Analysis of Amnesia by Skepta

Amnesia by Skepta

Skepta is a UK grime artist that has broadened his audiences by diversifying his style of music he produces. This song Amnesia, is a mix between grime, and club (house) music. The lyrics are performed over a house instrumental which gives the song an unusual twist but it is done successfully with the help of the video.

The video has mainly contextual and narrative ideas in it with a bit of performance. The narrative in this video is so strong that you could fairly understand what has happened in the video without hearing the lyrics. The basic idea of the video is that people gout, binge drinks, get drunk, do something embarrassing and in the morning when they are hung over they always say they will never drink again. ‘Here come that classical line, I’m never drinking again’ that line from the song is repeated throughout verses and before the chorus.

Goodwin’s 6 point analysis on music videos is clearly been put into practice in this music video. Genre characteristics of a house music video would require the setting to be in a club, which it is. It is set in one of the most renowned clubs in Ibiza (the party capital of Europe) Amnesia.  Genre characteristics of grime had to be non-existent as this song is for mainstream audiences.

Another point Goodwin made in his music video analysis was that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. In this video this technique is used on multiple occasions. Skepta says ‘last night was sick, oh what a city I lost my phone though oh what a pity’ and the camera takes an extreme close up shot of an I phone with someone flicking through pictures of the wild night. Also Skepta describes waking up with a note from a girl that he doesn’t remember which is a common occurrence that happens after wild drunken nights out. ‘I woke up with a note that said sorry I had to go ILY’

The demands of the record label usually are that there are lots of shots of the artist in the video. This is definitely the case in this video with Skepta appearing in every shot with a variety of camera angles, mainly close ups.

There is a use of a screen inside a screen effect in the video. The stolen I phone displays images of what has just happened in the main narrative of the music video.

To conclude, this music video by Skepta has successfully used Goodwin’s six point analysis to meet the demands of the record label and its target audience.