In what ways are the traditional aspects of hip-hop genre broken

or remade in the music video for ’99 problems’?

There are a number of conventions which are common in a hip-hop music video. These include low-angled close up shots to show that the artist has power over the audience; the low angle shows the artist looking down at the audience. Camera shots tend to be long and establishing to show the money involved, close-us to show the jewellery and assets of the artists. A crowd is usually shown dancing to the beat of the song, by them doing this it makes it seem like people actually enjoy listening to the song and so this will make it easier for the audience to like the song. There is usually a lot of reference to the wealth of the artist though mise-en-scene such as money, cars and jewellery. In Nicki Minaj’s Superbass music video there is an expensive car and a stack of money.

There are a lot of close-ups in hip-hop videos used to establish the artist and the ‘power’ or importance of the artist as they take up most of the frame. The location usually tends to be at a party or in a club; there is usually alcohol and a showing of expensive cars and houses. For example in the video In Da Club, there are a lot of two shots of 50 Cent performing; four of these are used in the space of one minute. This shows that 50 Cent is desired and it represents that he has status. There is usually reference to sportswear and basketball shirts in the music video to show strength of the artist. For example a basketball shirt used in Ignition, Sports jerseys worn in In Da Club and Ms Jackson.

Jay-Z’s song and music video ’99 Problems’ was released in 2004, he is now known as a famous rapper but he did not start off with a fortunate setting. The video shows the ghetto area of Brooklyn, New York in the 1990’s and shows all the struggles that Jay-Z experienced throughout his career to achieve in the music industry. The video was so successful that it won three MVPA awards in 2005 which were, MTV Video Music Awards, Video of the Year and the Best Male Video.  The primary audience for this music video is African American males; this is because there are cultural elements which are shown throughout the video. During the verse of the music video it shows Jay-Z getting pulled over by a policeman for driving fifty-five miles per hour in a fifty-four miles per hour zone. When the police officer asks him if he knows why he has been stopped, Jay-Z replies ‘Cause I’m young, and black and wearing my hat too low’.  As he feels he is being discriminated against, he raps about what happened and he shows this is just one of a lot of incidents that him along with his race have to deal with in their lives every day.  As he is only driving one mile over the speed limit it is something that the police would not bother wasting their time on. As Jay-Z is from an African decent, it implies that people do not feel safe about having African Americans driving around the streets this may be because they believe that African Americans are dangerous and criminals.

Throughout the music video there are a lot of representations of poverty and race discrimination that Africans have to face whilst they are living in the neighborhood.  Jay-Z showed examples of what young teenage boys may turn to when they have no other opinions left. There is a close up shot of a teenage boy who seems like he is innocent. However after 10 seconds later the teenager is pulling down a mask which covers his face and so this is suggesting that he is about to commit a crime. There are shots of women in bikinis which tries to keep men focused and enjoy the music video. 

In most of Jay-Z’s videos he usually follows the conventions of hip-hop music by dressing in designer clothing; wearing large jewellery; having fans and having women wanting his attention. However; in this video he has not followed these conventions as his locations are not in the expensive clubs and mansions which most hip-hop videos are filmed in. In this video the mise-en-scene is set in ‘the ghetto’ which is a poor African populated neighbourhood that is run down and has high crime rates. The music video explores a range of different camera work such as: two shots which create a personal connection, close-ups to display certain aspects in the video and establishing shots which provide the listener with a view of the scene. A lot of the shots throughout the music video are unsteady and create excitement which matches the fast pace of the beat. The fast cutting rates add to the quick pace of the music video, and the editing makes the video seem very fast paced. The black and white filter which is used throughout the music video links the scenes together; it creates a dramatic effect and adds more suspense to the music video. Most of the camera shots in the video are cut to close up shots of Jay-Z singing the lyrics, which shows the voice is the most important part of the pop music.       

In conclusion the traditional aspects of hip-hop genre have been broken in the music video ’99 problems’. This is because it goes against the traditional conventions of a hip-hop music video, such as reference to the wealth of the artist (money, cars and jewellery) and the location being at a party or in a club. Whereas; in this music video Jay-Z doesn’t follow these conventions as his main location for his music video is in the ghetto area of Brooklyn, New York and not in a club or a mansion. This is because it shows Jay-Z’s lifestyle when he was growing up living in that area and all the struggles and problems he had to face being his color. Jay-Z didn’t grow up with loads of money and being fortunate enough to have a nice lifestyle including living in a mansion and having an expensive car.