1. Music video analysis of….
Lil Wayne – 6 Foot 7 Foot (featuring
Cory Gunz)
Application of Goodwin’s theory

2. •
Genre Characteristics
One main convention of hip hop video’s is the performance
element. It is very rare to find a hip hop video without some
element of performance and it has been this way throughout
the history of hip hop. Arguably this convention has remained
constant throughout hip hops history however there have
been changes, especially in the spoken content of hip hop. The
early conventions of hip hops spoken content often involved
observations of the society the rappers lived and the problems
they face on a day to day basis demonstrated by lyrics from
“The Message”- ‘Got no money to move out, guess I got no
choice’ ‘Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat’
• These lyrics express the problems suffered by the artist
involving poverty and violence within his community. This
identifies the target audience as people who are also suffering
from these problems which would tend to be ethnic minorities
as the majority target audience, mostly young black males. The
song sends a message of wanting to break out of the his
current position, although he is not sure how.
Now the target audience of hip hop has not changed, it is still aimed Clip from Grandmaster flash’s “The Message” (1982)
at majorly at young black males however the message being sent demonstrating performance element.
has changed, the change in conventions has been mainly applied to
commercial hip hop for example as it has been argued that it is
these conventions that sell hip hop (According to Dustin Seibert). It
is argued to now glorify money and almost promises status through
money. It is also argued glorify violence and the objectifying of
women. This shown by the lyrics and visuals in ‘6 Foot 7 Foot’-
“Married to money”
These new conventions although very different still apply to the
same target markets as it is still mostly people young black males Bibliography:
from similar backgrounds to the target audience that do the rapping
however they are seen not only to have escaped poverty but to
have reached a level of rich that they are up there with the super 1*The Message
elite. This appeals to the target audience as it gives something for lyrics
them to aspire to. However it would be unfair to blanket all modern Clip from Lil Wayne's “6 Foot 7 Foot” showing the
hip hop as holding these conventions, these conventions are typical objectification of women. 2*6 Foot 7 Foot
of mainstream rap and don’t necessarily apply to artists who hold Lyrics
more underground positions.
3*Researcher/write
r for changes in hip
hop

3. Visuals and lyrics
• According to Goodwin there is a relationship between the
lyrics and the visuals, which is either amplifying,
contradicting or illustrative
• There is a very strong illustrative relationship between the
lyrics and visuals in this video. For example at 1.18 in the
video the rapper says “I think you stand under me, if you
don’t understand me”. This shown on screen by an
extremely low angle shot of the rapper to represent the
people standing under him.
• This video proves Goodwins theory correct. The strong
relationship allows for the audience to become engrossed
in the song and encourages them to watch and listen
intently to draw connections between the lyrics and
visuals.
• The visuals at points are also used to amplify the effect of
the lyrics
• He says “I do it like a king do” and this is shown on screen
with the rapper in a thrown and woman placing a crown
on his head. This is an example of the visuals on screen
amplifying the lyrics. The effect of this that it that it adds a
whole new layer of meaning to the song.

4. Music and visuals
• There is a relatively strong relationship between music There are also shots of Lil Wayne performing with
and visuals. For example at the beginning of the video Cory Gunz in the background. This affirms Lil Wayne
there is a close up of the the Lil Wayne to establish him as as the main artist, however it also affirms Cory Gunz
the main artist. as a contributing act, and highlights his secondary role
in the song by the fact he is standing behind Lil
Wayne.
It could also be argued that the editing is motivated by the beat of the drum. Which creates a video
that flows very well and is exciting to watch. I would describe the relationship as illustrative as the role
of the visuals matches the upfront and upbeat pace of the music.

5. Demands of the record label
• Goodwins theory states that the record label will
demand lots of close up in order to familiarize the
audience with the artists. This is present right from the
beginning of the video as it starts with a close up of the
artist.
The theory also states that the record label demand the artist
create there own image or motif. Within this video it could be
argued that Lil Wayne undertakes the image of a leader. He is
often wearing clothes that set him apart from those on screen
or clothes that portray him in a position of superiority. This
appeals to the target audience as he is shown as a figure for
them to aspire to be like.

6. Voyeuristic Treatment
• This video does have signs of explicit sexual
content. This conforms to Freud’s theory of
voyeuristic treatment of the female body in
order for the audience to gain sexual pleasure.
Women are mostly blacked out with only there
silhouettes on display. This is sexual as it outlines
their body as though there totally naked.
In recent years there has also been an increase in, in
my opinion, of the voyeuristic treatment of the male
body. As shown by this shot of ‘Trey Songz’, this may
represent shifting attitudes of women enjoying
sexually explicit content within videos, and the move
by record labels was done to widen there target
audience.
Trey Songz – “Can’t Be Friends”

7. Intertextual References
• There are intertextual references right from the start of Although not all of the audience will not necessarily
the video, the opening scene mirrors a scene from the spot the reference this need not massively detract from
famous film ‘The Matrix’. We know this because of there pleasure , but it is often argued that greater
costume, setting and dialogue. The suit is a piece of pleasure is drawn by those members of the audience
clothing frequently worn in the matrix which allows the who spot the reference.
audience to draw a connection to a film, the setting of
the video starts in a quite dank and dirty room which is
traditional of ‘The Matrix’, the dialogue mirrors that of
the matrix by asking him to wake up which mirrors a
particular scene from ‘The Matrix’