Blog entry #5: Is hip hop music video moving viewer attention away from the music and toward the image?

I believe that hip hop music videos are shifting the emphasis away from music and toward image. This ‘hip hop’ or ‘gangsta’ image is especially evident in young people all around the globe. This was not really an issue when hip hop first began, as the music was less strongly associated with an image, the image of hip hop was still developing. Meaning in the 1980’s Hip hop was enjoyed primarily for its music, rather than its visual cues. Contrastingly, in society today, hip hop music video has become almost as important as the music itself. Meaning young people are being influenced by both the music and the visuals of hip hop. This can be seen in the ‘gangsta’ image/culture evident in schools throughout NZ (straight cap, big fancy shoes, ridiculously oversized hoodies etc..), where students simply imitate the image of famous hip hop artists, perhaps to gain entry into a desired social group or because they are unsure of how else to express themselves. I believe that the majority of the young people who are attempting to imitate this ‘hip hop image’ are doing so for social or self representative purposes, rather than through the love of the hip hop music and/or culture itself.

adam may.