Context: Fancy(Def Jam Recordings)
"Fancy" is a song by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea featuring British singer Charli XCX, taken from the former's debut studio album, The New Classic (2014). It was released on 17 February 2014 by Def Jam Recordings as the fourth single from the album. "Fancy" was described as an electro-hop song. It was written by Azalea and XCX, composed and produced by production team the Invisible Men.The accompanying music video for "Fancy" was directed by Director X and released in March 2014. The visuals are inspired by 1995 American comedy film Clueless, with Azalea playing Beverly Hills socialite Cher Horowitz and XCX as Tai Frasier. This hip-pop song finds Azalea letting the world know why she's the hottest female rapper in the game as the lyrics go:
"First things first I'm the realest
Drop this and let the whole world feel it
I'm still in the murda bizness
I can hold you down like I'm giving lessons in physics."
Analyis
The second major scene was in the school, where she is famous and pretty, connoting that she's better than everyone else, the hottest female rapper in the game, which is seen in the lyrics, “First things first, I'm the realest”. Iggy Azalea played the main role with Charli XCX as they are the songwriters.This makes the music video more realistic and engages the audience.There is a scene set on the motorway, where they are in a car. They are in a BMW convertible sports car. This car is very expensive and the fact that they are using it could connote that they are in a higher social status than other people. The car being roofless could also connote their freedom. The big trucks behind them could represent authority as the video portrays them to be giving a sort of angry bitter vibe, while the people in the car are out of control.
Finally, they get to the party setting, which could be a replication of a high school party, as it is set in someone's house. Also, there is the use of familiar highschool games such as beer pong in the background. The use of red plastic cups immediately connotes the presence of alcohol, which is now a common feature of high school parties.
Throughout the daytime of the video, the characters wear bright coloured outfits, which captivates the audience, and makes the video more attractive. However in the night, their outfits are rather dark but elegant which connote the sense of mischief of the youth, and could also create enigma.
Applying Goodwin’s theory the Illustration of narrative is through the lyrics and gestures. Both characters are performing as conventional rappers, throwing their hands in front of them, but the lyrics also matched with the scenes. For example: they were in a car on the motorway, when the lyrics go - “I’m in the fastlane, From L.A to Tokyo”.
The conventions of the music video are typical of the rap genre, with its lip syncing, use of different locations and the appearance of the songwriter. Fancy targets rap fans and the youth aged from about 14-30.
It represents both black and white people, but with whites playing dominant roles.There are also mostly females in the video as it brings about a sense of feminism and empowerment.
The video mainly uses long shots to show gestures and movement, also, there are some mid shots to help engage the audience.
They used some slow motion shots to capture the ongoing scene, and make it more intense. There are the use tilt shots to show the costume. Such shots make the women sexualized as they show short skirts, which brings about the male gaze, and helps attract a wider audience. Some scenes change on the beats and some do not. This is because even though rap is about beats and rhyme, they also want the audience to pay attention to the lyrics.
Strong work - good choice!
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