Week 8 Video Reviews
Whatta Man
Artist's Name:
Salt-n-Pepa was one of the first all female hip-hop trios. The group, consisted of Cheryl James ("Salt"), Sandra Denton ("Pepa") and Deidra Roper ("DJ Spinderella"),
Song Title:
"Whatta Man"
CD/Album Title
Very Necessary
Year
1993
Record Company
Next Plateau
Director
Matthew Rolston
Narrative of Video:
The video starts with a series of fast moving scene changes featuring women. The camera shifts to a man playing pool and back to the group of women. One woman with short hair and not wearing much clothing begins to rap. The camera moves in close and back out again. The scene flashes to the image of a woman in a darkened room then back to the rapper and the group of women. The scene changes to a group of male and female dancers in the same darkened room. The camera continues to shift up close to some of their faces and the video returns to the female rapper and the group of women behind her. Another woman begins rapping. She has medium long brownish hair. The scene changes and she is with a man who is muscular and lifting weights. She is stroking his body. The scene changes back to the group and this woman is now in front doing the rapping. The scene flashes to her in the bathtub with a lot of bubbles then back to the crowd scene again. There are men in the crowd too. A third woman begins rapping in the crowd scene. The scene changes to her in front of a fire with a man. They are touching each other suggestively. The scene returns to the crowd scene and then to this woman who is dressed in a black lace top and short black shorts. The scene shifts again to her and her man and then back to the crowd scene again. There seems to be more people in the crowd. Some of the women in the crowd are dancing and occasionally a man will do a flip across the stage. The camera moves in close on each of the three female rappers' faces and back out to show the crowd. The main rapper changes again to the woman with short dark hair. The scene changes to her in her bedroom. One shot shows her alone, the next with a man kissing her neck. The video returns again to the crowd scene. The scene changes to the bedroom again and female rapper is laying across the bed. A fast series of changes shows her, then two children, then her again and back to the crowd where the camera moves across the crowd then centers back on the female rapper. The camera continues to move across the crowd stopping for a brief second on each of the rappers then moving out so that the whole crowd can be seen. A choreographed dance begins. The camera shows the dancers and then again moves in close up on each of the female rapper's faces. The camera moves out for another wide shot of the crowd as the video comes to an end.
How the Music and Video Relate:
The video does a very good job of providing images that work well with the lyrics of the song. The tempo of the song is upbeat and the video images move quickly to accentuate the words in the song's lyric.
Review:
This video seems to turn the tide on the men's videos that show women as sexual objects. While the women are dressed somewhat sexy, they are not scantily dressed. The quick moving images flow well with the words in the song.