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Music Video Analysis - A$AP ROCKY - L$D


Analysis Of song Meaning

Rakim Athelaston Mayers better known as his stage name A$AP Rocky presents a drug fuelled psychedelic ballad which portrays his many experiences with the class A drug Lysergic acid diethyl amide or LSD For short. Throughout the song  Rocky alludes as a girl to LSD throughout the song which can be seen with the opening verse of the song. One of the many effects of LSD as a psychedelic is dynamic, coloured hallucinations and the induction of a strong euphoria, which can last for over four hours. LSD is often portrayed as a girl named Lucy – mainly because of the assertions not received that LSD inspired the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Rocky may be rapping under the influence of LSD, as he praises its consequences on his mind and body or rapping about a girl for whom he has feelings. He has drug like addictions toward this female, even if LSD is not addictive. While LSD means "love, sex, dreams," this is a part of Rocky's songs concept. He is as deep in appreciation for women as his drug relationship. he progresses forward in the song with saying "Girl, I really fucking' want love, sex, dream
Another quarter to the face system Make no mistakes, it's all, a leap of faith for love
It takes a place in, feeling' that you crave doing' love, sex, dreams" A quarter tab of LSD is not a large amount after doing some research, but it will suffice to get you to think of "a leap of faith." It's a blind act, with big or awful results, and risks to love. 
 The song continues into the chorus with the lines "it started Hollywood, dreaming of sharing love my Tongue at a loss for words cause my feelings says it all". While acid sometimes causes problems when you speak, you feel telepathically connected to everything around you or share worlds. To describe his sensations, Rocky has no to use any words. It also should be noted that the first letters of “Dreaming' of Sharing' Love” spell backwards “LSD.” Rocky deals with his issues by using recreational drugs. Driving is his escape route and the cold weather represents feelings of sadness – something Rocky’s dealt with before. 

2021. [online] Available at: <https://genius.com/A-ap-rocky-l-d-lyrics> [Accessed 1 May 2021].

Analysis of Music Video

A$AP Rocky's video for 'L$D' incorporates elements of narrative, concept, and some action, all of which are basic video structures according to theorist Joan Lynch, as there is a basic narrative of meeting a woman in Tokyo, but this is overshadowed by a heavy use of effects, particularly in the cuts between shots, and there is a section of performance lip-syncing. The video may be classified as a'special effects' extravaganza,' one of Jon Gow's six core genres of music videos, due to the heavy use of special effects. It follows some of Andrew Goodwin's typical music video codes and conventions, such as a clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals because the song is about using the drug LSD and also includes themes of love and sex, all of which are depicted in the video to some extent. The entire video, except for the 03:13-04:33 section, is based on a French film set in Tokyo (the same location as this music video) called 'Enter the Void' (directed by Gasper Noe, 2009), which follows similar themes to the song and uses similar settings and effects. The music video was directed by Dexter Navy, who has previously directed videos for A$AP Rocky and other Hip-Hop artists, and co-directed by the artist himself, who is a fan of the film on which it is based.
The song begins with a close up shot of a$ap rocky smoking what appears to be some sort of illegal which adds to a narrative of how he is not afraid to indulge in such behaviour. The camera rotating slowly but progressively speeding around his head will imply that the drugs he is taking are starting to effect. This is completely juxtaposed to the pace of the actual song. The visuals with the help of editing become very distorted once again tying in with the narrative of the song with the scenery slowly becoming brighter referencing the effects of LSD. This relates to Andrew Goodwin theory once again where the lyrics link directly to the visuals of the music video to amply its overall effect. The majority of the video has a heavy use of editing to align with the effects of the drug LSD which can be described as a direct link to the song, for example a reported effect is a distortion of time and this can be seen where the visuals are slowed or when he randomly appears in a new location. The video has a direct link to the song because as the song progresses lyrically he expresses his feelings towards the drug lsd as if he was in a loving relationship. Rocky Breaks typical rap conventions by showing  a love interest with another female instead of having the female be gazed upon. the visuals have no direct link to the music. The song L$D is mellow paced as the visuals tend to speed up and slow down from time to time to be directly link to the songs lyrics of LSD. the overall performance of the song is narrative as well as conceptual based as it explores a drug trip he is experiencing which can be described to a relationship with a female. the video can even be described as experimental as the visuls you are seeing in the video are visuals that are not typically in a normal video let alone a rap song.
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