Behind the Artist: Artists Image: Icons of Hip Hop

One of the most important factors when creating and image is to identify what makes an artist stand out form other artists in his/her genre and also to understand how that artist conforms to the regular conventions of the genre.

Every artists has their own unique style which we as an audience then associate to that singer. There are however styles that artists with in the same genre share. I have compiled this list of male hip hop artists to contrast and compare the differences and similarities.

1. Jay-Z

Jay Z is considered by many to be the 'King of Hip Hop'. He has owned three very successful record labels and has his pockets in a basket ball team named the Brooklyn Nets.
Not only this but he still holds the record for the most number ones held by a solo artist. The mental image I associate with Jay Z would be a big guy, who never seems openly threatening, however you still get the feeling that he is angered and frustrated by the past and the events going on around him. The clothes he wears are usually big black and heavy all symbols of him as an artist.  In this picture we see him as the decision maker deep in thought as if making a big decision such as deciding the name of his next album.

                                                                        2.Kanye West

Kanye west is also a big artist, but in another are of the genre and is more closely related to the rap side of the industry whereas Jay Z is more closaly associated with mainstream Hip Hop. His image is usually similar to Jay Z with big baggy clothes and a small amount of vulgar jewellery. What makes Kanye slightly different from Jay Z is that Kanye has always been known for using more conceptual themes in many of his videos.   
It is interesting to see that both artists are being represented as powerful leaders of the genre, they both are looking directly at the camera and seem to be in quite a possessive dominant pose with heads held high and their gaze solid.






3. Nas

Nas is a successful rapper and actor, he is also the son of a well known jazz musician named Olu Dara. Nas has released 8 platinum and multi - platinum albums since 1994. My knowledge of this rapper is small however looking at various images of the artist I would say that he is a much more home grown artist who is much closer to his impoverished roots. His outfits seem simple and casual. While he does have pictures of him in smart clothing a lot of his images are typical of that of a modern day gangster ghetto dweller.





4. Akon

Akon is an Senegalese American artist who makes Hip Hop and RnB music. He has founded two successful record labels, Konvict Muzik and Kon live Distribution. His image is mainly of a  soft, successful man overcoming his problems with position and place to become a better person. As an artist Akon has gone through a major change in image, he once was a bad man caught up in trouble and strife but has now become this sensitive millionaire living the high - life, however still burdened by the past. the clothing he usually wears is similar to the a fore mentioned artists, however when performing in his solo songs we see him in very smart and accomplished clothing. I believe the reason that he dresses more casually around his music friends is that he is trying to show how lonely it is at the top.


5. Iyaz

Singer from British Virgin Islands signed on with Beluga Heights records. He is best known fr his No1 Record selling single 'Replay'. The typical image of Iyaz is the young solo artist trying to make it big and who is still in need of that one perfect woman. He likes to dress himself up as a boy from a world surrounded in music, with baggy clothes and trendy casual trainers. The Replay video wanted to make him come across as not only the modern day romeo but also as being an advertising campaign for any teenage trendsetter, among any social group. The colours associated with Iyaz are also quite Caribbean, oranges, yellows and greens, therefore rooting him as a home grown Hip Hop artist.

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From this varied list of artists I feel it is clear that although a lot of them have there unique angles, many of them share very clear connections. Clothing is usually loose and free flowing however still heavy looking and many of the artists involved in the genre are still of Afro- Caribbean American origin. I feel our artist will follow the theme of wearing flowing clothes and also come from similar roots.