Case study one : Nas

Nas – One mic

Nasir Jones (NAS) , signed to Columbia Records, a hip hop rapper from the states released the classic record ‘One Mic’  on April 16^th 2002.  He featured the track in his 2001 studio album, Stillmatic.  Where Stillmatic was rated top marks by ‘The Source’ a rare rating for which is only used for classic albums.

The music video is a narrative and starts off with various shots taken in New York at night,  then shows a light being switched on in a flat. Nas appears to be in a plain room isloated, equipped with just a microphone. The focus for viewers is on Nas’ poetic ability to express and encompasses the music video. The next scene shows youths being stopped by police, but then leads to a chase on foot, emphsis switches to a shocked elderly bystander where the tension of the video is personified and in slow motion it shows a heinken bottle smashing in pieces, dropped by the man.  The youths and police are shown running past Nas in dramatic fashion, the verse ends with Nas crying ‘The time is now’ and the scene reverts to Nas again in the room alone with just a microphone .

The video fades to show the next scene, which shows protestors gathered with people living in the area while soldiers of the South African Defence force held batons, looking to silence those who speak out, in the 1976 uprising in Soweta, Eventually violence brakes out with the camera focusing on a clash between the protestors and the soldiers, where the protestors where armed with sticks. Nas is shown rapping in the midst of the violence, and the climax comes to an end where the camera tilts upwards and Nas appears again in the empty room with a microphone, the scene finishes when a girl is shown screaming and the text freedom being shown before Nas is shown angered kicking his chair.  The scene is mixed with  younger people mimicing the lyrics being rapped, and the video concludes at the light being turned off in the flat.

The video is a narrative, highlighting crime, poverty and politics throughout, using footage representing the 1976 Soweta uprising and youths running from police.  ‘One Mic’ epitomises the desire for a simple lifestyle and raises several political concerns. The lyrics embody a dystopian theme, challenging political and social issues typified by negative ‘anti-utopian’ material.  

Nas is represented as a leader, someone who is expressing the problems for which society faces in America to forceful political agendas in Africa. He is centralized and holds the video together being shown in the contrast of dramatic conflicts in the video , and is shown several times in a plain room with just a microphone.

Camera shots and angles help the message of the video be portrayed more effectively. The medium shot demonstrated at 1 minute(s) aided by the slow motion effect particularly caught my interest.  It shows the artist’s back and youths running from the police as well as the worn down buildings and narrow streets, characterizing political issues such as poverty and crime as the main focal point for the first verse.   The tilt at 2 minute(s) 30 second(s) stood out for me without a doubt. As the scene reaches a climax with an outbreak of violence, Nas shouts “The time is now” the camera tilts upwards, furthermore emphasis switches on Nas in the plain room once more and the chorus is repeated in the next scene. The frantic footage and progressively faster rap had me captivated and on the edge of my seat, then the tilt upwards brought the scene to a close and switched the whole tone of the verse, as it reverted back to the subtle chorus where Nas is shown in the room alone with just a microphone.  The intro of the video in particular the way its edited

Mis en scene plays an important role in this video and brings the music video to life.  Firstly, the various locations bring the issues highlighted in the music video to light. The last few clips are significant in my opinion and it shows the lyrics being rapped, mimicked by people around the world of different ages and background. For example, It shows an adult in a prison, a teenager with headphones on lying on a bed besides her sister both rapping in sync with Nas. This shows that the track ‘One Mic’ is universal and a wider demographic of people can relate to the piece.  Lighting technique also induced inspiration for me, when Nas is rapping in a dim lit room alone. Nas is sitting In a dark corner of the room and low key lighting brings the emotion in what he is saying and creates the mood in relation of the song. One more feature of mis en scene stands out for me, which is what Nas is wearing in the second verse, his t-shirt in particular. The second verse is about a political uprising in Africa and Nas is delivering lyrics which tell the people to fight back, like a leader should. He’s t-shirt ironically features a map of Africa and small images of prominent leaders, suggesting that Nas is replicating there flair and ambitions for the country, black people in particular.

The target audience is mainly hip hop listeners, from all ages and backgrounds.  They are encouraged to buy the record in various ways.  The single track is only $0.99 which is about £0.61, available online on iTunes.  There is also the clean version and the explicit version which allows a greater age range to purchase ‘One Mic’.

Many ideas of this music video could be used in our piece, particularly the slow motion effect to emphasise a certain part of our footage and to portray the message to the audience more effectively.