
For my cultural text, at least for this assignment, I chose a music video for a song entitled
Wrap by Headmess.
This song has a very specific audience. There are a few parts of the song that require
you to know certain references. We are expected to know Houdini, who he was and that he
was a magician. We must recognize ‘abracadabra’ as words associated with magic. There
are a few French phrases that we are expected to know: “oui,” “s’il vous plait,” and “toi et
moi.” We are also expected to understand references to King kong, Conan the Barbarian.
These are hardly very exclusive requirements; apart from some of the French, almost
everyone adequately understands these references.
Besides these clues, there are also a large number of more cultural references in the
words themselves. The meaning of phrases like ‘Knockin’ you out ‘til the break a dawn,” and
“work it, mama” has to be clear. Even the understanding of more crass phrases like “lip-
smackin’ tongue waggin’ action from the expert” or “the way I run ‘em up my flagpole” is
assumed. All that these require is basic knowledge of some of our pop culture’s terminology.
The abundance of these almost offensive type of lyrics implies that we are supposed to
recognize a reference to a certain type of song. This category of songs is marked by
bragging and self praise, especially when related to sex. In addition to recognizing the
cultural phrases, listeners must understand these as a reference to this type of song.
There are visual examples of this required cultural knowledge. The vocalist is clad in
sunglasses, a black beanie, a large black t-shirt, baggie pants, and various long necklaces.
The audience for this video is supposed to recognize this as prototypical hardcore rap getup.
His dress in other shots is comprised of a Hawaiian shirt with a floppy hat with the necklaces
and sunglasses again. This type of outfit has also been worn by rappers. Almost every shot
is a type of shot that is very typical in rap videos: a group of men looking down and leaning
over a camera, a man walking the street while gesturing emphatically, a car filled with women,
and visuals of the tires of a car that appears to be bouncing up and down. The images of a
man walking in a long trench-coat spinning a watch is a reference to a pimp-type character
that is assumed to be recognized
Besides the knowledge of these elements of rap videos, we are also supposed to
understand the nerdy character from the beginning and end of the video from his formal
dress, large glasses, and self-conscious mannerisms.
In most ways, the exhibitions of these aspects of current rap culture are somewhat
mocked: the tires on the car obviously do not actually go up and down with hydraulics and the
‘pool outfit’ looks especially goofy. 