Analyse of Africa Shox - Leftfield

Afrika Shox - Leftfield
Release Date - 6th September 1999
Genre - Electronica, Progressive House, Drum 'n' Bass, Reggae, and Intelligent Dance.

'Afrika Shox' is a song by Leftfield, the first single released from their album Rhythm and Stealth. The song featured vocals by Afrika Bambaataa, linking in with the name of the song. It was written by Neil Barnes, Paul Daley, Afrika Bambaataa and Nick Rapaccioli, while is produced by Leftfield and Nick Rapaccioli. The song reached 7th in the UK Singles Chart which was the highest position out of all Leftfield singles. The music video was directed by Chris Cunningham.

From an old alleyway comes a black skinned male, maybe a slave but is shown to be like some kind of space alien, who's apperance is skinny and weak making him look very vulnerable. He walks through crowded streets, bewildered and confused. He seems desperate, and no one seems to pay enough attention to assist the man as he looks and feels around for help. As the man bumbs into things, portions of his body start to break off and/or shatter like porcelain. This happens over and over again till he has lost both hands and a foot. Another black skinned man walks over, wearing tribial clothing and is the only other character in the music video that is not of white culture. The man ironically asks if the former needs a hand, giving off the vulnerable state that black people were in America during the slave period, up to the late 1970's and even to the present date. The unitity that they had with each other during these times is shown when the main character is helped by another black skinned male, while no white skinned person helps him when he desparate looked for it. The idea that white people have taken away the lifes of black people, for example taking them away from their families during the slave period, is shown in the music video with white people break-dancing, something which was invented by the black community before white people took it as their own just like everything else that the black people had.

The genre of the music video is mostly shown through the visuals, helping the video to be suitable with the music and with the targetauidence. The establishing shots show a police car driving down a busy street in New York flashing it's lights, this links to the Dance genre side of the music track. Location shots of New York in the USA are also used in the establishing shots. The USA/New York is where the House and Drum 'n' Bass music genres firstly orginated from. The lyrics also link to the music video to suggest the genre of music to the audience. When the main character walks past a wire fence the lyric 'Let's get electrified' is played impling the fence is an electric fence and towards the electronica genre of the song. While also representing New York as dystopic, while also being a futuristic city. The main character then walks in to an underground car park which connates the nature of the roots of the genres of the song, with the genres at the time of the song being made not mainstream with lower interest from