Goodwin Analysis

Lil Wayne - Fireman
Hip-Hop/Rap Genre


1. Music video demonstrates genre characteristics (eg. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band)


Both the visuals and the lyrics demonstrate the songs' genre. There is a lot of objectification of women (shots of women in short shorts etc., shots of his gaze following women as he passes them as though checking them out). Lil Wayne is dressed in a typical hip-hop star fashion, with low slung trousers, baggy t-shirts, sunglasses, 'bling' such as big watches, earrings, chains, the band of his boxers displayed just over the band of his trousers. His dancing is hip-hop style also, he uses his hands a lot, shaking them in time to the beat at the screen at one point. There are no instruments at all.


2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)


The lyrics are quite abstract and I don't understand a lot of them, but from what I understand him being 'the fireman' is symbolic of the power he commands. All the girls want him, he can throw away money ("money too long teachers put away ya rulers"), his life is effortless and he commands respect ("Everything is easy baby"). One of the lyrics states: "I don't even need a G-pass, I'm past that". He's saying he's well-known and powerful enough that he doesn't even need a 'G-pass', in other words a pass for gangsters. The song is all about him, and his return, and the fact that though he hasn't changed, he has come back better.





His message is reflected in the visuals which I would say are amplifying - they are not entirely illustrative as there is not an exact story-line to illustrate and they do add new layers of meaning to the song, however they do follow some of the main, core lyrics. There are shots of the girls that follow him, CUs of their bums, of him dropping money onto the floor as if it means nothing to him, of him rapping surrounded by fire, striding around in a powerful and commanding way. At the beginning it also striding in through a door and walking up a corridor and dressing himself as he raps 'I'm back'.


3. There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)


4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of CUs of the artist (visual hook), and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style). These inclue CU of the star's face (the 'money shots'), iconography of band image, visual trademarks/motifs.





Lots of CUs of Lil Wayne are included, either pointing or shaking his hand at the screen as he raps, and also a lot of money or 'beauty' shots - CUs of his face. After doing  a bit of research into Lil Wayne I also found out that, although not included in this video, Lil Wayne's trademark in a lot of his work is a red bandana either tied around his arm, head, or tucked into his pocket, which is evidence of Lil Wayne as an artist developing an identity for himself.


5. There is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc.) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body)





There is heavy emphasis on the female body in this music video. It is implied that a lot of the women in the video are prostitutes or hookers, and there are lots of CUs of bums, stomachs, and breasts. Not only this but the women are scantily clad, and the camera seems to follow their bodies. As well as frequent shots of him looking at or checking out women, they seem to be checking him out in a lot of the shots as well, so both him, as the artist, and the women involved in the video are on sexual display.


A lot of the looks exchanged between him and the other characters seem to be quite suggestive.


Lil Wayne looking directly at the camera as he raps creates an emotional connection between him and the audience.


6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, etc.)


Intertextual references in this music video inclue:

• Draw McGraw: a cartoon character who was a sheriff in the old West.
• Cash Money Records (his record label), "Where dreams come true" (referrencing Disney)
• Jordan and Peyton: Michael Jordon, Peyton Manning, notoriously driven and intense athletes
• Toucan Sam: the mascot for Fruit Loops