Massive attack by Nicki Minaj ft. Sean Garrett is the song I will be analysing. Hype Williams directed the music video, which also features model and girlfriend of Hip-Hop ‘king’ Kanye West followed by another artist called Birdman. The genre the song belongs to is Hip-Hop; Nicki Minaj is the new ‘it’ girl who raps and sings and is a well-respected artist in this genre. Nicki is instantly recognised by her style and she goes by a 'Barbie' image where most things are pink and pretty she also had a mixtape out called its "It's Barbies Bitches."
By the broad characteristics in the video you instantly tell the genre of the video as it features rapper and singer Sean Garrett although in this song he just sings, whilst on the other hand Nicki Minaj raps throughout the whole song. This is not common in most rap videos as the usual typical rap video would feature a male artist rapping while a female artist is singing.
Goodwin states that there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals and this is current throughout the video. The video is set to be different from normal rap videos as Nicki herself is not a ‘normal’ rap artist; this is evident through her lyrics and her style. As soon as the video begins the camera pans across the desert in which the video is located, this then changes to a helicopter tailing a pink Lamborghini. This is constant throughout the video as well as close ups of the car. When Nicki raps the line “Kn-kn-know I got the ammo, that’s why I bulletproofed the Lambo” we get a side shot of the bright pink car with Amber Rose driving. The car illustrates Nicki’s image as the car is a vibrant bright pink usually associated with ‘girly’ girls and ‘Barbie’, Nicki reinforces this image throughout her work and costumes and also her appearance. There is evident cinematography at the beginning of the video where we get a close up of Nicki, she is wearing bright pink lip gloss and the background is also pink whilst her hair is blonde. In addition the first thing she says is “It’s Barbie, Barbie, Barbie.” In the first opening shot of the video we see Nicki and Sean both together although the first close up is of Nicki which emphasises who the main artist of the song is but also creates a sense of intamacy for the viewer. Another visual is when the camera cuts to a camel as soon as Nicki says “In the middle east on a Camo”
The pink Barbie look
Throughout the video the colour pink is repeated, for example in Nicki’s hair. This is a contrast to the artist that Nicki is, although she does sing; most of her work is rap. Female rap artists are usually associated with being ‘hard’ and ‘strong’ with this being reference to male rappers although Nicki doesn’t support this image and does the exact opposite which also makes her more popular and respected, she is also very curvaceous and uses her body at her advantage, mainly through her videos. This attracts a wider audience and goes against the stereotypical view of a rap artist. Nicki’s style is very vibrant and colourful and this is also clear as to when the video changes to the second location which is the jungle. There is a visual as when the video moves to the second location, the jungle. Nicki refers to the jungle in the line “So, so hot in here it feels like a jungle” as soon as she begins to sing it the camera cuts to the jungle. We also see other references to the jungle for example a typical jungle animal being a monkey. Again in the first shot of Nicki being in the jungle, her hair has changed and she is now wearing a long pink ponytail which is made to stand out as her whole outfit is a camouflage khaki which goes with the jungle.
Continuous use of pink
The record company attempts to sell the track by featuring another well known artist on the song, as Nicki Minaj is a partially new artist to the rap genre having featured a well known artist helps her song to be noticed as well as approaching a wider audience as Sean Garrett’s fans might start to take a liking to her music. Nicki’s image is instantly noticed throughout all her work as she keeps is simple and constantly repeats it, the colour pink is the main connotation that you get when you think of her, it is a strong image she represents and keeps to. For example if someone has not heard of Nicki Minaj or seen any of her videos by watching two or three you instantly see the passion for pink and her quirky outfits and hair styles. This again goes against the stereotypical view of a rap artist which the record company also achieves in selling more songs as she is new and different.
Nicki Minaj is also known for something else apart from her singing and this is her body. In nearly all of her videos there is a sense of voyeurism, she is curvy and uses this to her advantage. In the video she is on sexual display to attract more people to her and her work a clear of example of this is the jungle scene where she is wearing a small bikini where you see her body and assets and dances provocatively. The camera also cut to Nicki in the water but you only get to see her stomach while she is rubbing her thighs. Her costume plays a big part of her work as they are usually out of the ordinary and sexy, this meaning there is a reference to notion of looking. She is made to look a particular way to attract people to her and also so she is different, her style relates to her other music videos and this is how she is noticed. The song is both concept-based and performance-based as there are parts of the song where Nicki is singing to us but also the whole message of the song is conveyed in the video.
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