Textual Analysis of Professor Green-Read All About It

Lyrics

The lyrics in this song are very sentimental and were made by the artist himself and they are about his relationship or lack of with his father. From the lyrics and the whole music video, you are able to see and feel how real these lyrics are and how much they mean to the artist which makes them very effective. From two of the verses below, you are able to see some example of what I mean. For example, the song is set out as a direct address to his Dad, as one of the verses starts with ‘Dear Dad’ also the line ‘In every one of these lines I sing to you.’ As the song is an address it creates a larger amount of emotion in the song and you are able to relate to the artists feelings.

The artist relates the majority of lyrics to memories that he has had and how they have affected him. For example he says ‘I write songs, I can’t listen too’ this is true as in numerous interviews, he has said that he cannot listen to the song as he becomes very emotional. One of the memories that he shows is ‘I wasn’t even 5, life’s a journey and mine wasn’t an easy ride’ this shows a memory which he has had and put into the lyrics to make them more heartfelt and so that the audience may be able to relate to the lyrics.

With the lyrics, it is almost like the artist is getting all of the memories off of his chest by making and singing this song. The Audience gets the sense of regret and bad feeling with the line ‘Last thing I said to you was I hated you’ which shows that he regrets not making things better with his father before it was too late, as his father died in 2008. Meaning the song is directed to him and sung in an address so that the artist can say the things he has wanted to say.

‘Dear dad,

As a kid I looked up to you,
Only thing was I never saw enough of you
Last thing I said to you was I hated you,
I loved you but now it's too late to say to you
Just didn't know what to do and how to deal with it,
Even now deep down I still live it
To think, I used to blame me,
I wonder what I did to you to make you hate me
I wasn't even 5, life's a journey and mine wasn't an easy ride
You never even got to see me rap,’

‘Everything I have, I give to you
In every one of these lines I sing to you
My job's more like public service
My life just became yours to read and interpret
If you heard it it'd come across a lot different at times
I throw fits when I read how they word things
You see me smile
Now you're gonna have to see me hurtin'
Coz pretending everything is alright when it ain't, really isn't working’

Music

The music in this video has a mixture of fast and slow beats which is typical of the Hip-Hop genre which is falls under. The beats are created by drums being played in the background which is also typical of the genre. These beats are complemented by the contrast is the voices of Emeli Sande who sings the chorus and some backing vocals and the wrapping from Professor Green. The beat picks up with the fast paced wrapping of Green in order to keep up with the face of his voice. The beat then slows down and becomes mellow when Emeli sings her part. Changing as the song progresses as in the middle of the song towards the end, the whole of the songs picks up in pace to a fast tempo before finishing on a very slow tempo.

Genre/mise en scene

This song fits under the genre of Hip-Hop with the style of music but not with mise en scene in the music video. There is a three way parallel edit which continues through the whole of the video up until the end. There is Professor Green singing on his own in what looks to be an abandoned warehouse which is ironic to the lyrics of the song as they are about how he was abandoned as a child. Also the idea that Professor Green is singing on his own emphasises the lyrics of the song that he has raised himself on his own, without a father figure. Professor Green also wears dark clothing and is in a dark place which comes with an ominous connotation which is fear and danger. There is a small source of light in the background which gets larger at the end of the song until he gets out into the open. This is showing the idea that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s a metaphor for his audience who may be in the same situation.

Emeli is filmed throughout the song singing on her own, which further emphasises the idea of loneliness. In the shots of Emeli there is the continued view of there being a light and a way out still, as there is a small beam of light shown behind her as well. There is also the same dark clothing worn by Emeli. The change in gender with the singers, further instates to the audience that anyone can fight there way out of a situation like this.

The third side of the parallel edit is a young boy who is representing Professor Green as a child (shown by having similar clothing) and how he struggles to have a relationship with his father. The boy is seen to be rebelling in order to get some attention from his father which he never gets, until the boy end up in the abandoned warehouse. This is where the emphasis of the young boy changes from Professor Green to his audience, as Professor Green walks into the warehouse and therefore showing to the audience that there is a way out.

Voyeurism

There is no voyeurism shown in this music video, as the video is completely about the lyrics and about the sentimental value of a song. Looking at this song from a voyeurism point of view shows the individuality of the song and video and how it is not typical of the Hip-Hop genre. A normal Hip-Hop song would have a lot of female sexual fantasy’s where as this shows none. Throughout the whole video, there is not even a hint of a sexual view or desire.

Star image/Brand

There is no star image or brand that Professor Green is trying to put across in this video; he is trying to connect with his fans in a different way in this video by giving an insight into his past. The audience will get the impression by watching the video, that the clips of the young boy are almost a flash back of his childhood. This idea is also shown by the cross cutting between Professor Green and then the family in the video.

Camerawork

In this video camerawork is key to getting the emotion of the artist across to the viewer this is created by a number of different camera shots and angles. Firstly, the camera angles used in this video are high angles which give the impression to the audience that the artist is inferior. By doing this, the artist is asking the audience to feel sorry for him and also they get more involved into the lyrics

The use of close ups is also important in this video when portraying emotion. With the close ups on the faces of the singers you are able to show the sadness and anger. The close ups also come on the important lyrics such as ‘Dear Dad’ which shows that a lot of thought has gone into the angles and shots in the video to give off the right message. The close ups also allow intimacy between the artist and the audience. Also record companies like the use of close ups, as the voice can be sold with these shots. There is also the use of pans in the video, across the artist singing which also helps the record company sell the song.

In this video, the artist needs to be seen as being on his own to emphasis the lyrics. This is done with the use of long shots in the abandoned warehouse as this makes Professor Green look like a small figure on his own with a lot of dark open space around him. This combined with a high angles works very well together in getting this view across.

 

Narrative/Performance

There is no performance in this video with no real dancing that has been choreographed, as the basis of this song is all about the lyrics. But it does follow a narrative which is the family which resembles the flash backs of Professor Green. This shows the story of how the relationship between the son and father gets worse and worse until it hits breaking point.

 

Editing

The editing of this video matches the beat of the song. With the Emeli Sande parts of the song, there is less cuts between shots due to the beat of the song being slower. The editing being slower automatically comes with the use of long takes which build up the tension and the emotion at the start of the song.

When the pace of the song picks up on the Professor Green parts, this is met by rapid editing as the shots of the artist change very quickly. By doing this, the anger of the music video is intensified. Also there is the use of cross cutting between the family, Professor Green and Emeli Sande which creates the narrative of the video.

Intertextuality

The only intertextuallity shown is this video is the inspiration from Professor Green and the clips of the young child trashing up the house could be genuine memories of his. But the clips shown of the young child could have been from numerous films such as ‘Pay it Forward’ where the young child smashes up his room in order to get the attention of his family.