2109QCM – Popular Music Analysis
Introduction
The successful career of female hip-hop artist Missy Elliot elevated to new levels with her hit single “Work It”, which was featured on her 2001 album Under Construction. Under Construction was Missy Elliot’s fourth studio album and was co-produced by reknowned hip-hop artist and producer ‘Timbaland’ (Tim Mosley) under the record label Electra. The track reached the number two position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming Missy Elliott's most successful single to date. The album also boasts being the best selling female rap album ever with 2.1 million copies sold in the United States.1
Album aesthetic semiotic analysis
The Under Construction album cover displays an ‘old school’ hip-hop aesthetic. The iconic elements of graffitti, fashion and music were used to illustrate the album’s themes and identity. In many aspects, these themes suggest an attempt to stay true to the hip-hop subculture which originated between the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Furthermore, it suggests Missy Elliot’s efforts to preserve the subculture within the current diverse music industry (Refer Diagram 1).
The album title aesthetics are displayed as having been sprayed on over a letter stencil. This is symbolic of signs normally found around construction sites, which are used to caution the public when any type of construction work is taking place. This theme may have reference to Elliot’s identity in her endeavour to advise the public that her identity as an artist may be continually evolving and undergoing new forms of construction as she matures as an artist. It may also be a type of disclaimer to advise the public that her ideas are unique and different and that perhaps the content may not necessarily be instantly accepted by everyone.
( Diagram 1 – Under Construction Album Cover).
Elliot’s appearance on the album cover further adds to the ‘old school’ hip-hop theme of the album. The bomber jacket, Kangol brand hat, thick gold chain, white sneakers and even body language all display stereotypical images associated with the theme. Similarly, the thick gold chain was an essential item that was consistently worn by the hip-hop group Run DMC, who are sampled in the track ‘Work it’.
Video Clip semiotic analysis
The “Work It” video clip won MTV Best Video of the Year in 2003. It is quite unique and illustrates prominent visual themes that are encoded within the song. The clip is set in four different settings: an underground subway, a beehive, a dark and dreary field and lastly a hair salon. The first scene features Elliot dressed as a queen bee surrounded by the confines of a vibrant and elaborate beehive. Initially, this seems to be quite comical, but eventually leads to illustrate the themes of authourity and power. Elliot takes on the character role of the queen bee of the hive and seems to stamp her authourity upon the working bees, which could be a reference to her dominance in the hip-hop industry, or a reference to how she treats the opposite sex. (Refer to Diagram 2a & 2b).
( Diagram 2a – Scene 1 of ‘Work it’ video clip).
( Diagram 2b – Scene 1 of ‘Work It’ video clip).
In the second scene of the clip, Elliot is shown returning to her hip-hop roots by performing a selection of break dance manoevures in the middle of a subway platform. The camera is set up in a way so that the viewer can see an angled view of perspective of the entire subway. This camera angle reveals that the subway is dark and completely desolate and creates a feeling of depth and emptiness (Refer to Diagram 2c). On the subway wall behind Elliot, there appears to be numerous posters which seem to be displaying Elliot as being ‘wanted’, adding a dangerous, ‘underground’ element to the scene.
( Diagram 2c – Scene 2 of Work it video clip)
In the third scene of the clip, Elliot attempts to introduce elements of contrast, colour and vibrancy to the clip by introducing a new hair salon setting. The walls in this salon have a very bright, psychedelic colour scheme. The characters featured in this setting appear as if they are from the Motown era, by their noticable big hairstyles and trends of clothing (Refer to Diagram 2d).
( Diagram 2d – Scene 3 of Work it video clip).
The fourth scene of the clip, reiterates the dark themes that Elliot’s music portrays. Dark thick storm clouds immerse a dark and dreary field and the trees on this field appear to be dead and lifeless. An empty playground is also on the field, creating a type of atmosphere often seen in horror films. Ironically, Elliot is seen happily dancing with four male dancers somewhat oblivious to the volatile conditions throughout the duration of this scene (Refer to Diagram 2e ).
( Diagram 2e – Scene 4 of Work it video clip).
Song analysis
The song displays an attempt to break out of the conventional mould and definitions of hip-hop, by introducing some very innovative elements of sound design. The song is seen to have embraced subtle indicators of genre synecdoche, by its noticable collaboration of African tribal and voodoo type percussive drones which are the backbone of the songs rhythmic structure. These drones are reinforced by a classic hip-hop percussion section, which in many aspects can be viewed as a merge of both indigenous and westernised styles of music.
Musemes and Anaphones
Percussion Section
(0:0-0:3) The beginning of the song features a drum roll sequence, which is somewhat reminiscent of the early 1980 era of hip-hop. The drum roll is then followed by a virtuosic turntable scratch and acts as an episodic marker to count in 9 bars of instrumental before the first chorus begins. This percussion sequence is an instant style indicator of a strong hip-hop theme that underpins the song. Additionally, there is a constant 16 beat percussion section that is present from the beginning to the end of the track (Refer to Diagram 1).
(Diagram 1. - Bongo percussion score)
Similarly, this type of percussion rhythm occurs in the introduction of Blondie’s 1979 hit single “Heart of glass” at (0:0-0:8), and was said to be the song that was sampled for this section of the single.2 An analysis of the underlying percussion section shows that the rhythms of the collective bass, snare and bongo drums indeed follow a hip-hop groove. The beat follows classic 4/4 rhythms with the bass drum being emphasized on the first and slightly delayed on the third beat of the bar (refer to Diagram 2). The percussion section is then completed by the snare drum hit, placed on the second and fourth beat of the bar (refer to Diagram 3).
(Diagram 2. Kick drum percussion score)
(Diagram 3. Snare drum percussion score)
The last seven bars of the song feature an extended outro of a new percussion section. At first, this section seems to be a new bridge section, but is more likely included in the song to be looped for mixing purposes. This section also features a percussive chime track that is played over the top of the drum accompaniment. There is also a turntable scratch effect that acts as both a sonic anaphone and a concluding episodic marker, which simultaneously finishes with the end of the song. A similar chime section is featured in Run DMC’s single, “Peter Piper” featured on their 1986 Album, “Raising Hell” occurring at (1:08 – 1:24).3
Innovative studio production techniques
The second museme that is prominent from the beginning of the song is that of innovative studio production techniques. Occurring at (0:13 – 0:21) a high-pitched frequency is heard oscillating for the duration of four bars. The sound that is produced introduces the next sonic anaphone of what seems to be forms of alien communication. This section evokes a dark and eerie mood to enter into the songs framework and reoccurs at every sequential chorus thereafter. One could also interpret these sounds as sirens, which could have connotations to emergency or law enforcement. Similarly, this affect is used in Nate Dogg’s single; “Ring the Alarm” featured on his album “Music & Me” (2001) and occurs immediately in the introduction of the song (0:00 – 0:08) (refer to Diagram 4).
(Diagram 4. Frequency Oscillation)
A vocal narrative is masked over the top of this frequency modulation sound, and is announced through a speakerphone effect where Elliot announces, “This is a Missy one time exclusive”. The narrative is spoken seductively and suggests evident forms of sexual innuendo. Sexual connotation is added upon heavily in the remainder of the song duration by the inclusion of female orgasmic groans, which are heard at (0:38 – 1:18). The lyrics to the song are also highly explicit. The listener may be likely to feel torn between two attitudes towards the song. On one hand, the melody and rhythmic beats of the song are likeable and catchy. On the other hand, the lyrical content of the song may cause the listener to feel somewhat uncomfortable. Yet despite these conflicting elements, ‘Work It’ was extremely successful within the confines of mainstream music. The single spent ten consecutive weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and reached number one for five weeks on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song is tied with another band’s hit as the longest-running U.S. number-two single that did not reach number one.4
An additional sonic anaphone is seen at (0:32) where the sound effect of an elephant trumpet is inserted to censor the connotations made on male genitalia. This sound effect is then used in every sequential chorus thereafter, and diverts the listeners’ attention from its x-rated nature to mere comical song theatrics. Another example of animal sounds used in a song, occurs in Michael Jackson’s 1981 hit single “Thriller”, which features the sounds of howling wolves in the introduction of the song.
Another interesting section occurs at (0:22). The background vocal tracks echo the chorus line and are panned to the left and right side of the centre vocal. Each vocal track has a very wet sounding reverberation level added to it, causing the mix to sound very distant and trance like. Furthermore, each one of these vocal tracks have had an individual time delay effect applied to them and creates what seems like vocal rebounds off many different wall surfaces. The combination of all these vocal tracks produces a very busy sequence of sound layers. Similar vocal technique effects are used in Usher’s (2003) single “Yeah”, featured in the beginning of the song as a vocal introduction.
At the end of the last line of the chorus the words, “I put my thing down flip it and reverse it” are played completely in reverse. This technique creates an instant incomprehensible slur of lyrics, similar to how a DJ would wind a record backwards to cue for scratching. This effect could be considered as a Kinetic anaphone due to it creating a feeling of reverse momentum or movement. The affect it creates is an interesting sound concept, because it conveys an attempt to use sound to illustrate the lyrical content of the song. However, in adding this affect into the song, one may argue that this may have references to satanic rituals. This same effect was said to have been possibly included in the famous 1971 song “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin. 5 Hidden satanic messages were said to have been audible once the record was played in reverse.
The next museme that undoubtedly is the most prominent in the song is the use of colourful lyrics. Elliot uses the technique of onomatopoeia to rhythmically enhance her vocals at (2:06) and uses terms such as, “Badonkadonkdonk” and “Wawompa wompwomp” to describe various parts of the anatomy:
"...love the way my ass go 'bum-bump-bum-bump-bump'
keep your eyes on my 'bum-bump-bum-bump-bump'
and think you can handle this 'badonk-a-donk-donk'"
Furthermore, this portion of the song's lyrics helped popularize such slang terms with mainstream audiences.6
At (2:40), Elliot continues further with her vocal experimentation by adding what seems like an imitation of baby language mixed with a foreign Chinese accent. Elliot does this directly after making reference to Chinese males in the verse and babbles, “Wai thay thaya thaya thaya thay”. The listener may question whether this could actually be interpreted into something comprehensible in English. Perhaps it may be just be another Gibberish-type vocal that Elliot has yet again included in the song.
At (3:06), Elliot uses her lyrics as a medium to air personal propaganda. This time her lyrics make reference to subjects such as; the artist formerly known as Prince, the history of slavery, and even at the possibility of a ‘black Uncle Sam’. It is obvious that Elliot is exercising her celebrity status to evoke thought to these issues. However, these issues are somewhat contradicted by the scandalous nature of her song content and it is difficult to take these issues seriously within the context of the song.
At (3:16), Elliot introduces a final bridge section, which features a combination of all the aural effects she has used throughout the song. Firstly, she delivers her lyrics in the form of a rhetorical question and repeats the words “Why you act dumb… like...oohhh…dahhh?” three times. Once again Elliot resorts to an immature and playful type of narrative adding to the overall ambiguity of the song. Secondly, a transitional turntable scratch is again used as an episodic marker to initiate the outro of the song. Thirdly, the reintroduction of the chime section that was featured earlier in the song completes the collective use of components to achieve a final climax at the end of the song.
Conclusion
Missy Elliot showed that by implementing these strange and original ideas to her music, she was not afraid to become a catalyst to change the way hip-hop was composed and performed. In the music industry today, it is evident that many artists have to reinvent themselves in order to maintain public interest and also to extend career longevity. Elliot has succeeded in achieving this aim, whilst not necessarily having to compromise her hip-hop stance.
Elliot’s music has been greatly supplemented by the involvement of renowned producers such as Timbaland, Magoo and Devante. These prominent hip-hop producers have assisted in Elliot’s shift to experiment with new aspects of sound and composition. Aspects such as rhythm, tone, texture and the layering of diverse samples are but a few areas that have been greatly enhanced throughout her successful career.
Elliot has also become a pioneer in new methods of producing music video clips. She has delved into an original style of production that embraces the new era of technology, sound, and colour. These unique aspects of video production add elements of professionalism and artistic creativeness that raise the bar for other artists to follow.
It is the combination of Elliot’s artistic and personal presence that have aided in her popularity within the realm of popular music. These factors seem to keep audiences on their toes, awaiting further material that Elliot may produce in the future. It is this factor alone that ensures Elliot further long-term success in the music industry. Elliot is not only successful with her music, but more importantly she has successfully created music and fashion trends that influence the present and future of the hip-hop industry.
Museme and Anaphone Chart
| Museme/Anaphone No. | Location in Track | Description | Affect | IOCM |
| 1. | 00:0-0:03 00:00 - End | Percussion Section 16 beat percussion section | Style Indicator Of Hip Hop Genre | Blondie “Heart of Glass” 0:00-0:08 |
| 2. | 3:52 -3:58 | Chime Section and Turntable scratch. | Sets up Episodic Marker to conclude song. Style Indicator | Run DMC “Peter Piper” 1:08-1:24 |
| 3. | 0:13 -0:21 | High pitched Oscillating frequency | Sonic Anaphone (Alien communication) Evokes eeriness and dark mood to enter song content | Nate Dogg “Ring the Alarm” 0:00-0:08 |
| 4. | 0:32 | Elephant Trumpet | Sonic Anaphone Diverts listeners’ attention from sexual connotation. | Michael Jackson “Thriller” 0:13-0:17 |
| 5. | 0:22 | Vocal effects Delay, Reverb | Creates distant and trance like atmosphere. | Usher & Lil John “Yeah” 0:00-0:08 |
| 6. | 0:26, 1:18, 2:20, 3:26 | Lyrics reversed | Kinetic Anaphone Illustrates movement/hidden messages | Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” |
| 7. | 2:06, 2:40, 3:16 | Word Jargon | Museme Style Indicator of Rap | Run DMC “Peter Piper” Introduction 0:0-0:10 |
Bibliography
1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_It_(Missy_Elliott_song)
2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Glass_(song)
3http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3113
4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_It_(Missy_Elliott_song)
5http://www3.telus.net/jefmil/stairwaybackwards.htm
6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_It_(Missy_Elliott_song)
http://www.hiphopgalaxy.com/Missy-Elliot-Under-Construction-hip-hop-501.html
http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/elliott_missy/artist.jhtml#bio
http://tr.youtube.com/watch?v=WnwBZPO_hMQ&feature=related
