My conference draft is found below:

Black and Yellow: Wiz Khalifa’s Regional Representation

Large, northeast, urban settings are known for their diversity. It is rare that an entire city is able to unite over a sweeping, shared experience or emotion about the place that they called home and when this does occur, it often has a lot of power. In 2010, Wiz Khalifa released his song “Black and Yellow” which was essentially an ode to Pittsburgh and was received by the region’s residents with unswerving love and support. The music video, released later that year, only solidified this feeling and the song was soon adopted by all of the major sports teams and became the unofficial anthem for the city. However, despite the song’s broad, regional appeal, it has not seemed to connect as personally with residents of the area as one would assume. Although the music video for Wiz Khalifa’s song “Black and Yellow” appears to be a thorough and varied representation of the culture of Pittsburgh, it actually flattens the identity of the region into one person’s experience and thus is not a valid critical lens.  This video seems to solve for Powell’s concerns about supposed critical regionalist pieces being inaccurate with its diverse visuals but it instead falls victim to Eggener’s concerns.

Douglas Reichert Powell, in his essay “Connecting Politics and Culture in the American Landscape”, adapts Kenneth Frampton’s definition of critical regionalism and uses the key term “social invention” to ground and describe his interpretation of the purpose of this analytical lens. He defines a region in a much less geographical sense, saying that it “is an understanding of some places’ commonalities with, and differences from, other places” (Powell). More specifically, Powell believes that a critical regionalist piece should elevate people’s consciousness regarding what they may have previously thought of as just a place or space. He defines a “social invention” as a middle ground: “more deliberate than a passive social construction, but less instrumental than direct forms of social action” (Powell 8). The key component to social invention, though, is evidence of a critical process that allows for a back and forth among people. Powell provides multiple and varied examples of linking a place with cultural leading to notable social change, such as reactionary or progressive change. By bringing the term “social invention” into the discussion of regions, it allows for what was before a mere common space to become a web of multifaceted, interdisciplinary connections just by recognizing and having discussion, or even disagreement, over a mutual circumstance or custom. Thus, despite inevitable disparities between people and experiences, civilians realizing and debating “social invention” in an area provides rhetoric for grounding discussion of regional culture and promoting positive change.

Wiz Khalifa’s music video for his song, “Black and Yellow”, features numerous visuals that seem to cover the breadth of experience that Powell wants from critical regionalist work. The video begins with multiple shots spanning the Pittsburgh skyline and features many upscale commercial complexes and skyscrapers including the BNY Mellon Center and One PNC Plaza. The notable aspect of these shots is that they are taken from the ground, looking up at the tall buildings while also moving forward on the streets below; essentially, the exact same view a native of the region would have of the city’s impressive skyline while he or she is going about their daily business. The music video then delves into Wiz Khalifa’s personal connection to the city when it cuts to a street sign, the intersection of Chatsworth Avenue and Berwick Street. This is the area of Pittsburgh in which he grew up and the video depicts what natives of the region already know: residents of this section of the city are fairly low income.

The first line of the chorus “Repping my town, when you see me you know everything” is an example of quintessential Pittsburgh pride. In the video, Wiz Khalifa is rapping to a crowd of hundreds of people, decked out in all sorts of Pittsburgh team gear. Nearly everyone has a terrible towel, the Steeler’s rally towel, and everyone seems to agree with all of his words and are just caught up in the spirit of the song and the city. The notable Powellian aspect of this is that the crowd is very diverse. Many races are represented, as is socioeconomic status. Shots of basic day to day events are intermingled with crowd shots and overall the video seems to cover for the diversity that Powell values in critical regionalist pieces.

Wiz Khalifa’s music video falls into the trap that Powell’s interpretation of critical regionalism avoids: by getting caught up in the spirit of the city, there is no substance that can be gleaned from the video to can promote any sort of social change. Everything about the city is presented in a positive light, from the business sector to the notable bridges to the old smokestacks of the steel mills, by virtue of the camera angle pointed upwards, as if in awe of the structures. All of the people are absolutely brimming with pride for the area; this is blatantly evident through the seas of black and gold jerseys representing various Pittsburgh sports teams. The city obviously has a lot of diversity in terms of race, socioeconomic status, experiences, among other factors, and while it is commendable and powerful that the very different residents of the area can unite over and celebrate their region, it also masks their individual relationships with the space. This makes the video fall afoul of a criticism of critical regionalism that Keith Eggener brings up in his essay, “Placing Resistance: A Critique of Critical Regionalism,”: “[When] one image of a nation’s culture prevails, others have been submerged or suppressed” (231-232). Essentially, even though “Black and Yellow is admittedly Wiz Khalifa’s song and music video, his attempting to represent the entire city within his own experience and relationship makes for an incomplete analysis. Furthermore, combining this aspect with Powell’s focus, it becomes even more difficult to make effective and equitable social change when one person’s relationship with the region is seen as foremost because other’s opinions are even less evident. Overall, the lack of differing viewpoints of or experiences with the region is the deciding factor that eliminates Wiz Khalifa’s music video for “Black and Yellow” from being a cultural representation of critical regionalism.

Wiz Khalifa’s lyrics are actually the most compelling evidence to support Eggener’s claims about critical regionalism. While the action in the majority of the music video is very accessible to an average resident of the region, the lifestyle described in the rap is something entirely different. Most obviously, the chorus is inspired by Wiz Khalifa’s very impressive car, a customized Dodge Challenger, and he goes on to describe its attributes in the first verse, singing, “Hit the pedal once make the floor shake, Suede inside, my engine roaring, It’s the big boy, you know what I paid for it.” The other repeated subjects of his rap include his “diamonds,” “hoes,” and “Cliquot,” none of which are easily accessible to an average citizen. He states in his final verse that with his car and diamonds he “looks unapproachable” and basically that no one can touch him. While it is very easy to get wrapped up in the beautiful, inspiring, regional visuals, the lyrics themselves, arguably the most important part of a song and music video, don’t seem to be very concerned with representing the region at all. Thus, Eggener is very right to be afraid that critical regionalism could lead to misrepresentation of an area through one person subverting their experiences to apply to all and “Black and Yellow” is a prime example.

In conclusion, although the music video initially seems to cover the immense diversity of human experiences in Pittsburgh, “Black and Yellow” is not a true representation of critical regionalism because it does not address any tension or disagreement with the impression that the video puts forth about the area. Wiz Khalifa’s music video, although it features people from different races and obviously different socioeconomic backgrounds, is quite homogeneous in that it only depicts one lifestyle or culture for the region. Although the obvious spirit and unity displayed in the video is admirable, it only shows one aspect of being a resident of the region and thus leaves no room for discussion or, more importantly, disagreement. While the visuals, both of the setting and people involved, cover a lot of the diversity aspects addressed above, the lyrics of the song very clearly pertain to only Wiz Khalifa’s lifestyle. This greatly diminishes the video’s usefulness as a “social invention” and this simplification actually damages the identity of the region as its complexities are overshadowed by one representation. Thus “Black and Yellow” does not provide any fodder for a truly critical evaluation of Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania because it is not completely representative of the culture.