Critical Investigation Task 1

Textual analysis 

'Plug' Rich the kid feat Playboi Carti & Kodak black

This song is of three young hip hop artists forming self representations which viewers would perceive as real. From the lyrics used to the way they act, we can see the typical stereotypes people have constructed of black people. These could have been formulated because of hip hop some would argue and the negativity it vibes off to people who see these kind of artists as a danger to society (oppositional reader). Therefore, it is a song that perfectly fits the genre and it's audience would have expected it to do so.

Representation and stereotypes

The representation of hip hop is heavily linked with black people. So whenever a stereotype is made on hip hop people automatically relate it back to black people and generalise these statements/ideologies amongst all them which isn't right.  

The representations in this music video varies and it depends on the viewer of the content. An audience who wouldn't be too familiar with hip hop currently may not know certain items, phrases, places, people associated with the genre so would miss the opportunity to discover some representations and stereotypes in the music video. An example of this would be the representation of rappers now compared to the ones of the 90's and 80's. In this era of hip hop, artists are portrayed to be less masculine in the eyes of hip hop fans mainly because of their appearance. Some of these artists have caused controversy in the industry with their wild dress sense or false claims in lyrics. It has fans wondering whether these rappers are really 'gangsters' or if they are just actors. However, an oppositional reader would assume hip hop artists are the same and there should be a moral panic about them. In the music video 'Plug' the artists are displayed in a masculine way which is still familiar with the genre but the definition has slightly changed from being menacing to more of a hype feeling. 

In addition, the artist's appearance in the song reinforces the stereotype of the way most young black males wear their bottoms (jeans). The stereotype would be along the lines of assuming youngsters believe its 'cool' to lower the height of their jeans revealing their boxers. This has been associated with young black males for many years now and its not anything they wish to hide as proven in this song. For example, one of the artists sits on a car bonnet with his draws showing which suggests he knows about people's view of this style of fashion but he doesn't seem to care. This implies his character is very laid back as he does what he wants and because he is a rapper we would assume he disregards the law also. 

A basic stereotype all audiences of music would be able to form would be the correlation between hip hop and drugs. In the music video we see the explicit use of drugs with the rappers when they are showing off in their cars and other expensive assets. We can infer that these artists are drug dealers themselves not only because of the title of the song (plug - drug dealer) or lyrics but the fact that they have possession of these expensive brands. They have Nike Air Jordans, Rolls Royce and the heap of cash with them.

Another representation black people have been associated with is their mistreatment of women because of hip hop. In hip hop music videos we would expect to see women being objectified through males in the video touching them inappropriately and basically treating them like objects. Therefore, the stereotype is subverted because the people see another side of rappers and their desires instead of women dressed half naked showing off their body.

Other possible stereotypes:

• Young and aggressive
• Jewellery
• Representation of young rapper being reinforced through: expensive garments, cars, money 
• Some of the gestures seem threatening and wild - gun, middle finger, smoking, phone (who is calling?), even sexual activities 
• Also, stereotypes of young black people being less educated or not as intelligent as young white people is being supported through this text because all three of the artists slightly mumble when the talk
• Representation of black people from the ghetto doing whatever it takes to escape. This is something the hip hop community has become familiar with especially in films 
• Representation of black people being heavily associated with criminality being reinforced through the video
• The close ups portray the artists as 'lost' because of the drugs they have taken
• The idea that rap is now 'dumbing down' is reinforced because these artists mumble rap and some would argue there is no skill in this
• Representation of young people being on their phones constantly supported in the video as the artists are shown to being using them
• Representation of how black people treat women is subverted as there aren't any women in the music video but only in the lyrics 
• Representation of the 'ghetto' isn't really being portrayed although the song is about the struggle they went through to become successful. The setting is in the city 
• Representation of rappers has slightly changed over the years when considering lyrics and appearance. Rappers in this era try to be unique with their clothing and behaviour so some would argue that this has made some of these hip hop artists less masculine
• One of the background actors is seen wearing a chain with the Crucifixion cross which suggests he is religious. This could imply he is spiritual and a gangster which seems like an unusual combination and one would argue whether this person is hypocritical. Perhaps its just for show/fashion seen as this is the style of hip hop now
• The representation of rap not having much flow lyrically is being reinforced through the events in the music video as it is random 
• In addition, representation of intellect amongst black people is being negatively portrayed as these artists are constantly rapping in slang which (for an oppositional reader) would seem confusing and possibly reinforce stereotypes of the ethnic minority.The title of the song alone -plug- would suggest the type of language used in the song. All audiences would understand that these artists can't possibly be rapping about plugs that go into sockets despite the wildness of hip hop currently. 

Media technology:

The ways hip hop music (specifically) is being distributed is changing due to the development in technology. In the past decade and so if people wanted to listen to the latest songs from their favourite artists they would have to buy the record or CD. This would mean all sales of a song would be legitimate and legal where the artist would receive their profits without many issues. However, in this generation all audiences can download or stream their music for free legally and illegally. This means that these artists would take a significant decrease in profits compared to the last ten years because people are finding ways round paying for their music. For instance, the song 'Plug' was first published on YouTube by the famous hip hop channel 'WorldStarHipHop' and it was an exclusive on the channel. The artists wouldn't make any money from this move unless a deal was made between them and the channel to share profits. 

Hip hop fans would know to visit the WorldStarHipHop YouTube channel to get the latest music. It is free and available to anyone who wants to view the music videos but has an age restriction due to the explicit videos. 

Theories

Uses and Gratification theory can be applied to the song because audiences may use the song for any of the four factors: diversion, personal identity, personal relationship and surveillance. 

People use music to block themselves out from the real world. This is where pleasure is used by the audience and its called diversion as they attempt to escape into a imaginary life. 

Personal identity in this context is when audiences are be able to see their lifestyle being reflected through the lyrics or the music video itself. Seen as the target audience for the song is black males, some people's ideologies would suggest that all the audience of the song are criminals and would be able to relate to the artists but only on a smaller scale (maybe not as wealthy). 

Finally, surveillance is when people educate themselves through media content. This may be more relevant to people of younger ages as they aspire to be as rich as their favorite rapper and would try to 'hustle' like the artists highlight in the song. 

The hypodermic needle is when media influences people's thinking; media content is given to recipient and they are left to believe what they see. So this can be applied to the song as the artists are stressing the amount of money, garments and women they have which may seem realistic in the eyes of youngsters. This would influence them to become criminals and try to sell drugs and earn money fast like these artists when it probably isn't as easy as they say it is in their songs. Furthermore, the ghetto is heavily linked with hip hop and the people who come from it are usually people black from lower classes with a low disposable income. This could be the main reason why they turn to crime and hip hop. They would fit under strugglers in the psychographic table because they don't have much wealth or hope and standard of living is poor.

Tessa Perkins' theory can be applied to suggest some of the stereotypes of black people is true because its being reinforced in the music video. The rappers are smoking and acting in an anti social manor so would reinforce some of the ideologies created by the media and people from upper classes.

Language and forms:

The denotation comes from the expensive items the artists show off with. There is no surprise with this as its expected of a hip hop music video and it is used to glamourise the artists. Also, the main connotation comes from the title of the song 'Plug' which is a person from the trap who sells drugs. This is important to understand before listening to the song because the artists are constantly referring to the phrase.

Non verbal gestures is similar to other trap music videos. For example, the artists use gun signs and use the infamous 'dab' - dance. The setting of the song is Atlanta Georgia which is a place where the artists are all familiar with. Its the location where some rappers currently live or chill because the rap game is popular there. The use of the phone is a typical stereotype of youngster's addiction to technology. These artists probably use the phone for connecting with friends and illegal antics. 

SHEP

Hip hop is and has always caused controversy because of the influence it is having on people. It glorifies all types of crimes which has had an impact on some people and gangsters use hip hop as a form of communicating with their enemies. This is why the genre has bad smoke surrounding its because people who don't like the genre scare themselves away from it and the media (news institutions aren't helping). News institutions like the Daily Mail (right wing) want to cause a moral panic when it comes to the rise of hip hop and the ethnic minority who promote it. In addition, 'Black Lives Matter' is a campaign that has been generated over the past year because of the increasing numbers of injustice killings by police (mainly in America) on African Americans. It was created to create awareness and because black people of America were frustrated with the killings inflicted on their people. Hip hop has also attempted to make itself recognised through the artists recording songs stressing their's and other people's pain. Artists like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole are the rap artists who try to be influential and display the perspective of inferior ideologies which has given black people a voice. The methods of distribution of songs have altered in the past decade for sure because of the rise in new and digital media. This has led to easier and free ways of audiences being able to obtain music they want through illegal downloading websites which has meant these artists aren't making as much money as they would in the past. However, it could play into the artist's hands because their fan base could increase significantly because audiences would be able to listen to their music for free and if they enjoy it may attend the artist's concerts or buy albums. Furthermore, I don't believe it would affect these musicians that much because some could suggest they make their biggest profits through their illegal activities rather than the music industry. It is probably used a source for recognition and extra money.