"YNW Melly: Suicidal (english version)"

"I thought that we were meant to be, you took my heart and made it bleed", sings the American rapper YNW Melly at the start of the music video. The young man has clearly lost all hope after the breakdown of a relationship and life has lost all meaning for him. He is a man on the brink; as he drowns his sorrows in alcohol, he is tormented by suicidal thoughts.

The artist Tristan Zammit, who is known for his music videos and his cover and poster-art, designed "Suicidal" as an Zum Inhalt: animated single piece. The clip delves into Melly‘s mental world, unleashing an associative rush of pictures: hands or heads mutate into bottles. A tongue turns into a snake, catches fire and burns, turns into a skeleton and ultimately disappears in a brandy bottle. While the images occasionally play with art-historically established images such as the seductive serpent, other passages in the clip visualize the pictorial language of the lyrics. Throughout the clip, he succeeds in visualizing YNW Melly’s feeling of forsakenness and loss of control by depicting him against a Zum Inhalt: black background or in the grip of countless hands. With its concentration on the mental perspective, the music video also builds a bridge to the rapper’s own narrative style, through which he has already addressed various mental health issues such as personality disorders or anxiety in first-person songs. Stylistically, the clip is strikingly similar in aesthetics to Anime, with a rougher, consciously unrefined style. The producer of the clip also cites the influence of the Anime series "Samurai Champloo" (Japan 2004 ff) and "FLCL/Furi Kuri/Fooly Cooly" (Japan 2000-2001)

The video clip can be used in ethics and religion class to discuss the extent to which YNW Melly and his music strike a chord with a young audience while talking about death wishes and suicide. Discussions should focus not just on taking the fears of the protagonist seriously, but also on demonstrating positive perspectives despite his hopelessness, exploring ways out of the crisis and identifying where he might seek help. While an analysis of the lyrics and attempts to write in the rap style would be ideal for English lessons, the associative Zum Inhalt: montage and the new scope for interpretation presented by the pictures, as well as the Zum Inhalt: style of the animation, its origins and the effect of the images can all be addressed in art classes. In Music, the clip naturally demands a treatment of hip-hop and rap and its various forms. This can also include closer examination, in the context of the video clip, of YNW Melly’s biography. He is currently in jail awaiting trial for the murders of two friends (which is probably why he had to appear in “animated” form only in the video). What influence does the behavior of artists have on the reception their work? What ethical issues arise as a result? To what extent can we separate artists’ private lives from their creative work? These questions could also be addressed in a broader context, for example by including similarly controversial personalities.

Exercise sheet "Suicidal"

Subjects: German, English, Ethics/Religion, Music, Art from 10th Grade, from 15 years

A young mean sings his heart out in the midst of an existential crisis. Tristan Zammit, who rose to fame with cover and poster-art, translated the song by the American rapper YNW Melly into an associative kaleidoscope of pictures. kinofenster.de has drawn up an exercise sheet on the music clip for classes from 10th Grade up.

a) Listen to the song “Suicidal” by YNW Melly. Summarize in class what the song is about. What images do you associate with the verses and sounds you heard? Exchange your views using the Zum externen Inhalt: flash light method (öffnet im neuen Tab).

b) Now watch the video clip. What differences and similarities between your images from Exercise a) are especially striking? After that, determine the Zum externen Inhalt: film genre (öffnet im neuen Tab) of the clip directed by Tristan Zammit.

c) Now watch the music video again. Pay attention to how many characters are shown and what effect this has.

d) The refrain goes “Suicidal, your love is suicidal / And lately, I’ve been feeling suicidal”“. To whom is the song addressed? – Who is the lyrical second person?

e) The images in the music video associatively mirror the mental world of the lyrical first person. Some of these pictures refer directly to the verses, others employ a separate imagery. Along with a partner, select at least three images and interpret them. Use the following table on a sheet already containing examples.

f) Present the results of your work in class. Then, using those results as a basis, compare the atmosphere created by the music clip with the mood engendered by the lyrics.

g) The lyrics of the song are written in the first person, who is not to be equated with the author. However, sadly there are people who really are tormented by suicidal thoughts. How would you react if a friend confided in you that they were thinking about suicide? Discuss in class and compare your strategies with those on the website Zum externen Inhalt: www.irrsinnig-menschlich.de/hilfe/suizid/ (öffnet im neuen Tab).

Optional:

h) One of reason why the video was animated was that YNW Melly is in jail, on Zum externen Inhalt: suspicion of murdering two of his friends (öffnet im neuen Tab). Imagine that your mother or father wanted to forbid you from listening to YNW Melly‘s music because they thought it glorified violence. What would you say? Use the relationship between the lyrical first person and the author as one aspect of your argumentation. Write down bullet points and refer to these when presenting your arguments.