Professor Green- Read All About It
(By Joe)
Professor Green also known as Stephan Manderson is a british rapper and singer song write. He has worked with vocals such as Lily Allen, Emile Sande, Example, Labrith and many more. In this single 'Read all about it', the rapper from hackney collaborated with Emeli Sande which is the first single from his second album 'At You inconvinience. Unlike Professor Green's usual genre of rap with all the associated convetions, this single is bridged between the two genres of pop and rap.'Read all About it' reached the top of the official uk chart company and remains to be in the uk top 40 for numerous weeks later.
Background-
Lyrics
'I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
So put it in all of the papers, I'm not afraid
They can read all about it, read all about it
Oh
Nothing to hide
Strive for the smother
Suffered and cried
Strife made me tougher
Never mumbled or shy'd
The trouble i rise above em
Expectations to get rep
Ain't never begged yet
When I wanted to get pence, hustle,
To be, I'm exactly what my neck says.. Lucky
That sket said I tried to cash in on my Dad's death,
I wanted to vent but I said fuck who
After all you were never kin to me,
Family is something that you never been to me,
In fact making it harder for me to see my father was the only thing thatYou ever did for me
I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
So put it in all of the papers, I'm not afraid
They can read all about it, read all about it, oh
Dear dad..As a kid I looked up to you,
Only thing was I never saw enough of you
Last thing I said to you was I hated you,
I loved you but now it's too late to say to you
Just didn't know what to do and how to deal with it,
Even now deep down I'm still livid
To think, I used to blame me,
I wonder what I did to you to make you hate me
I wasn't even bad, life's a journey and
Mine wasn't an easy ride
You never even got to see me rap,
I just wish you woulda reached out,
I wish you woulda been round when I been down
I wish that you could see me now,
Wherever you are I really hope you find peace
But know that if I ever have kids,
Unlike you I'll never let them be without me
I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
So put it in all of the papers, I'm not afraid
They can read all about it, read all about it, oh
I write songs i cant listen to,
Everything I have, I give to you
In every one of these lines I sing to you
My job's more like public service
My life just became yours to read and interpret
If you heard it it'd come across a lot different at times
I throw fits when I read how they word things
You've see me smileNow you're gonna have to see me hurt
Coz pretending everything is alright
When it ain't, really isn't working
I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
So put it in all of the papers, I'm not afraid
They can read all about it, read all about it, oh
I ain't censoring myself for nobody
I'm the only thing I can be,
All that is good, all that is bad, all that is, me
I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
So put it in all of the papers, I'm not afraid
They can Read all about itRead all about it, oh
To introduce the video, the tatoo of the artist is indicated which is a symbol that the audience can refer to for knowing who the Professor Green is. The tracking long shot in time with the pace of the strings establishes the house and sets the despondant atmosphere. The mise en scene thorugh the music video by the artists is black which is in respect to mourning Professor Green's father who the video is dedicated too. It accomapnies the natural lighting of just the sun coming into the warehouse which again sets the melancholic scene.
Throughout the music, the lyrics are manipulated to illutrate the visuals. There are various examples with one being where there is a younger Profressor green represented in the bedroom thinking about all his problems. This is suggested by "I wandered what i did to make you hate me, I wasnt even bad, lifes a journey and mine wasnt an easy ride". From this, the lyrics reveal that the young Profressor Green is thinking about the problems he faces at home and what he has done wrong. The young boy being isolated in low key lighting and the mid close up of his emotions reveals he often felt he wasn't part of the family.
The relationship between the visual and the music is clear throughout the whole music video. Firstly, there is a steady beat throughout the video that gets cut in time notably at the end of each verse. Doing this helps distinquish the contrasts between the narrative and the performance shots thus allowing clarity of the past and the present. The relationship between the lyrics and tempo is clear too as the pace of 'I wanna sing, I wanna shout, I wanna scream till the words dry out, so put it in all of the papers, I'm not afraid, they can read all about it' is sang with strings and a slow tempo which creates the calmness atmosphere to reflect on what Professor Green is saying. When the line "I wanna shout" is sung, there is a over the shoulder shot of Professor Green's mother in the shot suggesting he wants attention and then a low angle shot is used for when his father looks down on him. The handheld camara focusing on his father makes it become clear to the audience that he is the main focus as the acompaniying of the violin makes us feel dejected to Professor Green's loss.
The image of Professor Green is a slightly changed one in this video compared to what he has realesed before, as he shows more emotion through his lyrics and talks about personal things in his life like loosing his father at a young age and talks about growing up without a father figure in his life. Professor Green is portrayed as an emotional person who wants to prove himself and for everybody to know the truth about when his step-mum went to the papers saying he tried to cash in on his dads death, this is shown in the line 'I wanted to fend but I never said f*** all'. The clothes, settings etc. all build the image they wanted to create.
The video has many characteristics of a typical rap video, also mixed with other genres conventions. The visuals link to the music and to the lyrics and music. All of the aspects of the video come together to build a different image to the one we are used to seeing of him.
