Jay-Z 99 problems

Jay-Z 99 Problems

Genre characteristics:

Within the genre of rap the characteristics are rather noticeable. The normal characteristics appear in almost every rap video, things such as the "ghetto" lifestyle and the general way of life in the ghetto are presented. Things such as women who are very under dressed and are presented as sex objects with little to none clothing. Other things such as shootings and other underground related activities such as drug deals are being shown to represent the genre of rap.The representation of women is rarely positive and portrays them as good for only one things which is sex.

Lyrics and visuals:
Goodwin's analysis on music videos said that there is a clear link between the lyrics and visuals. This means that some of the lyrics are being said may relate to the images shown on the screen. For example in the music video the lyrics repeat the words "hoes" and "bitch" and for every use of this word a women is shown in a degrading way or a woman is shown in a general way. This gives the connotation that he is referring to women and both of these insults and saying he has "99 problems but the bitch ain't one".


Music and Visuals:
The conventions of a typical rap/ hip-hop video and the lyrics are that they are fast paced and tend to show two different lifestyles. The one of the "Thug" who is born and arisen in the ghetto and is discriminated against by the people who have a better life. This is shown in the JayZ 99 problems video where the police officer ups him over and asks him why he pulled him over and he responds with" because I am young and black"

Record label influence:
Within the duration of the video they try to sell the image of JayZ, this is very evident since they show many close-ups of his face and show that he is his own image. When you see his face you know who he is, an only who he is.