Kenderick Lamar - Swimming Pools (R&B Genre Analysis)

This was the quick rough evaluation of this video that I did in lesson.

My initial reaction to this video is that it is very fascinating; I like the tempo and how the video stays with it, even in the club when there is allot going on it is all in slow motion and gives a very relaxed and tranquil feel. I like the house setting I think it makes what he is saying very personal, I think the addition of women is unnecessary, it is very stereotypical for music of this genre and it pulls attention from the music.

The video and music combine throughout; there are a lot of cuts throughout the video, especially on the beats and major drops in the music. The cuts change with the tempo, when the music is slower it usually goes back to the opening falling scene and when the tempo speed is up the video is more chaotic. The opening scene reflects the name ‘swimming pools’, Kendrick Lamar seems to be falling or drowning but in air, this is an interesting effect. At the begging he is rapping about his life and family and the shot reflects this, he is sitting in an empty room on a chair to himself, this shows that this is something that is important to him and doesn't need allot of gimmicks and there is alcohol featured throughout at this point it seems that the alcohol is used as an aid to upset. The chorus after this switches to a club scene where alcohol is used in a different way which is for fun and connects people; the shot is black and red and creates the sense of lust and chaos.

There are women dancing in the video, this is something that is often seen in the R&B/Rap genre industry this because within this genre people with money and women have respect from others of the genre. The lighting is dark, especially in the club scene, it has a euphoric atmosphere, this targets the audience as it something they want to experience and they want this lifestyle of money, women, alcohol which are also featured in this video. Throughout the video Kendrick Lamar is the focus, not only is he selling the song he is also selling himself and showing what he owns.