A typical MTV-rap/hip hop/R&B video is easy to recognise, there are simple identifiable key ingredients to tick off that construct the specific genre.
Here are some reoccurring, constantly reproduced, standard components- first of all there’s of course the bling-bling- showing of your ice seems to be a standard, not to mention the constant boasting of grillz, which I personally kinda dig. There’s also the cars- the bigger the better, finally there are the girls– the background darlings, the supporting actresses, always presented as trophies. This kind of a yawn of trite typology ultimately focuses on objectifying everyone and everything.
In this video montage entitled Boats*Cars*Dollars*Girls*Helicopters*Jewellery*Skylines video editor Thomas Traum sets out to “-construct the most generic Rap video out of many-,” splicing together five acts of formu
laic rap video clichés. The title basically speaks for itself summing up a bunch of video clichés in 4 minutes- typical of its genre. It doesn’t really take a brain surgeon to create what already has been done 2000 times before. Sound tracked by Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor – 04 – IV.
Thomas Eberwein (pseudonym Thomas Traum) studied New Media in Lausanne, Switzerland at internationally renowned art school ECAL. He’s currently working as a video director and resides in London. He used to work as a designer at Hi-ReS! and later co-founded The Digital Club.
