The

Combination Of

My Video

Production and

Ancillary

Products.

BRAND IDENTITY

Riley is a conscious Hip Hop artist who’s music explores the

normalities, pressures and reasoning behind modern

societal and personal behaviour. His ethos is to subvert

genre and culture conventions by becoming a part ,and

making a spectacle of, everything he wishes to change

within the industry. He does this through his musical alter

ego, “Black Chalk”, who is an incarnation of everything Riley

finds stale, uninspiring, wrong and negatively influential in

the Hip Hop genre. Riley himself, raps using extremely

advanced techniques within the Hip Hop scene, constantly

trying to innovate with flow, wordplay, relatable topics and

complex and memorable instrumentals. Overall, he wants to

put the art form and focus on music, back into the UK rap

industry. This idea has been developed largely in Riley

listening to influential artists before him, such as Outkast,

MF DOOM, Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West. Each of these

artists have gained success and legendary (or near

legendary) status within the genre for breaking genre

boundaries and conventions with their music and identity.

For instance, Outkast’s duality allows them to manipulate

their music, and thus the size of their audience. Not only can

they appeal to the average rap listener through making

music about crime and violence, but also offer thought

provoking reasoning as to why the black youth feel

pressured to commit these acts, and why we should change.

This formula worked, and allowed Outkast to the increase

their audience substantially, even impressing critics.

Ancillary Products

X

Video Production

X

Brand Identity

Links within the ancillary product

and video production help establish

and promote Riley’s brand identity.

Aesthetic coherency is key in

establishing a consistent idea to a

target audience, and I have used

many techniques to achieve this. An

example of such consistency would

be my use of editing in both the

ancillary product and video

production.

The use of the censor strip is a stylised

symbol that Riley wishes to use as a

recurring aesthetic in his material. It

signifies crime, the taboo and enigma,

relevant themes and concepts within

Hip Hop music. In blanking out how

others look around Riley, it diverts

attention to him, potentially helping him

attract members of his target audience.

It adds to Riley’s brand identity through

exaggerating conventions of the genre,

with notions of danger and crime

suggested by the simple inclusion of a

black strip.

Links in setting and costume

also play a integral role in

establishing consistent

aesthetic brand identity.

Making sure the audience

actually visualises in motion

what they saw on paper helps

them see the vision the artist is

trying to create. In doing this,

they will appreciate the artist

more, as it makes the artist’s

work more memorable. Again

censor strips are used on the

magazine advert to further the

aesthetic style Riley aims to

achieve.

Riley is wearing the same costume on the

magazine advertisement as he wears

within the dilapidated car park and hazy

rooms scenes within the video. Every link

generated between media helps keep a

constant image of the artist and his

product in the minds of the audience.

Using the same costume in both the

music video and the magazine advert for

the album reminds the audience of the

album itself, potentially boosting sales

and helping it hold it’s relevance in the

eyes of the consumer. Crew necks

jumpers are a common costume choice

for rappers, as they are comfortable,

casual and notably urban looking.

Through these qualities, they connote

masculinity, a theme exploited in most

rap music. This appeals to Hip Hop’s core

target audience of working class males.

The magazine advert shares the

same setting as that of the slow

zoom on the X during the music

video for Malcolm Middle. The X

is directly correlated to the

chorus of the track “leaving you

cross like Malcolm X”. The

visual representation of this line

helps make the video more

memorable, and it’s use on the

album advert will remind the

audience of the ancillary

product. The consistency and

links in these products can

potentially be a powerful tool

for marketing, as the audience

will be constantly reminded of

all three products.

Part of Riley’s identity is his

association and ties with

where he grew up. The rural

backdrop he features on his

album cover is explored in the

music video for Malcolm

Middle. Though the bandana

font, masculine red hue of his

T-shirt and the crucifix chain

all connote attributes of Hip

Hop and it’s urban roots, the

tree, radio mast, and power

lines signify a country

landscape. In the music video,

he performs on a country road.

The high angle shot directly

contrasts the low angle shot of

the album cover, adding a

different perspective of the

environment. Where as on the

cover Riley seems like the main

focus, within the video, the

high angle shot portrays Riley

as almost lonely in the breadth

and span of the rural setting.

The setting subverting genre

conventions anyway, the

inclusion of it’s symbolic

meaning also subverts

conventions by becoming

attuned with the artist’s

feelings. This will reach out to

a larger audience who care

less about genre conventions

and more about what the artist

is trying to convey, and what

they can relate to.

I believe it is a good idea

to establish the setting

and character through the

use of artwork and

advertisement, so as to

draw an audience in.

Once your ancillary

products have interested

people with the artist’s

aesthetic, the music and

visuals will flesh out and

explore the setting and

character they were

reeled in by. Essentially,

the ancillary product is

there to gain the

audience; the music and

video elements of the

project will keep them

hooked. I believe my

product does this well,

with many settings and

themes that are conveyed

on the ancillary product

being explored in the

music video, such as

Riley’s conflict in growing

up in a rural setting, but

loving a genre that is

indubitably urban.

Font is an integral aspect of both my ancillary products and video production. Certain font styles and colours give a visual boost to aspects of mise-en-scene, such as costume, setting and lighting. For instance, the bandana font used on my front cover for the album is a dual connotation for the urban and the rural, which are the divided themes of my music video. Bandanas are representative of both popular urban fashion and the plantation working rural work force, paying homage to Riley’s African American roots. Elsewhere, the font is san-serif, plain, styled formally in an understated tone, yet presented in an unusual fashion. The magazine advert and the ancillary product’s images consist of this typography, which is often used in conjunction with the black bar masking feature. This is a highly stylistic choice, and fits in with themes of crime, identity (or a lack of), neutrality and the unknown, which are all relevant themes of Hip Hop music and the newer, self-aware artists that inhabit it.

A brief overview of how other artist’s within the industry link

their ancillary products to their music video productions. This

analysis will show that the route I’ve taken will be successful in

establishing and maintaining a fan base for Riley.

BRAND IDENTITY

The ethos of Joey Bada$$ and his Pro

Era crew is to bring modern Hip Hop

back to it’s roots. A large majority of his

tracks, along with his image, visuals

and style, are all influenced by the

Boom Bap and Golden Age eras of Hip

Hop music. Thus, his products will

always have an authentic, vintage and

gritty aesthetic. Being such a young

rapper, the decision to market music

before his time was a bold but clever

one, as it appeals to the older

generation of Hip Hop listeners and the

younger listeners, due to his age. As

such, Joey’s audience and fan base is

very large for an underground rapper.

The album cover for “Summer Knights” by Joey Bada$$ clearly presents links to it’s lead music

video. The setting and props are the main focus, and their relevancy is portrayed in key,

memorable scenes of the video. Joey’s old school Hip Hop aesthetic is supplemented by the black

and white visuals, prop bicycle, afro-centric fashion sense and graffiti font. The bicycle shared by

the front cover and music video, connotes a rebellious teenage attitude and an urban lifestyle,

which are both major conventions of the Hip Hop genre, along with being tied in to Joey’s own life

as a young rapper. The film grain effect on the front cover is also similar to the black and white

filter within the music video, signifying that Joey was taught by a time preceding his years, fitting

in with the old school ethos he is trying to present. The graffiti font ties in with Joey’s afro-

centricity within fashion and style, with each of these elements falling under the bracket of Hip

Hop. The setting of the American Football Stadium also links to the album cover, with Joey

walking around inside the setting on the video, whereas on the album cover, the audience’s

perspective is outside of it. This isn’t dissimilar to my decision to have a low angle shot on my

album cover of Riley in a rural setting, coupled with a low angle of the country road setting within

the video. Joey builds upon genre conventions and staples in nearly every way, linking the most

prevalent elements within his artwork of the ancillary product and video to create a cohesive

vision and product that will appeal to the core audience of Hip Hop in nearly everyway, while also

leaving his target audience with room to grow by exploiting his youth.