Homicide

Context: Homicide(Def Jam Recordings)

"Homicide" is a song by American rapper Logic featuring Eminem. It was written by Logic and Eminem. The song was released on May 3, 2019, as the third single from Logic's fifth album Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.In this track, the artists approach “homicide” from two different perspectives. In the chorus, Logic literally takes on the role of a mass murderer, who has left behind a suicide note and is killing anyone, “even the baby”, who gets in his path. However, what this track is really based on is Logic and Eminem slaying other MCs, as in touting their superiority over other rappers. The track ultimately concludes with an Eminem impersonation by comedian Chris D’Elia. This is the perfect way of illustrating that the artists are not actually serious about committing a “homicide”.

Analysis

The outset shot presents the main rapper, Logic and his manager discussing an upcoming music video.The choice to do this before the actual music video was to let the audience be able to relate to them as normal people, who also face challenges in life but not as people who have everything at their disposal, as in the narrative , the other rapper Eminem, was unable to perform. It is also set in a regular studio which brings about more reality to the situation.

The second major scene is in the city where the actual performance takes place. Logic is seen going up and down the streets rapping directly to the camera with no one else in the shots. The fact that he’s the only one in the frame could relate to what the song is actually about ‘being the best rapper in the industry’ and could connote that there is no one else who is at his level.
The final location is a mystery room which is used to bring back the idea of the “homicide”, as there were bodies wrapped in cloths, and blood all around. However, it is just a prop used to connote the idea of Logic and Eminem “killing” other rappers, as in proclaiming their superiority over other them.

Throughout the music video, Logic and his body double wear dark hoodies with baseball caps on. This could connote the sense of being a rebellious youth, which is quite conventional in the rap industry. Also, Eminem's body double wears a white singlet, with a chain. This could relate to the dress code of Santo’s gang, who spend their lives commiting crimes.
The main colours used in this music video are dark which creates enigma, and could bring about a sense of death.

Applying Goodwin’s theory, the illustrations of the narrative are through the lyrics of the song, and also the gestures of the rappers. Even though the artists were not in the performance, they had body doubles that executed their roles for them, acting as the main character. This made it more realistic and engaged the audience. Eminem's part matches what is shown in the music video quite literally as Eminem’s double acts out the lyrics while rapping. An example is when he said “Gun toters that pull triggers like crazy”- he made the action of pulling a trigger with his hands. However, Logic’s double performed as a conventional rapper, throwing his hands in front of him and bopping his head.
The conventions of the music video are typical of the rap genre, with its lip syncing and scenes in the video changed rapidly on the beats. There were also special effects such as filters and sound effects which made the video more engaging.The video mainly targets the youth from ages about 16-35 and people interested in rap, as it uses quick beats, transitions.In the video, only white males are represented, and this reinforces the patriarchal view as white males dominated the music industry.
Multiple camera angles are used in this music video. There are close up shots where logics body double is preparing to be like him (eg. shaving) which was used to lay emphasis on the changes. There are also tracking handheld shots on Logic which connotes he’s too fast and shows the speed we need to keep up with him. The mid shots also help stress on their gestures. There were low angle shots on Eminem’s double that followed his movements very stiffly which connotes how hard he was hitting each beat.