This video made in a creative way in my opinion because its not a classic music video. It’s more a music video slash short documentary. Jay Z is in Jamaica working on this song with Damian Marley the youngest son of Reggae legend Bob Marley. In the video the music culture and the Jamaican life style is portrayed very well. Jay Z says during the video that being in Jamaica is very humbling. Over all i feel this video has a very nice message.
The song title ‘The story of O.J.’ refers to former NFL player O.J. Simpson who was accused and acquitted for killing his ex-wife and her friend. This trial put a strain on the relationship between the black community of Los Angeles and the LAPD. The title is also a play on ‘The story of O’ which from a famous french novel written in 1954 about dominance and submission. One of the samples used in this song is from ‘Four women’ by Nina Simone, she tells the story of four black women, all with different skin tones, and the struggles they faced. I think this song can definitely be classified as protest song. It carries a strong message about black community and the racism they have had to put up with. The song suggests that no matter if you are rich or poor, light skinned or dar skinned as a black individual you will be criticised by your skin colour and not your success in a racist community.
This song and video have less of a message. I like this video because in my opinion it is creative but simple. There are only three different key scenes in this video. Which is Kanye and Jay-Z rapping in front of the American flag, the two drifting in a modified Maybach and the two in front of some firework display. So although there is not much going on I like the video because of its simplicity.
Leon's Media A Level Blog 