A$AP Rocky - Yamborghini High - Shomi Patwary
Textual Analysis:
"Yamborghini high" is a song by A$AP Rocky that was made to honour one of his close friends, A$AP Yams, who died from a drug overdose in 2015. The music video incorporates, both, conceptual and performance formats to create this radical and beautifully shot music video. They have used a wide range of shot types in this music video like, for example, long shots when capturing A$AP Rocky and the models in front of the mansion, and panning shots when following the cars down a road. the vast range of shot types kept the video more interesting than if it were to just be an angle of just the performer.The angles used were interesting like, for example, they had used a low angle in the medium shot of the performer and i know that this is done to make the person in the frame seem more important/superior and they also used this angle in the shot of a lookalike of A$AP Yams and i feel this was used to show how important he was to the whole A$AP Mob. the camera movement is very still - probable because they used a Steadicam - and this creates this cinematic effect that i really like. The colours in the music video are very vivid and bright but not over exposed and i like how it makes the whole video pop. this was probably done through colour correction and use of lighting. They have even incorporated some dietetic sounds like the sound of the engine revving which i found interesting as it made the video seem more realistic as we could actually hear the surroundings within the music video.
In regards to thee setting, the locations used in the music video are a road surrounded by a Forrest, an open field, and behind a mansion that has been edited in. I feel that this location was chosen because this isn't the typical location for a Rap music video and they didn't want to make a typical music video and this allowed them to execute their concept of doing something that hasn't been done before. the mansion in the background of some shots is just a huge backdrop that has been edited to look like its actually there in the woods and i feel this was done to emphasise on their success they have achieved - they can afford all these fancy cars and mansions and this was thanks to their late fiend Yams.
the setting also coincides with the consumes the rapper is wearing. the rapper, as well as some of the extras, are wearing camouflage outfits and this makes them, sort of, blend in with the surroundings and i feel this was done to create this army/unity connotation. A$AP Rocky is part of a group of friends called A$AP Mob and the extras are actual members of the group and camouflage is usually worn by armies so the outfits could infer that they are a tight group like armies. Also, in other shots, like the one in front of the mansion, A$AP Rocky is seen wearing a robe and so are the female extras in the background and i feel this is a connotation to living a lavish lifestyle where they now don't have to work hard anymore; instead they can relax and have fun in their robes, in front of a mansion, surrounded by Lamborghini's and beautiful women. This infers that they are a very successful group and have acquired this from a young age - early 20s.
the movement made by the rapper are typical of a rap music video; rapping and making hand gestures and lots of dancing. i feel the hand gestures are a way to give more emphasis on what they're rapping about and especially because this is a tribute song, he really wants to engage with his audience and get his message across. the dancing also helps us understand how instead of grieving and moaning his friends death, they're celebrating his life by dancing to music and this is probably what is best. the dancing keeps the mood positive and this is also helped by the bright colours that are used in the videos and the costumes that have been worn in the video. The props used in the music video are; the Lamborghini's, lots of jewellery and alcohol. these props, i feel, are meant to emphasise their success and they are showing it off to the audience. This is very common in rap music videos and is meant to be seen as motivation for the audience to grind hard so they can be as successful as they are.
Audience Analysis:
I feel the target audience for this music video are teens and young adults aged 15-24 who are Rap, especially US Rap, because of the themes they tackle within the music video and the genre of music. A$AP Rocky is a rap artist with a huge following and is known for his outrageous and conceptual music videos that have strong and deep meanings behind them. he seems to tackle topics that a lot of rappers tend to shy away from things like drug abuse and what it's like to be on a trip however A$AP Rocky does this in a lot of his music and he makes in into a story for the lightener to actively listen to. mainly, its older teens and young adults who take part in the use of recreational drug use and i feel that they are able to relate to his music more if they do. however, some people may just like rap music in general and enjoy his lyrics as he is very talented and has be awarded for his craft. I feel his audience is very niche as only a select amount of people would enjoy his music because of what he raps about.
A$AP Rocky has a huge social media presence and he utilises this when promoting his music by shouting out his music or dropping snippets on his Instagram that has over 9.5 million followers. Also, he is part of a group called A$AP Mob and there are a group of rappers from New York, who all have A$AP in their name and they all promote each-others music. Yamborghini high was posted on YouTube under the A$AP Mob Vevo channel which has over 600,000 subscribers and the channel is dedicated to publishing music videos by A$AP Mob and this is a good way of promoting his music as it's easily accessible by his fans, because its all in one place. his music is well received by his audience because his music videos promoted across social media and majority of his audience are highly likely to use social media and its easily accessible on YouTube for his fans to watch and listen to.
Industry Analysis:
Yamborghini high's music video was directed by Shomi Patwary, who is a famous music video director and has worked with many artists such as Joey Badass, Migos, and Mob Deep and has produced high quality music videos with amazing and unique concepts. he is a part of a company called illusive media and they are a large production that work with many artists and have produced hundreds of music videos for artists. i feel like, with Yamborghini high, they wanted to challenge the representation of rap music videos as this video isn't a typical rap music video and i feel they were successful in doing so. because they are such a huge production company with years of experience, they were able to reach an international reach and it shows as the video currently has over 90 million views on YouTube. this video has managed to find it's way in the UK on music TV channels such as MTV.
The technology used to create this music video was a lot of rigs and camera equipment that only huge production companies can get a hold of like the car rig that is used to record the cars driving down the roads. this equipment costs thousands and is probably why this video looks so clean. the camera used was some sort of 4K camera, probably not a DSLR, possibly some sort of motion picture camera was used as the budget was huge. they used backdrops and foam boards to add to the aesthetic of the video. to edit this video, editing software was used, possibly premiere pro and a lot of after effects and other VFX editing software.
Bibliography:
| Article title: | A$AP Mob (Ft. A$AP Ant, A$AP Ferg, A$AP Nast, A$AP Rocky, A$AP Twelvyy & Juicy J) – Yamborghini High |
| Website title: | Genius |
| URL: | https://genius.com/A-ap-mob-yamborghini-high-lyric |
| Article title: | Airship Projects : A$AP Mob - Yamborghini High |
| Website title: | Airship.nyc |
| URL: | https://airship.nyc/projects/yambo.html |
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