MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS 5

 Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE.

Contradicting:

The main contradiction in this video relates to the subject of the visuals and the subject of the song. Throughout the hook on the song, Kendrick repeats the phrase:

"Sit down, be humble"

This goes against the visuals which show Kendrick being braggadocios and indulging in vices such as money, women and fine food+ wine (The Last Supper Reference). This may have been done to imply that Kendrick is exempt from his 'Be Humble' refrain and that he is above other artists.


Amplifying:

During the majority of this video, Kendrick is lip syncing to the lyrics, which is pretty much a staple in hip hop nowadays. Whereas other genres feature a lot of abstract videos that do not include any lip syncing, hip hop tends to favour this type of video, which allows the artist to amplify the mood that they want the song to convey.

"If I kill a n*gga it won't be the alcohol" is paired with a shot of Kendrick behind a window with multiple red dots on him, grabbing his crotch and maintaining a cocky stance. This amplifies the lyric but also contradicts it at the same time, as he goes against what he is saying by looking drunk and aggressive.

After the lyric:

"My left stroke just went viral"

Kendrick hits the gold ball which is timed to be right on the beat, further elevating the instrumental. This works well because when people hear the song without the video, they will hear the lyric and instantly visualise the video.

Cutting To Music:

Right at the start of the video after two lines, the beat kicks in and the camera cuts from the establishing shot to low angle medium shot. Also throughout the song the video has a fast cutting pace which is often cut on the beat.

Illustrating:

There are multiple points throughout this music video where the lyrics match the visuals, the first one being:

"Ayy, I remember syrup sandwiches and crime allowances
Finesse a n*gga with some counterfeits
But now I’m countin' this"

During these lyrics, Kendrick is lying down on a table surrounded by dollar bills and holding a machine that is spitting out money. This reflects the theme of being rich and overcoming a struggle to have a lot of money is he is basically bathing in dollars.

Another example is the lyric:

"My left stroke just went viral"

And during this lyric there is a shot of Kendrick on a car playing golf, to reflect the 'left stroke' lyric.

Genre:

The video is both a location and an experimental video. The video is shot in a variety of locations, presumably throughout L.A., including a church, the Los Angeles river and various back alleys.