Denotations and Connotations Analysis - Nas - One Mic

Denotations: (What you see)	Connotations: (What it means)
P.O.V of car driving along the road	At the beginning and near the end of the music video a P.O.V of what seems to be of the driver of the vehicle is shown driving in one direction, this could represent that the artist is on the right path on the ‘road to success’.
Buildings lights effects	The lights of the buildings are seen fluctuating with the beat, when the tempo of the beat is changed the tempo of the lights fluctuating is also changed, this is to give a visual with the sound of the track.
Artist in empty room	The artist being shown by himself in an empty room can represent that he wants to lead a simple and humble life, as well as wanting to be alone which could be linked with the word ‘one’ from the tracks title.
Musical equipment in empty room	The artist shows musical equipment in his empty room, there is not a lot of equipment but ‘one mic’ ‘one’ set of speakers and ‘one’ artist which could again represent the track title.
Police vehicle and sirens	Police is a typical convention in Hip-Hop videos which is shown negatively, the artist has made use of this convention and shows the job role of the police officer and what he does.
Group of men running from law	The group of men running from the police can represent what the artist had to go through as well as the circumstances some people in society have to live with.
Glass bottle is smashed	The glass bottle being smashed in the ground shows a visual link with the artists lyrics when he says ‘Bus stop glass bursts, a fiend drops his Heineken’, when this sentence is said the artist is referring to a gun being put to use, the audience that understand this sentence is then given an ironic glass bottle being smashed on the floor as to represent the end of a life.
Image of Jesus	The image of Jesus could have been used to represent the artist’s faith.
Riots	The riots that go on in the music video between villagers and the local authority can represent the artists inner balance which they are trying to portray as being unstable as the lyrics and the way they are said are more aggressive and seem to have a deeper meaning for the artist.
P.O.V of rock being thrown	The P.O.V of the rock being thrown can represent the aggression and the lyrical flow of the artist’s style.
Artist stands up in empty room	The artist stands up from a seating position at the start of the last verse; this could have been done to show the artist being ready to perform his last verse, it could also have been used as a visual to introduce the powerful lyrical content of the last verse.