Video Analysis 4

Kendrick Lamar - Humble

The opening of the video is of Kendrick, dressed as a pope, in the lyrics he calls out for everyone to gather around him, much like a preacher does, he also dresses as a pope creating religious imagery. In verse 1 he talks about low cost things he reminisces about while growing up in a poor neighbourhood, 'I remember early mornings syrup sandwiches'. While rapping this he is on a bed of money with a money machine in hand, and goes on to talk about now indulging on more expensive things and referencing the importance of money. "My left stroke just went viral...Right stroke put lil baby in a spiral" Here he is referring to The Heart Part 4 through 'left stroke' where he dissed various rappers. 'Right stroke' refers to his upcoming album and hints that that will do more damage. However, there is an alternative conspiracy, this good be a diss at Drake, the meme of Drakes hotline bling swing (with his right hand) went viral. While saying this he is stroking a golf ball off the top of the car.  Between 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes 6 seconds is more intricate and complex editing. "I'm so fuckin' sick and tired of the Photoshop, show me somethin' natrual afro on Richard Pryor, Show me somethin' natrual ass with some stretch marks". This particular line uses very clear visuals to back up his point. One side of the screen has a natural image and the other has an edited screen, to prove the point against photoshop. This well and delivers the image very clearly. Through the music video are visual representations of the lyrics, it works very well and is very detailed and produced to a very high quality. The lyrics themselves are very well written and thought out, the video matches this and they work hand in hand.

The obvious genre is rap. One key characteristic is the 'grey popoun' reference. Grey Popoun is a brand of gourmet mustard which originated in France. In the line 'This that grey popoun, that Evian, that TED talk ayy', he refers to three things. Evian is a brand of natural spring water sourced in the south east of France. TED is a non-profit organisation which gathers many high profile intellects at conferences called 'TED talks'  to share their ideas on a variety of topics. This could be a specific reference to Malcolm Gladwell’s talk on spaghetti sauce. These three products or experiences may be considered as luxuries offering the customer pleasure, which Kendrick compares to his music’s impact on the listener. HOWEVER, none of these are real luxury adding to the irony. Grey Poupon is not actually expensive, Evian isn’t either, and TED talks are extremely accessible unlike private lectures from scholars. These are all therefore fake displays of luxury, and make fun of rappers showing how rich they are when they really aren’t. This links back to the song title, Humble.

The visuals for the music video link directly to the lyrics. Throughout the video there is a lot of connotation of him doing things others aren't, and being honest and humble is one of them. He refers to specific things he says in the song with visual representations of these, for example 'left stroke just went viral' which shows K Dot stroking a golf ball of the roof of a car. Some of the visuals aren't that apparent at first as in many cases they are filmed in a creative manner which has made it very appealing to watch and is a large percentage of the reasons as to why the video has gathered a lot of support and a growing interest. There is little to no narrative due to this style of performance.

There is a lot of looking and mode of address in this music video, along with star treatment. Kendrick looks at the camera during almost all the shots, almost telling a story to his viewers, he is incorporated in each and every shot. However very few times by himself, the rapper typically has a group surrounding him or on either side. There is no representation of the audience on the video itself, this may be down to the message he is trying to get across, he is focusing on what he believes the key issues to be, and the words are directed at the genre of hip hop in general, therefore the lack of audience in the video can be justified.

There are a number of key shots which have caught the attention of many people, one being the tracking shot between the times of 1 minute 57 seconds  and 2 minutes and 7 seconds. These 10 seconds follow the rapper from various angles, fast forwarding between each, the shot however doesn't seem to cut and he makes direct eye contact with the camera while rapping for the entirety of this shot. Along with this, the iconic shot of him with flames out of his head is also a great effect which is very aesthetically appealing, professional and complex.