21st Century Music Has Lost Its Visual Identity: How Does Visual Identity in Alternative Hip Hop Communicate Social Commentary?
Has todays music lost its visual identity? By focusing on Alternative Hip Hop, a genre of music that has come to prominence in the 21st century, this essay will critically analyse the visuals of this genre. If 21st century music has lost its visual identity, then there shouldn’t be any successful imagery within the visual identity of Alternative Hip Hop, let alone for that imagery to commentate on various social topics that affect contemporary society. There are many examples of vapid and terrible album covers within the wider Hip Hop genre which say nothing for the visual identity of the artists to whom they belong, such as the covers for ‘www.thug.com’ by Trick Daddy, ‘Who Killed my Mama?!’ by Ta Smallz and ‘Slam Dunk’n Hoes’ by Top Dog. These ridiculous examples of garish and ridiculous use of colour, font and badly photo shopped imagery make a case for 21st century losing its visual Identity.
www.thug.com Album Cover (1998). Trick Daddy
Slam Dunk’n Hoes(2007). Top Dog
Who Killed My Mama?(2010) Ta Smallz
Demon Days Album Cover ( 2005). Gorillaz and Jamie Hewlett
Stankonia Album Cover (2000). OutKast
However, albums from artists working within the Alt Hip Hop Genre at the turn of the millennium, provide the antithesis to these album covers. ‘Demon Days’ by Gorillaz and ‘Stankonia’ by OutKast marked a resurgence of Alt Hip Hop, and the visuals from both albums have not only become iconic in the genre, but in all music as well. The Gorillaz’ use of a virtual band, designed by Jamie Hewlett, separates the idea of “celebrity” entirely from the music of the “band”. The band members posed in a parody of the classic Beatles album ‘Let it be’ connotes this idea of caricaturising celebrity. OutKast’s ‘Stankonia’ denotes the difference in style between Big Boi, on the left of the cover, and the more extravagant Andre 3000, on the right. The blacked out American flag behind the duo connotes the anti war sentiment that was permeating parts of American society during the time of the album’s release. These visuals were able to reflect the musical content of album, most present in the track ‘B.O.B or Bombs over Baghdad’.
Most of Alt Hip Hop’s impact comes through the content of the music itself, however the visual elements that compose how the music is packaged or presented to the audience, through album artwork or through music videos can be just as important in getting an idea or concept across. Contemporary artists who have mastered this multi-layered approach within the medium of Alt Hip Hop include Run The Jewels, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar, the most critically successful Alt Hip Hop artist amongst mainstream audiences, whose use of visual metaphor and narrative in the form of album artworks and music videos supplements the storytelling and lyricism within his music. Lamar serves as a microcosm for Alternative Hip Hop, therefore examining his visual identity will showcase the state of visual identity in a 21st century music genre.
Visual identity within music theoretical contexts. Album to help sell the record or alb well. With the turn of th package music has gradua Music and Tidal. This begs longer a physical product t important as it was before published by Forbes this ye with sales nearing the $1 billi that consumers are after ta Toddrick Spalding, “a music e that they can hold in their h are objects of interest, some music that it represents, a
c contains many signs and signifiers that need to be decoded through the use of semiotic m artwork and music videos are forms of artistic expression yet they are also used as tools bum that they adorn or are attributed to, advertising theory needs to be applied to these as he millennium and the progression into the 21st century, the use of physical media to ally been replaced with, at first MP3’s, and now streaming services such as Spotify, Apple the question whether the visual identity of artists is as important as it was, as there is no that encompasses the music in this form. Does album artwork have to be as intricate and e the turn of the millennium? Despite the music industry booming digitally, in an article ear, Passman (2017) finds that “Vinyl records are projected to sell 40 million units in 2017, ion benchmark for the first time this millennium.”, this rebirth of the vinyl industry conveys angible products to interact with and to display. Later in the article, in an interview with expert by trade” who agrees that “Many of today’s consumers just want to own something hands”; and that “The 12 x 12 artwork is another massive draw”. The album cover artworks etimes being more valuable than the music its self. The artworks are also signifiers for the as all streaming services still display the album artwork of the music that can be played.
good kid m.A.A.d city Album Art (2012) Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick Lamar’s breakthrough mainstream album, good kid m.A.A.d city, deals with his personal experience of growing up around gang violence in the city of Compton. The extremely personal record contains audio snippets of Kendrick’s family as he weaves through various stories surrounding his upbringing, how he coped with witnessing murder and his temptation with alcohol and crime. The intimate snapshot of Lamar’s personal history with in this record is deftly paired with the album art, an actual snapshot of a young Kendrick with his two uncles and grandfather. The proximity of the figures immediately indicates that the people on this cover are family. The photograph in the form of a crumpled and faded polaroid communicates the idea of memory, the haziness and discoloration of the image mirroring how events can be hazy and unrecalled. The polaroid as a medium is also a somewhat antiquated method of image capturing, producing a single image, communicating the idea of looking in on a private moment.
1989 Album Cover (2014) Taylor Swift
The crumpled image, made to look torn and creased contrasts with another recording artist’s album cover. Taylor Swift’s album ‘1989’ is also adorned with a polaroid which again connotes the idea of memory and nostalgia, however unlike Lamar, Swift’s cover looks produced and whimsical. It lacks any damage that an old photograph would incur over time and the image itself is of how Swift looks in the present. The polaroid looks professionally shot, whereas in Lamar’s image it was of a real, albeit unconventional familial scene. The point where the image cuts off so as to omit Swift’s eyes, draws parallels to the censorship found within Lamar’s image, however the connotations of crime and death are not communicated through Swift’s image, it adds to the impression of professionalism and being staged.
The juxtaposition of the innocent Kendrick being held by his uncle, as his uncle throws sign, as well as the alcohol being in such close proximity to the baby bottle, expresse environment impressed on him from a young age and the effort he must have made to b ‘mad city’. The lack of any female family members, as well as the gang sign within the im role of male driven, and gang influence on Kendrick. The inclusion of the gang sign dra context of the album, of Lamar choosing another path to the endless cycle of gang viole home city of Compton. Wider society’s perception of which is that the citizens of Com violence because they are natural criminals, Lamar disputes this by showing gang mem familial setting. Normal people trapped by extraordinary circumstances, witnesses to society couldn’t imagine. The censored eyes on Lamar’s relatives connotes ideas of abse members within the image are either no longer alive or a part of Lamar’s life. The fact tha the only ones uncovered conveys his innocence and naivety of his surrounding and show solely through his eyes and his point of view.
Unlike the tacky, poorly made album covers from the likes of Trick Daddy, Kendrick Lam clear social narrative through his visuals within the album cover for ‘good kid m.A.A.d ci authenticity from his choice of faded polaroid, gang culture from the censored eyes and from selecting a highly personal image that depicts his actual family in a relaxed, n
s up the Crips gang es the influence his be a ‘good kid’ in his mage emphasizes the aws attention to the ence that plagues his mpton choose gang mbers in a vulnerable, horrors that wider ence, as if the family at Kendrick’s eyes are ws how this album is
mar is able to convey a ity’. Through signs of gang sign; and family natural setting.
Lamar is also able to communicate social commentary through his music videos, a vital aspect of a 21st century recording artist’s visual identity, as platforms such as YouTube have become way easier and accessible to digest visual media than outdated outlets such as MTV. The music video for Lamar’s song ‘Alright’, which has become a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter, shares the same sentiments as the movement. Various imagery of police on black violence flows through the narrative of the video, starting with the rap collective ‘Black Hippy’ of which Kendrick is a member of, being held aloft by four police officers. This contrasts heavily with visuals from contemporary media such as American newsreels and ‘reality’ shows such as ‘Cops’, where Police and ethnic minorities are seen as being adversarial to one another. Lamar taps into the current feeling of outrage surrounding the police involved deaths of numerous black people and presents an image of the police department literally upholding and supporting the community of Compton, represented by Black Hippy. Imagery that mirrors the real life killings of black people that sparked the various movements such as Black Lives Matter is present within the video as well, from a police officer shooting an escaping unarmed black man to Lamar himself being shot down by a police officer who mimes a gun.
Screenshots from Alright (2015). Kendrick Lamar.
Screenshot from God is Gangsta (2016). Kendrick Lamar
The racial injustices conspiring in contemporary society are not the only social issues that Kendrick Lamar tackles within his music and visual identity. Lamar has struggled with depression and contemplated suicide, which is visually on display in the short film that was released after his second mainstream album ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’, ‘God is Gangsta’. Lamar drinking heavily alone in a hotel room, with a mirror that shows different versions of his inebriated state connotes the manic and claustrophobic tone that the film is setting, that we are witnessing a man’s self destruction through drink. The haziness and erratic nature of the editing also add to the theme of inebriation and loss of sanity. Alcohol has always been present in Kendrick’s visual identity, harkening back to the music video for ‘Swimming Pools’, an allegory for alcoholism and the dangers of self medication. These visual aspects of Lamar’s identity communicate a cohesive stance on a variety of social issues, conveying that Alternative Hip Hop, and music in general’s visual identity in the 21st century is still a useful method of communicating social commentary.
To Pimp a Butterfly Album Cover (2015). Kendrick Lamar and Denis Rouvre.
Kendrick Lamar’s second mainstream and most critically successful album, ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ provokes with the image that adorns the front cover. It displays Kendrick surrounded by his real life friends and loved ones standing in front of the White House, above the body of a white judge. The faded black and white image, save for the colour present in the flag that flies above the white house, again connotes the passage of time, as if this image is somewhat historical, yet the issues of civil unrest and racial inequality are ever present in our society. The first reaction to Kendrick and the group surrounding him, standing over the dead judge, toting alcohol and wads of cash, is that they’re a “Menace to society”, as Kendrick states in an interview with Mass Appeal (Mass Appeal, 2015a). However, these are good people who “are a product of their environment”, most of whom have inspired tracks on both ‘good kid m.A.A.d city’ and ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’. The group immediately signifies as a gang with the poses, gang signs and the abundance of alcohol and money. Lamar has been able to take these individuals out of the gang environment through his music and bring them with him wherever he goes through their influence on him and his music. By visiting the White House, which is featured on the album cover, he has inadvertently brought his ‘hood’, his family with him. The congregation of black individuals outside the White House draws parallels to the civil unrest caused by the deaths of unarmed black people by police, inciting protests in places such as Ferguson and giving rise to movements such as Black Lives Matter. This furthers the notion of taking ownership of what it means to be black in American society back from the negative portrayals in contemporary media. The dead white judge may represent these old attitudes to Kendrick’s race or it may possibly connote the institutionalized racism that Lamar has had to overcome, to become a successful black artist working in America.
Run The Jewels 2 Album Cover(2014). Run The Jewels
Other Alternative Hip Hop artists have used visuals to decry institutionalized racism and other social injustices. Artists such as Run The Jewels, whose strong visual identity has made the ‘Pistol and Fist’ gang sign that covers every single one of their albums synonymous with the rap duo. The first album displayed blue zombie hands taking a chain at “gunpoint”, this like Lamar’s cover, connoted taking something valuable back from the establishment. The bright red cover for Run The Jewels’ second album, ‘Run The Jewels 2’, again features the zombie hands but this time they have been bandaged into mummy hands. As if the fight to claim something back has been costly.
Cashmere Album Cover(2016) Swet Shop Boys
Racial injustice has been explored visually by the Alternative Hip Hop group, the Swet Shop Boys, an Anglo-South Asian rap duo that examines and fights against the fear of Muslims and the ‘Other’ in a post 9/11 society. The artwork for their debut album ‘Cashmere’ heavily draws upon the classical South Asian Mughal style of painting but is juxtaposed with imagery that is associated with South Asian and Middle Eastern people in contemporary society such as a military drone. Like Lamar, the Swet Shop Boys are mocking the fears of their ethnicities using their visual Identity.
Kendrick Lamar is a recording artist who deftly utilizes his visual identity to conv century music has not lost its visual identity. There are certainly some vapid artist Trick Daddy, Ta Smallz and Top Dog; but the same could be said for the last centu demographic, which caused “troubling racial contradictions for the genre” (pg. 14, F turn of the millennium. Where expression was substituted for corporate greed. The inspired sounds, but visuals. The identities and visual cultures of the recording artis the actual identity of the recording artists themselves. Lamar has utilized the a advertising tool. Taking advantage of the ‘Imitative desire’ theory, that ‘people plac asks whoever interacts with his record to place themselves within his community, an his narrative and storytelling ability within his lyricism, within his visuals, creating t Consequently, Kendrick Lamar represents the paragon of a 21st century recording on various social topics ba
vey his own commentary on social issues, has provided ample evidence that 21st ts who have uninspired visual identities operating in the mainstream today such as ury. The rise of ‘corporate rap’, which was heavily targeted at the young white male Fernandes, 2011), heavily impacted the quality of hip hop’s visual identity before the e reinvigoration of the genre and hip hop in general came from artists with not only sts are communicated through the album art, music videos, their personal style and album artwork in its fullest, playing on it being not only a piece of art, but as an ce themselves in communities through imaginative projection” (dougcube 2012), he nd see issues through his eyes. In terms of his music videos, Kendrick has paralleled thought provoking videos that deal with black activism, alcoholism, and self belief. artist with a strong visual identity, which he uses to communicate his point of view ased on his life experience.
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Jacob Alexander