APPLYING ANDREW GOODWIN

TUPAC “I GET AROUND”

•Hip hop song released in 1993 from Tupac’s album “ Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z”• Features Shock G and Money-B• Tupac is one of the most notorious hip hop artists and has been incredibly influential within the genre

HOW DOES IT DEMONSTRATE GENRE CHARACTERISTICSIt is common for this genre to have a performance music video, with a crowd or group of people in the background dancing/enjoying themselves to the rapper/MC (a). Additionally it is common for the hip hop genre, which was especially dominated by men when this music video came out, to sexualise and objectify women in their music videos (b) and (c). Another characteristic of the genre is that its fashion involved a lot of bragging and boasting about how much money you have, this often involved expensive and flashy jewellery and expensive well known brands (d). Also the mise en scene of the whole music video involves costumes that are colourful and fashionable; exotic and affluent looking location of a mansion; props like cigars which connote being wealthy and the upper class. The reason this music video and many others within the genre do this is so the audience aspire to be like them.

a b

c dd

THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LYRICS AND VISUALSThere is a illustrative and amplifying relationship between the visuals and

lyrics, for example Tupac raps about respect, he then in the visuals shakes the hand of another character (e), therefore we can assume that this is illustrating the lyrics, and that character deserves respect. Within the visuals it often cuts to many sexualised women (f) and (g) who seem to follow/chase Tupac around (h), the chorus of the song states how he “gets around”, which is slang for being promiscuous. Therefore because the women are physically chasing him this amplifies the lyrics because the viewer is also assuming that Tupac has slept with these women because he is objectifying them and how sexualised they are, so there is much emphasise on the chorus of how he “gets around”, which is also reinforced by this being the songs title.

e f

g h

THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND VISUALS

In the beginning where the music is more simplistic and few rap verses, the visuals are introducing us to the setting and subtle story of the visuals, and the simplistic music allows the viewer to take this in, instead of concentrating on the lyrics. However when the music does become more complex and dynamic at 0.22 through more keys added and Tupac starts to properly rap, the visuals correspond with this by Tupac opening doors, suggesting he's ‘welcoming’ us into his song making the audience feel more involved. Additionally there is a very casual and unchoreographed dance move that is sometimes performed like at 2.21, but synchronises with the beat of the music. This makes the visuals feel more suited to the music, and also makes the characters look and feel like they are in control, therefore the audience view them as more powerful. Generally throughout the music there is little change in tempo and pace so the camera work throughout also generally stays smooth and hand held in order to not throw off the viewer, and so what they're are hearing and seeing corresponds making the whole package of the visuals and music look more professionally made. However when there are changes in rhythm because another rapper comes in like at 1.27, the cuts in the visuals correspond to their rhythm and speeds up because they have a faster rhythm than Tupac, this again makes them look powerful and controlling.

DEMANDS OF THE RECORD LABELWithin the visuals there are many close ups of Tupac's face (i), (j) and (k) so the audience know that its his music video and his style, so the production company can make an artist into a brand that they can easily sell. So if Tupac's face is more recognisable and familiar this makes it easier to do and therefore get more money. Moreover Tupac’s iconic ‘THUG LIFE’ tattoo (l) is on show in the video, many of his other songs are about being a thug, such as “Thug N U Thug N Me” or “Thug Style”. Also within the lyrics he refers to himself as “2pacalypse”, which he also often does and “2pacalyspe now” is the name of his debut album. These motifs again make Tupac more stylised and unique therefore more memorable for the production company to easily sell to the audience.

h i

j k

NOTION OF LOOKINGWithin the music video Tupac often has eye contact with the camera, this creates a link between Tupac and the audience. This is because Tupac is making the audience feel as though they are being directly addressed, therefore they feel involved and like Tupac is giving them an insight to his life, which going by this music video is lavish and extravagant , which would perpetuate the audiences ambition to be like him. Moreover there is also a voyeuristic treatment of the female body, every female within this video is sexualised and objectified, and they hold no major screen time or are shown to be of any importance whatsoever. This is combined with the theme of the song which is shown through its lyrics like “All respect to those who break their neck to keep their hoes in check” or “Don't be picky, just be happy with this quickie", which is basically indicating that it’s a good thing to be promiscuous with women but then treat them with no respect, implying that they are simply there to be looked at.