FROM THE BRONX TO SEOUL: AN ANALYSIS OF POPULAR SOUTH KOREAN HIP-HOP AND RAP MUSIC VIDEOS
BY RICKY RATH
METHODOLOGY
A mixed method of content and semiotic analysis is used to explore the thematic and visual content of Korean music videos. Riffe, Lacy, and G.Fico defined content analysis as a “systematic and replicable examination of symbols of communication through assigned numeric values aimed to discover the relationships and draw inferences about its meaning” (2005.) I used this method to keep track of which visual content and themes are present in videos and lyrics while making connections with each other. A semiotic analysis is also utilized to evaluate the visual content of the music video. Semiotics involves meaning and how representation through language, images, or objects generate meanings (Curtin, 2009.) For this study, I examined the display of objects and characters featured in music videos establishing a relationship with potential video themes. For example, if a rapper is featured wearing several items of jewelry, sitting in an expensive exotic vehicle with designer clothes; these would symbolize the importance of materialism in the music video.
DOMAIN
Youtube was selected as the content platform of study. As previous music video studies have used music based television channels MTV, VH1, and BET, Youtube has become the new “MTV of the digital generation, NPR stated. Music videos took a backseat bt music and television industries in the 2000s but they were rapidly becoming popular on social media such as Myspace and Youtube through the idea of on-demand internet browsing (Edmond, 2014.) Youtube has allowed content from around the world to cross cultures and boundaries by connecting us through the internet.
SAMPLE
I’ve selected four Korean record labels/distributors that primarily focus on hip-hop and rap as my sample. YG Entertainment and Stone Music Entertainment are two of the larger distributors juggernauts with a total subscriber base of more than 9.5 million. Hi-Lite Records and H1GHR Music/AOMG are independently driven record labels with a combined subscriber base of 7.1 million. I decided to draw my sample from major and independent labels because I was interested in seeing relationships between the thematic content and the label’s level. From their respective Youtube channels, I selected the top seven most viewed music videos since 2014 to code.
CODING
28 music videos and their lyrics were doubled coded for their visual content and lyrical themes. I adopted coding variables and themes from Conrad, Dixon, and Zhang ‘s study (2009.) The common themes were materialism, misogyny, violence, and love. Additionally, I added drugs/alcohol as a theme because it is a common subject I’ve seen in American hip-hop. Under these visual content categories, I included descriptive variables. For example, violence descriptive variables include display of guns, scenes of physical fighting, or aggressive gestures such as middle fingers. All video content coding categories included three descriptive variables each. The descriptive variables are coded with a 0-1 system, where 0 represents if the variable is not present and 1, if present. Lyrics are extracted from Genius.com, a popular multi-genre lyric website with explanations, then they are translated to English through Google Translate within the page.