Promotional Package Analysis

Continuity between the album cover and the music video for the lead single (95 til’ Infinity) from Joey Bada$$’ full -length mixtape Summer Knights, is presented through the prop bicycle. The prop is a signifier for how free, rebellious and mobile the youth of New York are. Joey’s casual, rebellious image is depicted here through the shirtless costume, bandana and large, unkempt hair. Not only conventional of hip hop music, particularly of the old school era, it also directly links to the album title, with Joey being portrayed as a sort of urban hero or “Knight”, indicated in the wordplay on the album title.

The setting, characterised by it’s graffiti and urban connotation, is linked to the typography of the album cover. The typography itself, in graffiti form, is a signifier of the roots of Hip Hop, and acts as a throwback to the golden age era of the mid 90’s. The black and white colour gradient also acts as a signifier of the raw, true to it’s roots nature of Hip Hop, hearkening to the old film grain filter on the front cover, that also connote the same themes and concepts.

The connotations of the American Dream, making something of yourself and coming from nothing are conveyed through the setting linking directly to the album cover: The football stadium surrounded by trees. In the perspective of the album cover, the audience stand outside the stadium looking in, while in this scene of the music video, Joey is seen inside the stadium. This connotes that Joey is where he wants to be in life. The fact he is on his own in a huge stadium connotes he is a one man army, further depicting the heroic, street “knight” image he is portraying as a rapper.

The latter half of the music video is filmed at night, further conveying continuity through referencing the other side of the wordplay on the title “Summer Knights (Nights)”. Filmed in Times Square New York, it signifies Joey’s growth as a person, and the fact he is now achieving his aspirations. He is getting out of the hood, as signified by the bikes by the fence on the front cover.