How do your products represent social groups or issues?​

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My MV product, of melody rap, represents teenagers, specifically those struggling in education, and who have anxieties and uncertainties about the future. My MV portrays this group as one with an untapped potential, ready to succeed and take on life. The primary demographic is males aged between 15-25. With its inspirational message, the product challenges the stereotype of teenagers as being lazy and indifferent.

 

The conventions used in my music video represent those in society aspiring for success. This is shown in the different costumes: Kong in the present wears a suit and tie, whilst Kong in the past wears casual clothes and school uniform. The MV is full of binary opposites: student & working-man, youth & adult, poor & rich, past & present. These opposites show the great contrast many young people see between their current state, and the future.

The issue of teenage angst and the ideas of hope and self-confidence is also carefully furthered through the Digipak. The Pollock inspired use of colour on the CD-ROM, stands out from the more muted colours in the rest of the design, and represents the myriad of emotions that teenagers feel during their school years. The whirlpool surrounding the paper plane on the cover of ‘Hey Kong’, shows the directionless challenges faced by many young people. The image of the crumpled tissue presents the idea that teenagers often put on a mask, to hide their emotions. Emotions of confusion, anger, and anxiety are symbolised by the messy hair. The two bottom images contrast between light and dark, coupled with the message “There’s always light at the end of the tunnel” and the symbolic image of the ‘sun-eater’, suggest a confidence and hope that my products give teenagers, to overcome the difficulties of school life.

 

 

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’? 

 

The production work carries repeated images, symbols and themes across the different elements to create a consistent sense of branding that the audience can quickly recognise and associate with my artist.

The branding of the product relates to the wider rap/hip-hop genre, whilst also having components specific to the individuality of the artist. The artist’s name 31ter follows a branding convention common in the rap industry, of using numbers and letters as monikers, for example ‘A$AP Rocky’ and ‘PO8’. Similarly, the use of an inspirational maxim on the digipak, “There’s always light at the end of the tunnel”, is particular to 31ter’s brand, but is in keeping with the rap movement, concerned with personal improvement and the bettering of oneself.

 

My artist is branded as an ‘everyman’ and a spokesperson for his generation. His key selling point is his relatability, making his audience aware that he’s overcome the same challenges they are currently facing. What makes my artist unique, is that he represents his audience, rather than himself whilst most rappers claim, “There’s only one A$AP Rocky, M&M etc.”: my artist is humbler and more approachable as a figure.

 

There is a sense of synergy between my brand: the colour scheme of monochrome and muted colours is present in the digipak, single cover, and music video. In the MV the scenes representing nostalgia are in darker and colder, whilst the present/future is much more vibrant, connoting the theme of hope that is constant throughout my brand. My artist’s name ‘31ter’ has associations to Chinese folklore and is an important synergising element, especially the image of the ‘sun eater’ in the digipak. This is important as the target audience are students in China, perhaps those taking the GaoKao, who are looking for messages of encouragement and inspiration. The title of the song, ‘Hey Kong’ references the artist speaking to his younger self, whilst the yellow airplane, a symbol of the transition of time, is seen on both the single cover, and in the music video itself.

 

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How do your products engage with the audience? 

 

The intended audience of my product is students, specifically males 15-25 who are struggling under academic pressure. This intended audience is targeted through the narrative of the MV, a successful adult looks back at his life when he was in school; struggling with work and being bullied by other students. This concept of nostalgia and memory opens the door to allowing older audiences, outside my target demographic to also engage with my product.

 

In terms of uses and gratification theory, unlike with most rappers, I want my audience to follow my product for information and education.  The demographic will learn about how to cope with academic and pastoral difficulties in life. A secondary reason, but still very significant, that the audience will follow my product is for entertainment and diversion. The MV and social media provide a way for students to escape from their lives, and divert their attention from everyday stresses.

Following Hall’s ‘Reception Theory’, my artist’s audience will take the dominant, as opposed to the oppositional or negotiated reading.  This is because my product’s message, ‘there is always light at the end of the tunnel’, is tailored towards a particular demographic: students currently struggling at school. This is achieved through the artist’s young age and familiar settings and school uniform costume. Audience members that are not part of my target demographic may engage less, and take an oppositional reading. This is why my product will seek to engage primarily with males aged between 15-25.

 

My artist’s engagement with his audience is strengthened through Instagram. The audience can follow his activities of regular posts and photos. The focus on visual rather than textual is important for my artist as it strengthens his brand as being something artistic and eye-catching. The social media page also allows fans to interact, whilst the new album is advertised as being “OUT NOW”, with a link to purchase. The language is straight-forward and clear, mirroring the personality of my artist. Finally, the use of the hashtag (#heykong) allows my artist’s album to be shared across various platforms.

 

 

How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions? 

 

As researched, my MV is a narrative form as I told a story about the Kong in the future, answering back to the past and some memories that flash back at the past. The ideas I got from other artists’ digipaks were plentiful, such as from Jay Chou’s digipak.

For my album cover, the picture of my face covered with tissue, I actually g

ot from Jay Chou’s album cover of having the person’s face at the middle of the image to be symmetric.  PO8’s album cover was in a pretty Chinese style and was therefore an inspiration to me. He used lots of red and included Chinese elements of the inside of a palace. I thought the ideas of this album cover did not however wholly fit my idea to my album, but I thought his typeface was kind of interesting, therefore after long consideration I decided to set my typeface ”31ter” to be more smooth.

Based on my research I also decided to make the representation of 31ter to be relatable with the main group of society but also unique within then rappers’ group. I saw in my research rappers often created a persona by wearing a mask on their faces but I wanted to be the real me; the ordinary me.