Slickk - Been On Music Video Analysis [tekst, tłumaczenie i interpretacja piosenki]

There is a great deal of nuisance to the artistic elements that make G-Eazy’s “Been On” music video tick. The video, which is a product of director and photographer Bobby Bruderle, is meant to be out of the ordinary from most music videos. It is odd and unique being one continuous scene where the focus of the camera is on one fluid action.

The video is entirely in grey scale. This works to the experiences of Bruderle as a director / cinematographer and at the same time creates a mystique around the video. Bruderle as a photographer has a lot of practice with black and white photography and it works well with the character we are introduced to, G-Eazy whose style, while elegant, is almost entirely black and white.

The black and white also works to symbolize G-Eazy’s musical style and inspirations. Especially earlier in his career, artists like The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Dion and the Belmonts inspired him. These artists are from the ‘50s and ‘60s and have their legacy is mostly shown in black and white. G-Eazy has also done a fair amount of ‘60s samples in his own music. It makes sense that as an artist that aspires to be the best, G-Eazy wants to leave behind a legacy similar to those that have inspired him, especially visually.

This black and white color scheme also plays a lot into the contrast of the video. The contrast and color scheme creates a mystique around the video. At the end of the second verse the background and lighting switches from a grey gradient to a black background. The grey gradient has G-Eazy off the center of the screen, with the focus primarily on the smoke. When it switches the focus is more on G-Eazy as the main character. While we have a close up of his face for the entire video, we are disconnected from him until the point that he turns to the camera with the black background. This contrast that is used in the latter part of the video shows a lot of the details of G-Eazy without bringing him back to color keeping him separated from the audience he is being presented to.

In most music videos you tend to see the artist directing attention to the audience and speaking the lyrics in a similar manner to which they are sung or rapped in the song. While the music is still there to support the video for been on, G-Eazy only once addresses the audience at all and says nothing as a character. This builds to the separation of him and us. The way he expresses himself instead is again through the act of smoking, instead of rapping he exhales during the hooks of the song. The hook is generally meant to be the central idea of the song, and him not giving the audience the time of day and being presented as elegant with the mystifying smoke promotes these lyrics.

So now the question rises, what is the song about and how does it relate to the video. The lyrics of the song are based around the idea that he may not be as well known as other musicians, but he is still on top of the game and has done the same things everyone else is bragging about. Bruderle promotes this by showing a close up of him making us almost uncomfortably personal while at the same time separating him with us by showing him as a glorified profile focused on the smoke in front of him. The one time he does turn to recognize the audience he turns away right after as if we are only barley acknowledged. This works to further add to the superiority he seems to hold over the audience by showing more interest to smoking than to us.

While able to showcase the mystique and royal demeanor of G-Eazy, the video does seem to alienate the audience and create an awkward illusion of not being real. His actions can come off as unnatural and almost bizarre. In the beginning he holds up a lighter, but he does it is a very odd way as if he is two-dimensional. This paired with the shut eyes and scripted actions seem awkward.

Even given these flaws, the video is effective in showing G-Eazy as mysterious and prestigious. Been On as a whole is about being above the rest and experienced while new to fame. Bruderle shows this aptly and uniquely with what is almost more like a moving image than a video.