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xenophanatic · 5 years ago

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In Depth Analysis of ‘Skam’: Belonging with Realism

There seems to be universal acceptance that the mere suggestion that a television drama is marketed towards a teenage audience, or is beloved by teens, reduces the creditability and artistic merit of the television show. In popular culture, media aimed to teens – and especially female teens – has been seen a childish, low brow content filled with bad acting, bad writing that contains illogical plots and superficial – as it contains beautiful twenty-somethings playing sixteen years old teens. This opinion could be due to that fact that scholarly critics are not the ‘intended audience’, but it is argued the reason may be that teen dramas, with their ‘ludicrous’ plots, separate themselves from ‘reality’ for entertainment purposes, which thereby alienates the ‘rational’ mind-frame of the critic. By detaching itself from realism, teen dramas, as a genre, seem to be seen as superficially candy floss – bright ostentatious sugar-inducing fluff with no core-essence nor nutritionally substantial properties. It is argued that teen dramas have the ability to be more than superficially candy floss. The following essay will analyse the Norwegian teen drama Skam and how it strives to represent teenagers in a genuine and realistic way by its use of extensive research, authentic acting and location, and digital storytelling. Through it’s creating, making, and releasing of the series, Skam invites critical television evaluation while also exploring the crucial element of emotional growth and belonging that are needed for an ideal teen drama.

Teen Dramas – in common discourse

Though, in the past, it may be prevalent that there was a separation between film criticism and television criticism – film being seen as more worthy of art criticism – there is distinct quality hierarchy of televisional texts. With acclaimed serialised dramas focusing on a male protagonist/anti-hero, mainly broadcasted on subscriber based service, being deemed worthy of evaluations, soap operas, reality tv, and teen dramas on network television are seen as below par. Television dramas that are focused on teenagers are seen as cringe-worthy or a part of pop-culture that should be mocked and not taken seriously. Kevin Williams who was, during the 90s, applauded for his work on the horror film Scream – having teens conversing in the metalanguage of film – was also reprimanded for creating the hit television show Dawson Creek – having teens conversing in the metalanguage of film. Dawson Creek was seen as a teen soap opera that was filled with sex, drama, and love-triangles, that didn’t merit the opinion of highbrow critics. Similarly, shows such as Gossip Girl, The OC, One Tree Hill, Vampire Diaries, and Riverdale have been – and will continue to – criticised for its writing, directing, and acting. There may be expectation to this prejudice of teen dramas. Buffy – The Vampire Slayer has been praised for its writing and Friday Night Lights was seen as a critic darling. However, it should be noted that Friday Night Lights was overlooked by audiences for its marketing as a ‘teen drama’ and critics have negatively commented on the show when discussing its teen or melodramatic elements. A teen drama should, it is argued, provide an insight to teenage life that is putting a mirror to the teen audience’s life and also reinvigorating the memories of teen life for adult audience. Late teens and early twenties are the years where we are confused, as humans, on where we belong, who we are, and what we want. Therefore, teen dramas, in essence, should provide a realistic representation of teenage years.

Traditional Teen dramas and their rejection of Realism

Though many of the aforementioned teen dramas deal with the melodramatic plots that are all wrapped up in teen angst and served to its audience on a weekly basis – they all encompass a crucial part of any teen drama. The essence of a teen drama, it is argued, is the raw, real, unapologetic emotions. As teens, when we experience love – usually our first experiences – it is all consuming, while as adults; we tend to be more rational and mature. Our hates are world ending – while as adults we either ignore it or deal with it with the right amount of passive aggressiveness. Therefore, when a drama reproduces these realistic and accurate representation of emotions and stories, it excels as an artform. Even if a teen narrative is dealing with murder mysteries or vampires, it excels when it looks at the raw emotions of their characters and the characters’ longing to belong. Teen dramas are a great platform to a realistic representation of growth and exploration of a character’s identity and themes of belonging. This is excellently portrayed in Friday Night Lights with the football players coming to terms with their place in Dillion when they are no longer football players.

Cinematic realism, as infamous critic Bazin states, is the fulfillment of the human craving for realistic representation. Realism, in film theory, is obtain through reflection of reality being reproduces through camera lens. Realism critics who supported realism in film submitted several characteristics that produced cinematic realism, these being use of long takes, deep focus, limited editing, and use of actual locations non-professional. These characteristics are in contrast with what is associated with teen dramas. The cast is often filled with actors who are in their later twenties rather than their late teens, the text is highly stylised, and ludicrous plots are aimed to provide wish-fulfilment and escapism rather than realism. However, Skam rejects these characteristics of the teen drama and instead, not only accepts the theory of realism, innovates what television can do in the 21 century to thoroughly satisfy the human craving for realistic representation. Skam uses traditional realism through extensive research, the use of actual locations, and the use of nonprofessional actors, but innovates by using temporal realism and transmedia storytelling.

Creating Skam

NRK (Norsk rikskringkasting) is the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, similar to British’s BBC and Australia’s ABC. Which means that it is a publicly funded corporation (through tax-payers) and is therefore not a commercial broadcasting corporation, such as the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) – which is funded through commercials and advertising, nor a private broadcasting corporation, such as the HBO or Netflix - that are funded through monthly/annual subscriptions. NRK, is therefore, serving citizens, not merely consumers as their audience, thereby having a public duty to uphold. So, when NRK recruited Julie Andem to create a teen drama – it was in order to perform a public service by creating a text that was relevant to the new generation of Norwegian girls. This show not only wanted to represent the Norwegian youth and their issues, but also provides a platform for teens to gain guidance and empathy – a more subtle and nuance PSA.

NRK and Andem’s the new drama concept was set to target the specific needs of 16-year-old Norwegian girls—‘the two years before you turn eighteen, a new time at high school and the pre-adult, sexual age’. Where teen dramas are usually written by 30+ year old writers and produced by 40+ year old executives of networks trying to sound like ‘the teens’ and bring issues that they think teens go through. This can be seen in shows where teens are delivering lines with cringy ‘slang’ or outdated references, and their usage of social media is depicted as obsessive or narcissistic through the lens of a parent rather than an exploration of emotion and identity by the youth. Andem was able to see this distance that she may have with ‘today’s youth’ and believed she couldn’t tell their story, because it was there’s – therefore she needed to hear it from them. This led to an extensive audience research, where Andem and her team orchestrated 50 in-depth interviews with Norwegian teens from all over the country, 200 speed interviews, school visits, social media scanning, and readings of reports and statistic on teen culture. In her interviews Andem talks about the large impact these interviews and research had on her creative process.

Through this extensive audience research a common factor was discovered amongst teens and that was pressure. It was discovered that Norwegian teens experienced a lot of pressure and this became the driving force for the creation of the drama. The team wanted to address and explore this aspect of teen life and even formulated a ‘mission statement’ which defined SKAM’s vision: to ‘help 16-year-old girls to strengthen their self-esteem by breaking taboos, make them aware of interpersonal mechanisms and demonstrate the rewards of confronting fear’ (Furevold-Boland, 2016). So, NRK is interested to provide a public service to the Norwegian youth by clearly representing them and their issues in a realistic and authentic way. They aim to do this through Andem’s creative judgments and extensive research. The team has not gained an understanding of Norwegian teens and the usage and importance of social media, but had also generated a specific target audience and a thesis statement that will run throughout the series. However, this is not the end of their innovated production towards realism.

Making Skam

The great appeal of Skam, along with many others, is how realistic and genuine the stories and characters feel. This can be attributed to the aforementioned research that the team had conducted which allowed for clear and real depiction of the hardships and struggles that today’s teen face. Another attribution the contributed to the authentic and realistic feel and tone of the show, it is argued, is the inclusion of actual location and age-appropriate non-professional actors. As mentioned earlier, teen shows usually have twenty somethings playing teens. This is usually due to child labour laws in the United States and other countries. This may seem like tiny complaint; ‘This is so unrealistic, that 16-year-old is clearly 21. I can’t believe anything after this’. However, this casting choice not only has an impact on the story, but also on how it affects teens watching the series.

Clinical psychologist, Barbara Greenberg, stated that by casting actors in their 20s in teen dramas have the message to actual teen audiences that this is what a teen is supposed to look like. A person in their 20s is more likely to have a consistent appearance, whereas an adolescent may change more frequently. “Some days they’re thinner, they’re a little heavier, they have pimples, their hair is a little frizzy. It’s all ok,” Greenberg says. So, theses teen actors in a studio high-school don’t share these symptoms of a teen body, it therefore then makes the teen viewer vulnerable to feeling self-conscious and depressed about their appearance. “That leads to all kinds of body-image and social-comparison issues,” Greenberg says. So already we have a disconnect between the actor, the teen character, and the teen audience. This casting choice also has effect on the way stories/plots are presented and viewed. When you have storyline where a child is in sexual relation with an adult and both parties are played by consenting age adults, the story is not as creepy or unsettling as it should be presented, but rather it is seen as ‘forbidden love’ and sexy. For example, in Pretty Little Liar where a 15/16-year-old teen girl is having a relationship with her male teacher, in reality the actors as 21 and 24 respectively. The casting choice not only eliminates the reality of the age difference, through mere contrast that would occur between a teen girl and a male adult, but also normalises that age difference.

So, how does Skam not only differ and but excel? Most of the actors, when shooting the first season were in their teens. A plot point in the first season is that the girls are encourage to hook up 97er boys – as in boys in their high school that were born in 1997. When the female lead states that she has a boyfriend, she is encouraged to dump him because he is a 99er (born in 1999). What is compelling is the actors are of that age – her boyfriend is born in 1999 and the boys that are 97ers are actually born in 1997. This may bot seem crucial, however, watching the series set in a highschool with people that are teens and born in the same year as the teen watching, does have a psychology and subconscious effect that resonates with the audience.

As mentioned before the show was aimed at specific demographic, therefore it is important to show version of teens that they have seen (classmates, friends, etc.) or are versions of themselves. In teen shows, one often sees the glamourous queen bee in a one-of-a-kind coutour outfit strutting through the halls of her elite high school with her encourage, in coordinating outfits, behind her. However, the audience member watching this exhibit is viewing this on the laptop in their casual tee and sweats on their bed while eating dinner. There is a contrast between the teen on the screen and the teen viewing a representation of themselves – one cannot see themselves as the ‘queen bee’ figure nor can one see this hero figure as a person in the real world. Neorealist filmmakers despised the ‘hero’ figure as they excluded millions and allowed an inferiority complex to resonate with the audience. Realists desired to create inclusion, rather than exclusion, by depicting the ‘everyday’ man, them and others, as the protagonist of life - “to strengthen everyone, and to give everyone the proper awareness of a human being”. This is similar to the thesis the Skam team set up to prove – ‘help 16-year-old girls to strengthen their self-esteem by breaking taboos, make them aware of interpersonal mechanisms and demonstrate the rewards of confronting fear’. Both forms, therefore, asked their actors not to be skilled at acting, but to understand themselves as human beings - asking them not to ‘act’ like an actor, but to react as themselves. A desire to capture the gestures and motions that belonged to this particular person, not one of the many false exaggerations that could be conjured by an actor. This style is evident in Skam as Andem would encourage her actors to play around in the scene and put pieces of them into the character.

In this behind the scenes clip, the actor Tarjei Sandvik Moe is supposed to walk out and see a returning character who the cast has not seen for months. He is supposed be shocked and surprised, but it doesn’t feel authentic. Tarji states that he, as Tarji, would have said something, and Andem is heard behind the camera encourages him to say something then. In the final cut, Isak, Tarjei’s character, says the name of the returning character. This shows the Skam team’s desire to be authentic, realistic, and genuine in their depiction of teen reality. These naturalistic and geniue traits not only make audience see these non-professionals as people behaving like people, rather than glamorised actors acting like fictional characters, but allows for the opportunity for audience to also see themselves in the characters’ flaws and desires. Part of the show’s authenticity comes from its actors: They’re roughly the same age as their characters, have minimal performing experience, and wear little or no makeup to cover their youthful blemishes. We see them with breakouts of acne, similar to millions of teens that grow through this customary process as teenagers. The actors naturalistic look (through minimal makeup) and acting style that one can believe they could encountered a, or many, Isak(s) (or other characters) somewhere in their world.

Skam is filmed at Hartvig Nissen School. This is not only an actual running established school, but also a school which some of the cast have attended as students. The school is not only used as an exterior, for establishing shots and then filmed in a studio, but also interior – using classrooms, hallways, etc. Character’s apartments and homes are actual locations, rather than stages in studios. Again, this allows for the series and characters to feel real - these are homes, not sets. Therefore, it has been demonstrated how the Skam team’s mission, to obtain and represent the reality of teens, has been executed through the use of research methods and elements of film realism; however, Skam is innovative in their methods and goes beyond what had been used previous in 20th century media/mediums. Skam engages its audience through the medium that they (the audience) is accustom, whist also transforming their (Skam team’s) television media through transmedia storytelling.

Releasing Skam

Obviously, there is an issue many television broadcasting corporations are facing today, which is the abandonment of traditional television viewing. Audiences are now watching on demand and not ‘live-watching’ or schedule watching their television programs. Audiences, as corporations like NRK understand, like not only to be in control of when they view media but how. At the time, NRK was noticing the shift in their audience viewing habits. Therefore, there is no point for the Skam team to conform to traditional television viewing standards to a target demographic that is constantly using on-demand viewing to consume their content. The shift towards on-demand viewing is not new to television networks. Many services are providing on-demand viewing experience through binge-watching episodes. The notion for network to provide episodes online is not innovative, in fact it conforming to the norm. However, Skam chooses not to conform norm or previous conventional methods of television viewing, but instead uses new media and mediums to reach their goal for authenticity and realism. The aim of the research was both to gain in-depth information on Norwegian teens, in order to portray them in a relevant and realistic way, but also to identify and discover how the new online drama concept could serve the needs of this particular audience segment. As previously mentioned, there are several standards that directors and creators used to project reality – whether that be through long takes, deep focus, limited editing, and use of actual locations non-professional. The Skam team stated that, ‘we want to provide popular enlightenment but in a context the audience segment understood and liked’. Skam includes other elements in order to create realism an audience connection to the characters through the use of transmedia narrative and real-time release.

Skam released the scenes to their episodes in real time. For example, if the characters are having a conversation at school, during lunch time, the scene would be dropped at 12:15pm on Monday – with a title card stating the day and time. And if during that conversation they discuss meeting later that day at 9pm, the scene would end and at maybe 9:30pm – again scene is introduced with title card stating time and day – the characters will meet and a character could apologise for being late. This mini-clips and scene would be released throughout the week, without informing the audience when they would be released, with a compilation of the scenes being released to a traditional episode on Sunday. Why is this method not only innovate, but also essential for Skam and its thesis statement? As mentioned previously about the teen who is in their bed wearing a causal tee and sweats on their bed with their laptop and viewing a glamourous queen bee in a one-of-a-kind coutour outfit strutting through the halls of her elite high school – the teen audience is so distant from the image on the screen to their reality.

Skam, however, closes this distant, not only through non-professional actors and location, but also through real time. The teen audience viewing the clip posted, before going to they go to bed, is watching the character doing the same thing the audience is doing this time of the week. If it is a weekday, the character is in their sweats watching videos while eating their dinner – something the audience is most likely doing. If it is a public holiday, characters are spending time with friends and family – much like the audience is. This creates a sense of temporal realism, reality given to the audience by a shared temporal (time) space. These characters are living and experience life in the same temporal space as the audience. Clips that are released on New Year’s Eve is obviously a great way for the show to demonstrate this – bring in the new year with characters and audience members in a shared temporal space. The show uses real time release in so many ways. For cliffhangers, a character is distress in the last clip and then a clip doesn’t appear for hours/days – what is going on? If a big even was to happen, audiences would wait for the day, and time, like the characters would – both characters are experiencing same anxiety and excitement of the events transpiring. Audiences are waiting for a clip – that they may not know when will come and how long it would be – throughout the week. However, while waiting, they may also look through social media to find solace.

The Skam team also created social media accounts for their characters, not actors, but the characters. The ‘characters’ would post pictures and messages – as any teen would today. Not only that, but the audience was also privy to the private messages exchanged between characters. This allows audiences into the lives of the characters and makes these fictional characters feel more real and like a friend to the audience. By using both these private messages and social posts, Skam was able to tell a transmedia narrative. A transmedia narrative (also known as transmedia storytelling or multiplatform storytelling) is telling a single narrative or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies. The most common example is MCU – where they told a story through not only several film, but also television series. The texts have used transmedia storytelling, such as Doctor Who (the tv series, spin offs, books, big finish, movie, etc), The Lizze Bennett Diaries (social media for characters, web series, spin offs, etc), and more. The audience isn’t required to explore beyond the main text (the tv show or movie) to subsidiary texts (web series, books, social media), however those who do interact with the transmedia narrative, and fan culture, are able to gain a deeper understanding of the show/characters and are given Easter eggs.

For example, in Season 1 a character on Skam, Eva, posted on Instagram a photo stating that her boyfriend, Jonas, made her nachos and shows the Fresh Prince of Bel Air title card. This seem arbitrary and irrelevant to the main plot of Season 1, however in Season 4 in the final episode when Eva’s new suitor texts her ex Jonas for advice, Jonas tells him just ask her to watch Fresh Prince and eat nachos. There was no need for a ‘call back’ to a social media post from Season 1, but by doing this Skam was able to utilise not only digitial storytelling, but also transmedia storytelling.

Realism and Belonging

So, while other teen dramas try to depict a grand and fantastical allusion of teen life, Skam rejects that and offers a realistic depiction through its creating, making and releasing process – but how does the series represent, through realism, belonging. Each season of the series focus on a central character. There is a core set of characters at the school, but each season focuses on one character – we see the narrative through their eyes – and their journey. Season topics include identity and loneliness, feminism and sexual assault, sexuality and mental health, and religious beliefs and online bullying. These were inspired by the interviews conducted in the research and relevant to teens whilst growing up in today’s society. The main character is faced with these real issues – they struggle alone with the burden of these topics and are able to finally resolve them with the help of friends and professionals. Skam is excellent in depicting the importance of a strong group of people who will listen to your issues, accept you, and guide you to find the answers. The show does not aim to solve a murder mystery or decide which boy the girl should go to prom with – it aims to show how others are also struggling with the issues you have, how others can and will accept you, and how you can also find the answers. The show’s thesis and mission statement is to ‘help 16-year-old girls to strengthen their self-esteem by breaking taboos, make them aware of interpersonal mechanisms and demonstrate the rewards of confronting fear’ The show tackles real issues (through creating) by creating real characters (through making) and allowing audience to engage with them on an intimate and personal level (through releasing).

In conclusion, through its creating (thesis statement and research), making (non-professional actors and location), and releasing (live release and transmedia narrative), the series Skam is an example of an ideal teen drama that depicts emotional growth and belonging for its audience. Rejecting the fantastical and embracing realism, through the use of extensive research, authentic acting and location, and digital and transmedia storytelling, Skam is able to depict teenagers in a genuine and realistic manner. Skam is a television series that should be analysed and evaluated in a critical context, and not be seen as a mere ‘teen-drama’. The series provides ample opportunities to be praised for its innovation, creativity, and uniqueness. Other teen dramas should not submit to the underachieving standards of what it is to be a teen drama, but instead realise what the true purpose of a teen drama is and rise to the occasion to creating something new, powerful, and meaningful.

#skam #skam nl #wow this is so long #holiday essay writing

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swimintothesound · 7 years ago

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Lil Pump Versus The Elderly: A Long and Storied History

Letter From the Editor: The writer of this piece would like to apologize in advance for the abject stupidity contained within the following wall of text. If you’re brave enough to subject yourself to the mania that’s about to unfold, then you have my admiration, gratitude, respect, and appreciation. Thank you for understanding, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Pumpology 101: The Mystifying Origins of Gazzy Garcia

Lil Pump is a dreadlocked 17-year old rapper from Florida who first began making waves in late 2016 when his song “D Rose” became an unexpected viral hit. Over the span of a few short months, the wrist-obsessed track had garnered millions of plays on Soundcloud and over one hundred million curious YouTube clicks. By the end of 2017, Lil Pump (whose real name is Gazzy Garcia) had established himself as a mainstream success when his song “Gucci Gang” peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts. Spawning from his self-titled debut, the alliterative hit quickly became the focal point of a heated debate on the declining state of rap music rap music, the ongoing idocratization of popular culture, and the bare minimum required to pass for lyricism in the year of our Lord 2017.

Expertly covered by both Rolling Stone and The New York Times, Mr. Pump has become a figure at the forefront of the budding “Soundcloud Rap” movement. This subgenre is a spin-off of Trap that’s focused on crafting a particular brand of blown-out, vapid, and repetitive hip-hop that, while lyrically substanceless, still manages to be catchy, memorable, and (most importantly) energetic. It’s hype-up music that’s been distilled so many times that words practically don’t matter.

I’ve already discussed my conflicted feelings on the genre back in August, and while some members of this scene are still objectively-horrific human beings, I’m willing to admit that I’ve come around to Lil Pump thanks to the catchiness of the aforementioned “Gucci Gang.” While the man himself should never be looked up to as an idol, Garcia is still making exciting creations within a field that I’m morbidly fascinated by.

The Lyrics (or Lack Thereof)

Like most rappers, Pump’s songs typically center around the same award-winning trifecta of drugs, money, and women. What makes “Gucci Gang” unique is the fact that it ticks all these boxes while also managing to be accessible to a mainstream audience. Soundcloud Rap’s previous biggest success came in the form of “Look At Me!,” a song whose lyrics are probably just a touch too edgy for mainstream audiences.

Meanwhile “Gucci Gang” has just the right mix of garish colors and catchy lyrics, both of which are accompanied by a distinct feeling of “newness” that helped it stand out from the crowd. Additionally, the song’s bouncy three-syllable chorus proved perfectly memeable, ripe for parody, and endlessly reworkable, all of which led to a song that hit, and lingered in the cultural consciousness for longer than anyone ever expected. Possibly even a reflection of our society at large, “Gucci Gang” is an undeniable success no matter how you cut it.

Outside of the song itself, Lilliam Pumpernickel has also gained fans through numerous extra-musical antics including second-floor balcony jumps, a love for iCarly’s Miranda Cosgrove, and a running joke that he’s a Harvard Graduate. Essentially, he’s not afraid to be a meme, and that lack of fear makes him even stronger. Complete with his own catchphrase, there are many reasons to be entertained by Lil Pump, and all of these elements combined help explain his meteoric rise to success.

The Emergence of an Astronomical Happening

Though my numerous listens to “Gucci Gang,” I began to approach the song the same way that many others did: first with curiosity, then ironic enjoyment, then genuine adoration. I can’t stress enough that the lyrics are nothing to write home about, however one stanza in particular stands out amongst the rest like a bright, shining star:

My lean cost more than your rent, ooh (it do)

Your momma still live in a tent, yuh (brr)

Still slangin' dope in the 'jects, huh? (yeah)

Me and my grandma take meds, ooh (huh?)

These bars initially seemed like a single metaphysical barb amongst a sea of relatively-straightforward brags and boasts, so I explained them away as a one-off lyric with no deeper significance. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this line was just the tip of the iceberg.

By the time December had rolled around, “Gucci Gang” had won the honor(?) of being recognized not once, but twice in Swim Into The Sound’s 2017 Un-Awards. While part of a largely-negative post, I shined a relatively-positive light on “Gucci Gang” as my second-biggest “WTF” moment of the year (second only to Bhad Bhabie) in which I found myself surprisingly endeared to both equally-trashy artists. Later on in the proceedings, I cited the lyrics above specifically as the single “Weirdest Flex” of 2017 (barely edging out a Drake lyric about napping).

In researching the Pump-penned lines for that write-up I found myself jumping between various Genius pages and in doing so, I quickly began to uncover a conspiracy deep as the Carly Rae Jepsen Cinematic Universe: Lil Pump has an unshakable fixation with the elderly.

The Quest For A Universal Truth

It’s no secret that artists tend to use the same concepts, thoughts, and ideas over and over again throughout their work. Usually in hip-hop, these recurring topics (like drugs, money, and women for instance) are framed by using twists on conventional language that are given new meanings within the scene’s culture. From “bricks” to “bands” to “bitches” every possible theme has dozens of different synonyms that can be switched out interchangeably to keep the rhyme fresh and the topic from going stale.

However, slang goes in and out of popular vernacular like the tides of the ocean, and Monsieur Pump is not above these familiar tropes. While drugs, money, and women remain the primary topics around which Pump waves his tales, he, on more than one occasion, has used his grandma, or the grandmother of the listener as a reference point for these interests.

Of course he likes lean, and naturally, he talks about it, but what makes Pump unique is his ability to relate that commonplace idea to the elderly in a hilarious and unexpected way. He’s using age as a barometer by which to measure his own life; the elderly representing an extreme through which he can cover these well-trodden topics.

It’s quite the signature flair for a 17-year-old to brandish, but perhaps through these lines he’s revealing his own obsession with death and mortality. Maybe these grandparent-based lyrics are allowing us a brief peek into the inner machinations of Lil Pump’s mind and we are learning what troubles him on a deep, cosmic, existential level. The philosophical reaper that keeps him up at night. These lines act as an illumination of the human experience as told through the grounded eyes of one man who yells “ESKETIT” like it’s his Pokemon name. What follows is a comprehensive list of every time Little Pump has rapped about senior citizens. You are welcome.

Exhibit #1 - “Gucci Gang”

My lean cost more than your rent, ooh (it do)

Your momma still live in a tent, yuh (brr)

Still slangin' dope in the 'jects, huh? (yeah)

Me and my grandma take meds, ooh (huh?)

For the sake of completeness, we’ll begin with lyrics that started it all. The quote above comprises exactly 25% of the sole verse found on Lil Pump’s breakout hit “Gucci Gang.” In it we find Pump surveying his surroundings, living situation, and pattern of systematic drug use over a bassy beat and twinkling piano line.

First, we get the worrying comparison between the upkeep of his own opiate addiction to monthly rent, then the (uncalled for) implication that the listener’s mother is homeless, and the final cherry on top: the fact that Pump spends quality time popping pills with his grandmother. While the specifics remain vague here, it’s implied that he’s taking drugs recreationally while she is taking them for health reasons.

This being one of Pump’s numerous references to the elderly, the topic’s pervasiveness now leads me to believe that this is both a genuine lyric, as well as a thinly-veiled cry for help. As distressing as the lyric may be, at least he’s spending some quality time with his elders before they pass. Even if it’s a drug-fueled haze, I hope that both parties treasure their remaining time together and cherish each other's company.

Exhibit #2 - “Fiji”

I got Fiji on my neck

I got Gucci on my chest

And my grandma sippin' Tech

Off a Xan like Ron Artes

In this one-off Lil Pump loosie, Young Gazzy uses the artesian water brand as a descriptor for both his jewelry and his sex life. Following a similar structure as “Gucci Gang,” this track features a brief intro, and one verse sandwiched between two short choruses. Clocking in at a mere 88-seconds, “Fiji” is a striking minimalist creation that embraces reductionism and revels in ambiguity.

Within the world of hip-hop, “Water” can actually mean many things. From sex to swagger, the use of ‘water’ in-song is generally something you have to pick up from context clues, and this track is no different. In “Fiji” Pump walks a beautifully-ambiguous line between these typical definitions of earthly possessions and literal water, turning the brand’s name into a primal chant of “I pour Fiji on her neck.”

After a brief water-laced refrain, Pump proceeds into the meat of the song: a 45-word verse that discusses his public persona and ticks all of the seemingly-mandatory drug-based name-drops. He has jewelry on his neck, a Gucci logo tattooed on his chest, and most importantly the incongruous mention of his grandmother casually enjoying some hitech (aka Lean).

Perhaps elaborating on the lines of “Gucci Gang,” this lyric implies that maybe he and his grandmother both enjoy drugs on the same recreational level. Later on in the song he continues:

Slice your auntie in the neck

Lil Pump disrespect

Run up on you with that 40

Grab your grandma by the neck

After the verses earlier drug revelry, Pump seems to “set his sights” on the listener, attacking us via multiple familial ties. In a single moment of clarity he utters “Lil Pump disrespect” as if he knows what he’s doing is morally reprehensible, but remains out of his control. A haunting sentiment to say the least.

His hunger is insatiable, and your grandmother is his target. Violence is the only thing he understands, and your grandmother is the only thing he can grasp onto, both physically and metaphorically. And then, just as suddenly as the attack unfolded, the song fades into nothing, leaving the listener in the bloody aftermath.

Exhibit #3 - “Smoke My Dope”

Whippin' up dope in the trap spot (what)

Sellin' cocaine to your grandma (yuh)

Whippin' up dope in the trap spot (yuh, yuh)

Sellin' cocaine to your grandma (yuh, yuh, yuh, yuh)

In this early-album cut Lil Pump and fellow Florida rapper SmokePurpp trade verses for a compact and chaotic 2-minutes. In Garcia’s second verse he exerts himself enough to present one specific instance of creating and selling drugs over a series of escalating “yuh’s.”

In this simplistic portrayal of Pump’s supply chain, he gives his process away to the listener:

Whip up an indeterminate amount of “dope” within the “trap”

Proceed to sell that cocaine to the listener’s grandmother

Perhaps connected to the seemingly-uncalled-for violence depicted on “Fiji,” these lines seem to explain how Pump has obtained his wealth. I imagine that the elderly are comparatively easy-going when it comes to the purchase and intake of drugs, so it’s presumably easy money for Pump and a decent enough business model. Backed up by voracious twitter claims that echo the song’s lyrics, Pump has given us no reason to doubt him or his business acumen when it comes to selling the white stuff to the Greatest Generation.

Exhibit #4 - “Had”

My loud pack smell like fish tank

My backwoods filled with dumb stank

I can't fuck with you, cause I know all you ni**as stains

My grandma selling loud pack and she selling cocaine

She run up on your block and she'll shoot you in the fuckin' brain

With “Had” it seems that there’s a new wrinkle to Pump’s drug operation as it’s revealed that he’s running a family business by employing his grandmother as a key player.

Depicting his bubbe as savage and violent as himself, this example could possibly explain Pump’s own outwardly-destructive actions as a learned behavior. In portraying a systematic issue within our society, this line directly tackles how family can fail us, or lead us to repeat the same mistakes as those that came before us. It’s a tortured and agonized call for help as Pump removes himself enough to realize the trauma that he has indirectly absorbed and the conditions that he has had no choice but to grow up in.

This all said, it’s still nice that people like Pump’s grandmother can find purpose in the fast-paced working world and be driven by the fulfillment of a hard days work. The fact that she’s willing to kill on top of the drug dealing means that she’s committed to the cause, and is likely quite experienced, even in her old age. At the very least, Pump must come from good genes!

Exhibit #5 - “At The Door”

I got junkies at the door

I could serve you 2 for 4

I could serve you couple Xans

I could feed your bitch some coke

Yeah my Uzi automatic

Make your grandma do a backflip

On this mid-album cut, we see yet another allusion to the violence that Pump has inflicted upon the listener’s grandmother specifically. Perhaps wielded by Pump himself, or maybe even his grandmother (as we saw in “Had), it appears as if the drug dealing illustrated on “Smoke my Dope” has gone sideways for one reason or another, and Pump has been forced to resort to violence.

This line is actually one of the multiple familial references within this verse, the others being father, daughter, and aunt, so while this reference fits squarely in the bounds of the topic at hand, there’s no getting around the persistently-elderly angle that Pump takes.

This is yet another line later echoed in a Tweet by Pump, either lending further credence to his unfeeling savagery, or (perhaps) his commitment to our society’s collective physical fitness by inspiring the elderly to do advanced-level gymnastics.

In Conclusion

None of this was good. While Pump’s initial references to the elderly seemed to be a twisted form of mutual enjoyment, things quickly devolved into selling drugs, and eventually inflicting violence directly on the listener's grandmother.

This analysis is absolute stupidity, but I find it too amusing that a 17-year-old who has so few songs officially released has referenced the elderly half a dozen times throughout the history of his recorded work. The way I see it, there are a few explanations for this lyrical ouroboros:

It’s a creative crutch.

Lil Pump has that little to say that he keeps defaulting to “grandma.”

Deep-seated familial trauma in his own past that Pump may or may not be cognizant of.

Pump thinks that the savagery of his grandma implies, dictates, and directly translates to his own.

By “attacking” the listener and showing disregard for their loved ones, his devil-may-care attitude is preemptively deflecting any criticism they may have of Pump or his music.

Lil Pump truly does fear the uncertainty of death and projects that concern through the multiple references to the elderly in his music.

It very well could be all or any combination of all of these, but in any case, I feel it’s safe to say that this qualifies as an unhealthy fixation. Whether it’s a profound fear of death, a thinly-veiled attempt to address his own mortality, or irreconcilable childhood trauma, I genuinely hope that Gazzy Garcia can get the help he needs to get over this mental block.

He’s still got many years ahead of him, and a full life to live. If he wants to make it to the status of “Grandpa Pump” he’ll have to overcome this irrational fear and tackle his issues head-on, or else they will continue to emerge in unhealthy ways.

Here’s to you Mr. Pump, I hope you get the help you need and deserve.

I’m sorry for writing this.

#Lil Pump #elderly #long-form stupidity #real journalism #soundcloud rap #hip-hop #Grandma

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album-of-the--year-blog · 7 years ago

Photo

Johnny Cradle - ‘Johnny Cradle’

By Tseliso Monaheng

The day began with either a text or a call.

Saki of Johnny Cradle wanted to know whether I’d be available later for a recording session -- to hang, and to possibly snap images of the process.

I obliged.

It was during the first weekend of December 2016, on the Saturday Salut was being laid down. Chris (Lombard, former guitarist) was leaving for Cape Town soon; a permanent arrangement. All of his parts had to be recorded before the new week as a result.

I arrived at the studio, which is located somewhere past Jozi’s more interesting CBD and heads towards its languid Northern suburbs, ready to bang my head to the music.

And bang I did, somewhat.

The story goes that Saki needed a name to perform with during an event in the Eastern Cape (he’s from Mdantsane originally). His real name Sakumzi Qumana wasn’t enticing, so Johnny Cradle became the moniker he chose; the one that stuck.

It’s come to mean the everyday man: The hustler; the blue collar worker; the suit-and- tie corporate, white-collar homie. All of these manifestations of men, black and beautiful, have lives outside of what they are known for.

For Saki, it’s about being present for his daughter, above all else; but it’s also to do with being a loving partner; a true school, self-taught illustrator; and the vocalist and composer of what is now a trio completed by Soshanguve-born drummer and web designer Tebogo Mosane, and Lazola Ndamase -- father, deejay, producer.

Salut, the song recorded during that December weekend in 2016, is a personal document of the intersections in their lives, and a fist-tight, chest-out moment paying homage to the folks before them -- Saki’s struggle hero father, who besides being an active member in Poqo, later imprisoned on Robben Island, was involved in criss-crossing the country, transporting goods essential to the daily survival of South African households; DJ Laz’s grandparents, who raised him a church boy while his mother lived and worked elsewhere as a teacher; and Tebogo’s mother, who had to leave her family behind to seek out better opportunities for her offspring.

“We talk about people who are under-paid. People who are carrying the nation: Cleaners, gold miners, people who transport us every day,” says Tebogo. “There’s a line where we say keep your 20 bucks handy. Ask anyone who works a 9-to- 5 job how many times they’ve asked their colleagues for 20 Rands to go home, or to come back to work [the next day],” he goes on, reflecting on the precarious existence of people all over the continent and across the black Diaspora.

The band’s evolved over many years, in different cities, to become the three-man outfit it is today. Their self-titled debut album has also just been released and in 10 songs, realises many of the themes Sakumzi’s been visiting through the years on EPs, remix project and unreleased songs.

But where previous projects sought more outward-leaning approaches to the music, fusing multiple instrumentation to create layer upon layer of sonic motifs, suggesting different directions to advance the message, the music on Johnny Cradle is straightforward and stripped to the bare essence -- the drum, and the bass.

It’s a motif, inspired by roots reggae music, which Saki’s been exploring since end-2013. He wasn’t convinced that he still wanted to pursue the dream, so a friend talked him into locking that entire December down to produce and record. A couple of songs emerged from that session, most notably uLate.

The autobiographical joint is the last on the 10-track project. It ties everything on the album together, and serves as the perfect accompaniment to album opener Mahambelala, which starts off with a vocal sample, courtesy of DJ Laz, proclaiming that they are ready to progress to some steps which are a bit more difficult, before Saki's fingers hit the keys and Stebu's drums set the groove off.

Mahambelala is about how the youngin from the Eastern Cape on uLate wound up in the city of bright lights, confused and somewhat bruised, lonely and searching for self in temporary relief. It’s the antithesis of the Men Like Us instance, which sees the all-encompassing character Johnny Cradle finally settle down and own up for prior fuckups.

Elsewhere on the album are Asidlali and the aforementioned Salut, which complement one another because of the work-oriented we-do- what-we- gotta, ballsy and unassuming attitude.

Saki’s straightforward style of writing lends a directness to the songs’ messages that might otherwise go unnoticed, had the approach been different. His pop culture references are dripping in Ebonics and kasi slang.

Find him giving a tongue-in- cheek shoutout to Heavy D; or fire off a sonic dap to Thembi Seete’s cryptic verse on It’s About Time; or a head-nod to his and our kwaito heroes M’du and TKZee as he sing-raps lines like phakamis’ izandla zakho, lapho sik’ bone from the latter group’s Magesh which appears on their Halloween album.

But there’s the other side which demonstrates that though Johnny Cradle is a principled disciple of life, he’s also not afraid to boogie-woogie in the club; to get crunk and enjoy life.

Songs like Sadakwa and Bangphethe best illustrate this complexity. The former song also gives a head-nod to Oda Meesta.

There’s kwaito here, mixed with roots, and hip hop, and the polyphonic vocal tones of boys who go up the mountain and return, a few weeks or months later, as men.

This project is every bit the 90s hip hop baby’s dream, completed by a self-awareness that illustrates what happens when boys grow up and decide to introspect.

Tseliso Monaheng is the corewreckah. Follow him @nemesisinc and support his work HERE.

#Johnny Cradle #South African Music #Our Favourite Albums #Album #Tseliso Monaheng

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