE: Hip HopPLACE : New Orleans, Louisiana USERA: 21ST CENTURY MAINSTREAM HIP HOPOCCUPATION: RAPPER, SINGER-SINGER: 1990LABELS: YOUNG MONEY, CASH MONEY,

UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC AND YNIVERSAL MOTOWN

Lil Wayne has collaborated with Drake, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Jay Sean, Eminem, Chris Brown, Busta Rhymes, Birdman, The Game, Mike Posner, Kevin Rudolf and many more

SONG TITLES

Rebirth - Album1. American Star 2. Prom Queen3. Ground Zero4. Da Da Da5. Paradise6. Get a Life 7. On Fire8. Drop the World9. Runnin10. One Way Trip11. Knockout12. The Price Is Wrong

Tha Carter IV– Album:

1. Intro2. Blunt Blowin3. MegaMan4. 6 Foot 7 Foot 5. Nightmares Of The Bottom6. She Will 7. How To Hate 8. Interlude9. Abortion10. John11. So Special 12. How To Love 13. President Carter14. Its Good15. Outro

The first album “Rebirth” song titles portray that the album is about Lil Wayne’s life and probably past too as titles like “Prom Queen”, “paradise”, “drop the world” and “the price is wrong” suggest this. “Prom queen” hints his life in college or at school and titles such as “paradise” and “the price is wrong” suggests him living the glamorous life as all hip hop artists do. The second album “Tha Carter IV” song titles suggest the album is about his life at the moment . Similarly to J Cole his album mentions “abortions” and love problems, this implies that his album is targeted to male 13years and over but also females as they go through a lot of love problems all the time and may face problems such as abortion and pregnancy therefore listening to his album may provide answers , help and also feel like someone understands them and supports them.

Target Audience: both males and females ages 13 years and above, this is because Lil Wayne discusses his life as a child and problems people face such as pregnancy, abortion and break up which affects both males and females therefore this artist attracts them as they can relate to his music and lyrics.

Awards and Success Awards Wins Nominations

AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS

0 2

BET AWARDS 10 20

GRAMMY AWARDS 4 10

JUNO AWARDS 2 10

MOBO AWARDS 0 1

BMI AWARDS 9 10

BET HIP HOP MUSIC AWARDS

31 10

MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS

8 1

MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS

5 4

TEEN CHOICE AWARDS

2 1

TOTAL AWARDS WON = 75TOTAL NOMINATIONS = 129

MTV – HOTTEST MC IN THE GAME:2010: #7 Hottest MC 2009: #2 Hottest MC 2008: #3 Hottest MC 2007: #1 Hottest MC

Star ImageThere is a lot of the colour gold in the background. Gold symbolises money, royalty, heaven and religion. This portrays the glamorous life as the location looks like an expensive room also the gold displays money, wealth and royalty

The electric guitar and wires portray music and also the genre of rock as the ‘rebirth’ album has a lot of rock songs and Lil Wayne is starting to produce more such as “prom queen” and “let it rock”

Lil Wayne’s clothing does not portray a hip hop genre as he is wearing a t-shirt, scarf, brown trousers and his shoes are converse Chuck Taylor, this challenges conventions as his clothing is different to other hip hop artists and it does not portray the hip hop genre although it displays money which suggests the genre hip hop

His posture displays a care free attitude suggesting he has no worries and lives a relaxed life, this definitely portrays the glamorous life which suggests the genre of hip hop

Gold and Silver diamond chains portray money and wealth which fits in with the hip hop genre as all artists live a glamorous life flaunting there expensive clothes, jewellery, money and cars.

He is smoking which shows the genre is hip hop as all hip hop artists rap and sing about ‘weed’ and other drugs. It also portrays a rebellious behaviour, this also fits the hip hop genre as most hip hop artists are rebellious

His body is covered in tattoos, this is typical of hip hop artists as it is part of there look. It also portrays rebellious behaviour this also displays hip hop

Goodwin's TheoryLil Wayne – 6 foot 7 foot music video

1) Links between lyrics and visualsWhen Lil Wayne says “and death is her sister” there is a shot of a girl beside

another girl with a skeleton face painted on her face, also this shot is in black and white which emphasises death as the shot switches from colour to black and white and these colours portray death.

Then he says “you know father time, we all know mother nature” as he says this there is a black and white shot of an old man displaying father time and then a colourful shot of a girl with flowers on her head and colourful eye makeup to portray mother nature.

Another example is when he says “I'm a celebration” at the same time a girl jumps out of a cake, this portrays celebration as cakes symbolise celebrations and ceremonies.

As he says “I think you stand under me if you don't understand me” a low angle shot is used which is shot under his feet, as if he is standing over the audience and the audience is standing under him, this makes the lyrics feel more real and the audience feel more involved.

Another example is when he says “I be seeing through them like sequins” and there's a shot of him looking through the sequins which again makes his lyrics seem more real to the audience

2) Links between music and visuals

At the beginning when there's a slow beat, the visuals are also in slow motion as Lil Wayne falls into the bath tub the water slowly splashes up, which makes it appear more affective

As the beat kicks in the cameras movements keeping moving forward zooming in) and backward (zooming out) in sync with the beat, this makes it look as if the people and setting is shaking fast but its just the camera

This shows the camera shaking

3) Genre Characteristics Many characteristics display hip hop such as the clothing. Firstly the boys behind Lil

Wayne are all wearing baseball jackets, baggy jeans, high tops and fitted hats. This is urban clothing which all hip hop artists wear thus this foreshadows hip hop is the genre.

The girls in the video are all wearing tight revealing clothes, and also a lot of make up such as red/coral lipstick. This also indicates it is a hip hop video as all videos of this genre include women in tight revealing clothes.

Other obvious genre characteristics are the money and smoke, as this portrays the glamorous life which hip hop artists live. It also portrays rebellious behaviour.

4) Intertexual Reference A very popular intertexual reference is used in this music video, this is from the movie

inception. Firstly the video begins the same as inception with the scene of Leonardo DiCaprio asleep on the chair not waking, and then Joseph Gordon Levitt says “Dunk him” and Leonardo falls into the tub in slow motion.

Lil Wayne's ‘6 foot 7 foot’ music video

Leonardo DiCaprio Inception scene

Another scene from inception is when Leonardo DiCaprio and everyone is asleep in the car part of their plan. This is imitated in Lil Wayne’s video. Inception is a very popular film therefore imitating seens from the film also makes Lil Wayne’s video popular and recognisable.

What I've learnt overall

I have learnt to create a successful hip hop music video I will need to include hip hop conventions such as designer clothes, jewellery, expensive cars, urban clothing, money and possibly portray women as objects as that is typical of the theme. However I can also challenge conventions by changing the clothing or end of the story