Video Analysis – Jun Hyung Park
“On It” is an English rap song made in collaboration with AOMG artists DJ Wegun and Gray. Jay Park, being a Korean American hip-hop artist, has performed many songs that emphasize English rap and lyrics, in contrast to the ballads and dance music that is popular in mainstream Korean media (Um 2013: 57). The lyrics often reference his background as an Asian American, which reflect his own thoughts on a variety of topics. The visual elements, such as the filming and choreography are also heavily influenced by his experience as a hip-hop dancer and b-boy. I will analyze this music video as an artistic text, focusing on how the heavy authentic American hip-hop influence appeals to the general international and American audiences.
Part of the American influence that stands out in “On It” is the lyrics, including rhymes, flows, and intertextual references. The complex rhymes laid on top of a trendy Gray beat, combined with the meticulously designed flows serve as “the essential technical and aesthetic criteria for the ‘serious’ underground hip-hop artists” (Um 2013: 57). The lyrics do a great job of showing this “seriousness” in the track. For instance in the hook, the expression “on it” refers to Jay Park being on top of the hip-hop scene, from which he has “never fallen off” and where he will “stand the test of time.” This shows his confidence as well as the ambition to become a great timeless artist.
Another interesting aspect of the song’s lyrics is its intertextual references to American pop culture. Lines such as “electrifying like Benjamin Franklin with a kite…,” “what I have common with Martin Luther is that I’m a ‘King’ too,” and “you can call me Falcon Millenium” are examples of how Jay Park cleverly references American culture in his lyrics. This makes the lyrics relatable and fun for the American and international audiences who understand the wordplay and the references.
Last point about the lyrics that makes this song a hit with international audiences is it bring up topics that are not often discussed in other genres. Much like other English songs that “portray Korean Americans’ migrant/diasporic experiences” (Um 2013: 56), “On It” includes lyrics that speak about Jay Park’s own diasporic experiences. For example, “Guess I’m an architect the way I’ve built my career from the bottom up” is referring to rebuilding his career as an artist, following his scandal and expulsion from 2PM. “Surprised to see a kid from K-pop spit like a beast” refers those who doubted Jay’s success as a rapper, because he is from K-pop. Even outside this song, particularly in interviews, Jay often speaks about being underappreciated and having to work extra hard to earn respect as an Asian artist in America.
Aside from the lyrics, there is heavy American influence in the choreography, filming, and the set of the video as well. This is done because American audiences tend to not enjoy a diluted version of their own music, but rather appreciate and “crave the authentic” (Jin and Ryoo 2014: 127). Therefore, the entire video is made to look as authentic as possible using the four key elements of hip-hop: rapping, DJing, breakdancing, and graffiti art (Hare and Baker 2017: 3). The choreography is classic hip-hop and breakdancing which originates from America. Throughout the video, Jay and his crew show off many technical breakdancing moves, in between shots of Jay rapping and gesturing in front of the camera. The close-ups, tracking shots, and medium shots of the rapper, dance crew, and DJ as seen in this video are common techniques in American hip-hop music videos. Lastly, the set is created to resemble an abandoned construction in the streets, complete with graffiti, traffic cones, sirens, roadblocks, a run-down building and work lights. Since hip-hop originated in the urban, inner city streets of America, the set resembling the streets increases the visual authenticity of the video.
Written by: Jun Hyung Park
Bibliography
Hare, Sarah, and Andrea Baker. “Keepin’ It Real: Authenticity, Commercialization, and the Media in Korean Hip Hop.” SAGE Open 7, no. 2 (2017): 1-12.
Jin, Dal Yong, and Woongjae Ryoo. “Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-Pop: The Global- Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics.” Popular Music and Society 37, no. 2 (2014): 113-31.
“On It.” AZLyrics. https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jaypark/onit.html (accessed 11/27/2018).
Um, Hae-Kyung. “The Poetics of Resistance and the Politics of Crossing Borders: Korean Hip-hop and ‘Cultural Reterritorialisation.’” Popular Music 32, no. 1 (2013): 51-64.
“박재범 JAY PARK – ON IT (Feat. DJ WEGUN) Prod. by GRAY.” Youtube video, 4:00. Posted by “JAY PARK,” April 3, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_oV72tufE.