Textual Analysis

ASAP Rocky - Peso

In this essay I will be analysing the hip-hop song ‘Peso’ by the rapper ASAP Rocky. The music video is conceptual with a sort of performance element to it but not entirely; ASAP Rocky does rap and sings in the music video however there are not visuals of him performing in a live gig for example. The video is about where ASAP Rocky and the whole of ‘ASAP mob’ grew up (Harlem) and he tells the audience that he as well as his mob are ‘going to make it in a second’. This was one of ASAP Rocky’s first videos uploaded onto YouTube on August 10th, 2011 and now has 14,183,277 views. Almost the concept of the lyrics, letting the audience know that they haven’t made it yet however just in a short time they are huge in the hip hop genre. The mob show exactly where they go out in Harlem for example as it looks like a fast food restaurant and the street corner where they play betting. This music video is directed to any type of audience that is familiar with hip-hop/grime or R&B.  

The video has very fast cuts, short shot duration cutting with the beat creating a very upbeat but slow hip hop music video. This fast editing style seems to have appealed to the audience; this is because by having fast cuts, it doesn’t allow any repeated tedious shot of the mob performing or socializing.

There are parts of the video where there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals such as when he says ‘blowing blunts, rolling doobies up smoking sections’ the visuals are of him smoking blunts and joints. Another example would be when he talks about his clothes ‘Raf Simons, Rick Owens is usually what I’m dressed in’ the visuals show Rocky wearing these particular brands. There is also a relationship with the music and the visuals as I breifly mentioned before thw visuals cut in time with the beat.

In the performance parts of the video they are primarily medium and long shots of the ASAP mob which promotes them as a group rather than just ASAP Rocky on his own, showing the audience who they are, their faces, fashion styles and what they generally do as a mob. Most of the elements in the video are typical of the genre, for example the mis en scene used is typical for hip hop videos for example, the location. In most American hip hop videos you will see the rapper on the streets (where he grew up) very often. However the clothes is and isn’t to typical of the genre, At the beginning of the video you see him wearing a gold chain, however about a third into the song he says ‘swagger so impressive, but I don’t need this necklace’ and hides it which kind of contradicts the stereotypical hip hop genre. You do see other rappers wearing gold chains and snapback hats like Rocky but his overall appearance is slightly different, he says he is dressing  weirder and weirder’ as he describes himself in a different music video when he finally makes it. Rocky is almost known for wearing circle John Lennon such glasses, a Supreme leopard print towel hanging down underneath his hat, sort of slim but baggy blue jeans and Adidas high top trainers with bones across the laces. The other rappers in the ASAP mob behind Rocky are wearing similar clothing. However it sort of does and doesn't challenge the conventions of hip hop videos, it does because in most hip hop videos you will generally see the same thing over and over, in Rocky’s videos which he directs himself, there are certain small differences for example the variety of locations used in Peso and the difference in appearances of the artists in the video. The lighting is very bright as the majority of it was shot in the day, even the night scenes the mob is brightly lit, contradicting the typical hip hop genre again.

This music video ‘Peso’ would appeal to target audience of teenagers and young adults, the majority being male however slightly older teenage girls from 17-24 would have also been included because it has involve everything that the stereotypical hip hop fan likes doing.

In the conclusion it is clear that the relationship between the visuals and lyrics are evident which is the main aspect of the video, trying to let people know around the world what ASAP mob is about by conveying this through the lyrics and visuals. The different camera shots of long shots medium shot, close up’s of Rocky allowing the audience to stay in contact with the video without losing interest, this music video evidently shows the genre of the music and promotes ASAP mob with a sort of but not directly performance based video.