Dream by Dizzy Rascal

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This music video was released in 2004, in his "boy in da corner" album. This album was first released on 21 July 2003 by XL Recordings in the United Kingdom before being released the following year in the United States.

A widespread critical success, Boy in da Corner became one of the most acclaimed records of 2003 and went on to win the Mercury Prize for best album from the UK and Ireland. It also peaked at number 23 on the British albums chart and sold over 250,000 copies worldwide by 2004. The song writer was D.Mills], and the music video was directed by Dougal Wilson, he is known for his adverts for IKEA, Lurpak, Heinz and perhaps most famously John Lewis, Dougal started out by creating playful, humorous music videos. His videos for big names including Jarvis Cocker, Bat for Lashes, Basement Jaxx and Dizzee Rascal are what got him noticed by the ad agencies. This is the music video: 
My original reaction to the music video was:

  • the puppets that are shown in the music video could be there to represent the government controlling the public, or the strings represent control that you need to break away from to gain your dreams.
  • The microphone that was used later on in the video, could symbolize Dizzy gaining a voice as he becomes well known, this therefore shows that as a young black male in London he had no voice.
  • Also the disgrace that is shown on the face of the upper class lady when the police are attacking young black people. This could be there to represent the fact that she , as an upper class lady, has never been exposed to a scene like that. 
  • finally the overall attitude that i found in the video, was that the style of video is out dated, but is very purposeful.
There are uses of muffin the mule, this was a children's program in the 1940's, there is a very close connection to this as the woman and background is similar. It is unknown to why this is as there is no knowledge of Dizzy being a fan. 

There is a link to a song preformed by Captain sensible. This song was called "Happy Talk", the original music that is used in the song by dizzy and captain sensible is from a musical in the 1950's.(called-South Pacific) ~I believe that the reason why the artist used this is because he liked the way that lyrics link into his morals in the song. Moreover, some would say that the artist would of used the number 1 hit in the 80's to attract a wider audience.

This is the original music from South Pacific that Dizzy used:


This song is a Grime track, grime is a genre of music that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of earlier UK electronic music styles, including UK garage and jungle, and draws influence from dance hall, ragga, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated break beats, generally around 130 or 140 bpm, and often features an aggressive or jagged electronic sound. Rapping is also a significant element of the style, and lyrics often revolve around gritty depictions of urban life. This is a short documentary on the rise of Grime:

Overall, I believe that the music video and lyrics are there to show us an autobiographical view on the artists rise to frame.  
 

Semiotics from the video and lyrics:

  • As said before, the puppets are used to show control over the public that the government has. Also another interpretation is that we, as unprivileged humans, are unable to break free and find their dreams.   
  • The use of the old lady relates to 'muffin the mule', as said previously, the lady is used to compare the life style of dizzy to her's. This comparison shows the viewer how Dizzy has had to work to gain his dreams , while the lady has had it handed to her on a plate. The whole music video is a form of an autobiography, this helps reinforce his point that he had to work for a voice.
  • The female and Dizzy seems to be friendly towards each other, as shown when she is promoting his album. This could be showing that the communities that are at the bottom of the wage and social spectrum, want to have equality with the upper class, and they want to have a more equal society were everybody gets a say.
  • The lyrics overall, are very emotive and aimed to shows the struggle that Dizzy went though for example the line, "  you can go far if you put your mind to it, you're a star, do not wait to be told, just do it". This displays Dizzy's view that you need hope and work at the same time to achieve your goals in life, as he had to do this to get to were he is at the time of the music video.

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