For the humor project in English, we were tasked with researching/analyzing different humorists and then creating our own piece of comedic work. Unexpectedly, this ended up being one of my favorite projects that I’ve made in Freestyle. My group and I (me, Milo, Yhali, and Nick) decided to create our own rap song and music video mimicking the style of Bay Area hip hop artists.
Analysis/proposal
Humorist Study
The two comedians that I decided to emulate for my humor project are Weird Al Yancovic and Sasha Baron Cohen. In addition to the fact that I had the pleasure to meet the creator of Borat, I chose both comedians because they are quite similar in their comedic styles.
Weird Al Yankovic is a musician and comedian known for his humorous and satirical approach to music. He is best known for his parody songs, which often mock popular culture and celebrities, as well as his original comedic compositions. Yankovic’s style of comedy frequently employs wordplay, exaggeration, and absurdity to create entertaining and often silly songs. He’s also known for his music videos, which often mimic the style and visuals of the original songs he parodies, while still incorporating his unique spin. Over the past four decades, he has released more than 150 parody and original songs, many of which I remember watching as a kid. The thing I enjoy most about Weird Al is his strategy of poking fun at others. He does it in a way that allows people to laugh at his characters while still not crossing the line to show respect to the people he parodies.
Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedian known for his unique and irreverent style of comedy. He creates over-the-top characters to satirize social and political issues, often pushing the boundaries of what is considered acceptable. One of his most popular characters, Borat, travels from his home country Kazakhstan to the United States with a goal of learning more about Western culture. While in the US, Baron Cohen stays in character while messing with regular people. My favorite part about his style of comedy is the absolute commitment to the act. You have to respect giving something your absolute all one hundred percent of the time, even if you look like a complete idiot. He is so committed in fact, that he has only done a couple interviews out of character. So, imagine my surprise when I actually met him about a year ago and heard a refined British accent instead of Borat’s voice.
While they definitely have their differences, I think that Weird Al and Borat meet in the middle when it comes to the absurdity of both their humor styles. Although possibly the most overt form of comedy, absurdism is also something that takes extreme levels of refinement and practice to perfect, which is why I appreciate both comedians and decided to try and emulate them for my humor project.
Reflection
Like most, I enjoy consuming and partaking in comedy, whether it be online or in person. I love making others laugh, so it’s safe to say that humor has definitely been a big part of my life. I can appreciate different forms of humor, but I must admit that my favorite type of comedy tends to be offensive and satirical.
Early on, I was exposed to sketch comedians like Monty Python, Weird Al Yankovic, and Studio C. I would often run around the house in costume imitating them, singing songs and dancing on my coffee table as the opening act for my nap’s halftime show. Their witty performance style humor left a big impression on me, and set the stage for many of my own short videos in elementary school. It was around that time that I was introduced to late night talk shows through my dad. As a member of the single digit club, I didn’t have the life experience to understand the mature humor that was often dispensed by the hosts. But regardless of the fact most jokes flew over my head, I would watch Trevor Noah from the Daily Show religiously, often repeating catchy words and phrases I had heard nights prior. Through his fantastic storytelling and witty humor, I was introduced to current events around the world while still maintaining the lighthearted innocence that all children should get to keep.
As I’ve grown older, my taste in humor has aged with me. Studio C became Family Guy, and Weird Al Yankovic transitioned into a slightly better looking — and a more than slightly offensive — Sacha Baron Cohen. Watching his characters challenge social norms while simultaneously making fun of unsuspecting people is absolutely hilarious to me. My favorite part about his humor style is that it really knows no boundaries. It can be self deprecating, culturally insensitive, or even just hands down racist, and yet still be okay because no one specific group of people is ever spared in the process.
Having had the chance to analyze, study, and think about the many types of humor out in the world, I’ve come to realize that the best comedians use their platforms to bring people together. Whether it be making fun of ourselves, a group of people, or a certain situation, at the end of the day jokes are just jokes. Although many see humor as something that can offend, I see it as a tool that allows us to analyze the complicated world we live in through the lens of something not so serious. Through my humor project, I hope to carry on this mission of lighthearted introspection that yesterday’s comedians left to us. Just like the great comedians that shaped my sense of humor, I hope we can all laugh together, and hopefully, not take my project too seriously.
Our first step in the process was writing a song. This came pretty easy to all of us, as we are all certified gangstas. I ran out of space in my media library, so all of our documents are just going to be written out.
Script
650 academy
MU$$ Verse
Pulled up bpl, where my fuckin strap
Lookin for them opps, gang got my back
See kip down the hall, we boutta get wrapped
Rolling up, sippin drank, feelin like a nap
Call me Ripley, the way my head clean
Slaying aliens with my fucking beam
dabbing on these haters, I feel like Mr. Clean
sipping on that that thanos, I’m talkin purple lean
Looking for my thotty, oh no she gon flee
a real ass thug, keep a draco when i pee
this that heat beat, straight from mv
got that fresh cut, you know my shit clean
All fuckin this mud, got me deep in my z’s
My ops pay me, no shit ain’t for free
650 out the mud, man you know how I be
Just a normal chino, from Franklin street
T$ Verse
MV gang, 650 be my crib
Don’t like reservations so I steal casino chips
Imma big boy, eatin dinner with no bib
Takin my tortilla, find the guac then I dip
Choppin down the block hit my opps with a sock
It was kinda used felt like a rock not a mop
Wrung that shit out white spillin out the top
Pop Pop Pop you were here now you not
Unload my clip, I’m a certified shooter
Your man’s don’t got no shit, he’s a certified loser
Swipin sideshows in my certified cruiser
Hit a fat fool, that shit a certified bruiser
Hood be a warzone, soundin like ukraine
Real big wall, got miggy hoppin with a sprain
Free my homie Ansel, cuz I know cuzzo got framed
FR tho, is it a crime to want a chain?
650-$hebo Verse
Stackin all my cheese in a pile like some legos
‘Member days when id pour up back in Mr. Grecos
Always stay transparent brodie just like Im a gecko
Hot like a pepper I ain’t talkin bout Pimiento
Don’t sleep on me little boy I can hear you snore
Lil bro a nerd built like TI-84
Popped my own momma cus she gave me hella chores
If you can’t whip the tesla ima just assume you poor
Free lil bro Ansel got him locked up in the pen
Prayin he don’t drop the soap in front of other men
Ion fuck with lil bills I aint rockin wit them tens
Ops swear they got motion but surrounded by fake friends
Told momma I was joining the academy
No not the film one that shit is some blasphemy
Man you know all these bars are crispy
This big shebo Signing off in 650
lil jonny Verse
Hold on Hold on Hold on
Lemme switch the Language
Todos, Nosotros
Venemos del bahia
Todos, Nosotros
Tomamos la sangria
Pasamos por la vida
Buscando que motiva
Todo-mi-rima son latina
Necesito disciplina
Viene su futuro
Mas rápido que tuyo
Pero la vida
Nunca fue seguro
Todo que pienso
Todo es profundo
650
Ese es mi mundo
Que todavia
ansel con la policia
llamamos a eso
problema humanitaria
Sangre de dios, causo un problema
jhonnie es mi nombre
Dentro la sistema
Soy un poeto
Y eso es poema
While in the studio, we all recorded our verses and adlibs. Mr. Flo had a great time recording us and giving Milo feedback on his Spanish verse.
Filming for our music video was a lot of fun. We went to around three locations and went through a full iteration of the song each time. While at each location, we also filmed slow motion b-roll which we ended up overlaying onto our rap verses.
Pictured left to right: Jesus, Miguel, Yhali
The Adobe Audition workspace where I edited together all of the vocals. I inserted voice effects like pitch correction and reverb for the main vocals as well as the adlibs. I also included sound effects for the parts where they made sense, like when Nick said “blasting aliens with my mothafuckin beam”.
The Premiere Pro workspace where I put together the music video. Having five different locations to edit in was difficult at first because I wasn’t too sure how to arrange my workspace to make editing through different shots efficient. Eventually, I figured out a good way to do it and breezed by changing angles. Unfortunately, some of the slow motion shots didn’t end up keeping their high FPS off of download, so I had to wait for Yhali to put them through Google Drive to finish.
From shopping for that blueberry Faygo to pouring up on camera, this project was hella fun to make. We chopped around the hood looking for our opps and totting our blickies. All I’m gonna say is, don’t mess with 650 Academy.