MARK KAMARA - A2 MEDIA PORTFOLIO

In some songs, a lot of lyrics can hold a deep meaning, however I feel that even with only five lyrics, this track still does have a lot of meaning. The first concept that can be taken from these lyrics is the fact that people are always aspiring to be someone greater than they are, which could be in the form of trying to be like a famous or wealthy person, or in the form of not accepting who they already are. The word, ‘Somebody’ could also suggest that a person is not ‘Somebody’, unless they have made it in something, such as in the music industry, which I feel is an accurate representation of Western society, in terms of how much people favour the lives of Celebrities, even though half of the time, they don’t do anything productive, or useful for humankind, such as Kim Kardashian, who plainly gets paid for just living, and showing off. In essence, this lifestyle is what the lyrics are suggesting that people aspire to have, as it suggests an easy life, where people can live freely, and get anything that they want to.

 

The fact that the word ‘Everybody’ is used, also suggests that the artist is saying that every single person is influenced with this desire to be someone else, other than what they are. This can be linked to the early stages of a Child’s development, as people are constantly asking Children what they would like to be when they are older, thus making them feel that they have to be someone successful, most commonly, a Doctor or a lawyer, etc. I slightly agree with the use of ‘Everybody’, as I feel that people in the developed world, i.e. one dominated by western society are more likely to aspire to be greater than they are, however I also disagree with this word, as I believe that people in the developing world, or who are very poor, will not have the time or luxury to want to be greater than they are, and just accept life, for what it is, living it, without this urge of needing to be greater than they are.

 

The words, ‘Wants To Be’ also suggest that the people who are aspiring to be greater than they already are, have the choice, as a pose to if the lyrics contained a phrase, such as, ‘Everybody Needs To Be Somebody’. This backs up my idea of the majority of people in the developed world, having this luxury of being able to become something more than they already are.

 

Throughout the song, ‘Be Somebody’, ‘Somebody’ and ‘Everybody’ is repeated a lot, as well as echoed continuously. This creates a sense of the artist hypnotising the listeners, to believe and accept this urge of wanting to be greater than they are. Moreover, it could also be showing the artist’s state of mind, highlighting that they have been, or are being forced by dominant society, to be greater than they are. This also links to the music industry, as the artist could be singing about the fact that audiences are always expecting too much, and that you constantly have to grow as an artist to be able to meet their needs. Additionally, this is supported by the fact that the vocals are being repeated over and over again, from the verses, up to the chorus. Furthermore, this House song has been remixed and constructed electronically, and electronic music tend to be repetitive, so I feel that the repetitive instrumentation, links to my idea above.

 

With these five lyrics, I feel that Amid, Trenay and I could explore a multitude of concepts for our music video, and of course, in my opinion, the most interesting one would be to subvert the fact that ‘Everybody Wants To Be Somebody’, possibly showing how people want to be nobody, or to not want to conform with the masses. I believe that these are the types of concepts that go well with the Dance and House genre, and from all of the research I have conducted, I am confident that Amid, Trenay and I will all agree on a creative concept, which can be expanded, providing us with a strong narrative element for our music video.