CD Covers Research

This is the cover for rapper Nas debut album; Illmatic. The layout of this is quite simple with a landscape shot of a block which is presumeably his, mixed in with this image is another image of a young boy presumeably a young Nas. On the top right is Nas’ name and on the bottom left is the album name. to go into further detail as to why the cover was layed out like it is may have been due to the the fact that as the album was Nas’ debut the image of the young boy could be a representation of Nas position in the rap game (at that time) and the picture of the block could be to represent the idea of the sound of music he creates and where he is coming from. The style of this cover was quite typical of the time (1994) as most  rap artist’s covers then werent the most professional looking due to the fact that most of them couldn’t afford to produce such covers. The target audience of this album would’ve be been people aged around 16+ and that lived a similar lifestyle to him.

This is the back cover. The layout of this is quite messy (in terms of the positioning of the track listing), on each side of the back cover are the side panes, the background shows what seems to be a fly tipped location with a strong sepia effect on it. The whole idea of the track listing being laid out like it is could mirror the image and the messiness of it. The fact that the image is sepia could also represent the idea that this album is quite nostalgic and close to home to the artist.

This is the disc for Nas’ Illmatic. The CD looks very similar to a vinyl due to the way the text is laid out and also because of the lack of logo or imagery, this may have been incorporated to again reinforce the whole nostalgic feel to the album. In terms of colour scheme, the CD is quite plain but effective with a striking use of the colour red. This colour may have many reasons; for example Nas was from New York (east side) where the infamous ‘Bloods’ gang reside from  he may have used this to represent them it could also be a reference to the different meanings of the colour red (passion, love danger) all feelings which may have some sort of meaning and relation to him.

This is the inlay; unlike the average album this inlay contains no text. The image of this inlay is a reversed image of the front cover this gives the illusion that the child is constantly looking at the viewer.

                                                                                                                                              

This is The Notorious B.I.G’s 2^nd album ‘Life After Death’. As is shown by the image and text, the album is based heavily around death. The main image shows a picture of Biggie leaning on a hearse. This conveys that the theme of his album is about death (as the mise en scene is themed heavily around a funeral). The shot type is a wide shot which has been shot in black and white; this gives the image a deathly and depressing feel. In terms of body language Biggie is shown to be slouching as if the idea of death has become so normal to him that he no longer cares. The title of the album ‘Life After Death’ is written in a handwritten font (similar to what is written on a death certificate) and in a fiery colour which could be an allusion to hell and also a cremation ceremony (the former being a theme that Biggie explored heavily on his last song before this album). The font used for his name is very funeral text looking in a yellow/gold colour; again this corresponds with the whole death/funeral theme.

This is the back cover of ‘Life After Death’ the main image shows a the rappers back turned towards the back cover. The idea of showing his back could simply be a metaphor of the fact that his back is on the back cover of the cd and therefore it could simply be a gimmick. In terms of its shot type; it is quite a midrange shot at a slightly low angle this could be to show what Biggie was wearing but also to show him effectively on the cover due to the fact that there isn’t a lot of space. The use of the angle could be used to show Biggie’s imposing size and to reflect his namesake.  The way Biggie is standing shows him to be standing upright and stern as if he is looking up at something this could maybe represent the idea that he is confident and not afraid of the possibility of death something which many people are. On the background is a bunch of text that says ‘Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death’  however it is written in a very indistinguishable way and along with the lighting behind it makes it look heavenly which goes with the whole theme of death. The main text body shows the track listing for the album this is written in quite a formal and official way; again to go with the whole theme of funerals and death.

This is the cd for ‘Life After Death’ the disc matches the house style of the front and back covers, the background uses a distorted image of a row of tombstones again reinforcing the theme of death and funerals. The main text is the title of the album which is written to match the font used for the front cover (which is written in a very handwritten font) above that is the artist’s name which is written in a very formal clear font. This was maybe intended to contrast each other and also to give the image a neater look.

 

This is the inlay that comes with the cd it shows an image of Biggie looking at someone. It is quite a close-up image, this was probably intended to show the facial expression of Biggie and also to show what he is wearing .It is also shot in black and white to maybe convey the idea of nostalgia this could also link with the fact that the image shows Biggie looking back so therefore could be a representation of how he feels. Another idea could be that Biggie had a difficult lifestyle as a teenager and therefore him looking back with a negative facial expression could be a way of telling the audience it was a dark time the black and white simply adds to the darkness.

This is Dr Dre’s debut solo album ‘The Chronic’. Released in 1992 this is a good example of showing an album released during the time period of what is now known as ‘Old school 90’s rap’. In regards to the imaging used, there is portraiture of Dre wearing a baseball cap looking at the camera. This is an interesting image as it juxtaposes the usual conventions of a portraiture (in which the person is usually dressed quite formally). This however could also be a metaphor for Dre being a ‘high class rapper’ as the idea of portraiture is most commonly found in high class lifestyles and the idea of him wearing a cap a way of showing him as being a rapper. Surrounding the image of his face is a frame in the form of what appears to be an old fashioned westernised mirror. This could be to imply that his audience (who more than likely would’ve been young adults from urban areas) are looking/listening to Dr Dre when they look into the mirror and could just be symbolism for how he mirrors their lifestyles which would thus appeal to his audience even more so. The text used for his name fits the style of a western (on which also fits the style of the mirror). This differed from the more conventional use of graffiti type fonts which were around at the time of this albums publication. This could’ve been to differentiate from all the other albums which were released around this time. An interesting point I noticed was the simplicity of the cover. The plain white image as the background and the golden text, borderline made the album stand out quite effectively.

This is the back cover for Dr Dre’s album ‘The Chronic’. The first thing that strikes the viewer is the inclusion of a cannabis leaf at the top of the image. This image relates to the title ‘The Chronic’ this is a type of weed which Dr Dre most likely would’ve been consuming along with his audience around the time of this albums release. It could also be an allusion to the controversial idea of how the drug helps ease someone going through an illness which is also known as a chronic. The main text body for the back cover is the tracklisting which is typed out in a quite a funky font. This could maybe be a tribute to Dre’s old group he was in as a junior in which the genre they performed was funky/electro. The back cover keeps up with the house style as another image of it is of a border which surrounds the tracklisting. It is quite an old fashioned type of border and although at the time of its release would’ve been evidently new;  Dre may quite vaingloriously have meant it to be an album that would be popular for years and therefore old in that sense.

This is the disc belonging to the album ‘The Chronic’, noted for its simplicity it merely contains an image of a cannabis leaf on a black background. This could have been a way of Dre saying that smoking weed was the simple answer to life.

This image is the inlay of Dre’s album ‘the Chronic’. This image differs from the others as it shows a full body shot Dre. This could be to show off the sort of things Dre can afford to buy. For example he is wearing new trainers, expensive clothing, ear piercing, sitting on an expensive car. The way in which he is sitting on the car along with his facial expression shows the audience that he is quite used to and almost blasé towards his apparent fortune. The image is quite dark aswell however there is light towards the right of the image which could be a reference to the idea that he came from a dark and place but is going towards a brighter place which in turn could be a metaphor for his lifestyle. The borderline which is present in the front and back covers is also present in this image in a way of keeping up with the house style.

 

This is the advert for Jay-Z’s ‘The blueprint 2’. This image was extracted from a newspaper. The main image used in this advert is a black and white close up of the artist posing with a hand sign. The image being black and white was probably used to go with the theme of the album’s name ‘The blueprint’ as its colour scheme matches that of actual blueprint documents (where it is usually just colourless with the blue outlines. This gives the image an almost sci-fi look and is quite interesting to note as this goes against the usual conventions of a hip hop album where they would probably look down on such ideas. This however could be an indication of Jay-Z’s position in the rap game and how he can’t be critiqued for the use of this idea by other rappers who normally would on any other rapper of lower status. The use of the close up shot shows us a facial expression of Jay-Z as being quite concentrated, he seems to be frowning and it seems as if he thinking about something else however his hand action signals to the viewer that he knows what he is doing and that ‘everything is cool’. The main text bodies used are his logo which has a different font type and which is right at the top in blue. This is interesting as this is the only feature of the advert which is that colour. The connotations that go with the positioning and colour of his logo could go along with the idea of which was explored earlier about his position in the rap game and music industry as a whole. The two cover lines below that are in grey and also in a different font. The idea of the number 2’s position next to the word ‘Blueprint’ links in with the whole theme as it is placed in a mathematical manner and again maths is used a lot in genuine blue prints. The next 4 cover lines after that are in a more block type font in bold. This is probably due to information purposes as it would be highly important for the reader to know when, what and how they can buy the album.  

 

This is Jay-Z’s advert for his album ‘The Blueprint 3’. This is the successor to his previous album ‘The Blueprint 2’ in which was explored above. The concept for this image is completely different to its predecessor. One of the most notable things are that the main image is of musical instruments and not that of the actual artist himself. It is rather interesting as to how the image was created as it seems that all the instruments have been painted white (and left black on certain areas) again making a reference to the literal concept of a blueprint. The idea that all the instrumentals have been put together could connote the idea that the album has an array of sounds and sub genres and therefore could symbolize the idea of Jay-Z being a ‘master’ of music. The red stripes are a colour of red which could be an allusion to the loyalty of his birthplace associations (Bloods) but more simply themes that go with that colour; passion, love etc. The text used in this image is quite modern and classy. This may have been used as a way of symbolizing the artists sound from the album. The positioning of the text bodies in relation to the whole image are that it makes for a more conventional and professional looking final outcome, it also allows for the information to be easily interpreted. The inclusion of the single at the bottom could help with audiences choice in purchasing the advertised product due to the fact that the song advertised would presumably be very popular this also links in with the image explored above, as that includes the same idea.

This is UK artist; Wretch 32’s album advert. Straight away the genre is made clear via a number of ways these include: the use of graffiti styled paint brush imagery around and on the artist, the use of a block of flats in the background, the use of a graffiti styled font and also the use of black. The genre this was meant to reflect was UK Rap, the designs mentioned above all have some sort of connection to the type of life that is involved in the UK Rap scene. The use of including this into the image makes for a much more authentic and realistic expectation of what the listener will hear thus creating a higher likelihood of him/her purchasing the album. To go into more detail about the main image it shows a long/mid shot of the artist peering towards his right side, the use of such a shot type could’ve been used to convey the artists body language to the surrounding scenery. For example, in this case it shows him to be quite pre occupied with what he is seeing and It almost looks like his is spectating something of which he is focusing on quite a lot, however at the same time his body language shows that he is not likely to go towards whatever he is looking at and therefore ultimately could be connotation of how he is close to being drawn into the negative aspects of urban life but is able to not be overcome by the whole distraction. In his left hand is a necklace with a cross, this could also be another way of symbolising the sort of content on his album and also to show that through all of the negative aspects of his life, he has God on his side.  At the bottom of the image is the commercial side of his album, showing what the album looks like, how it can be purchased, where it can be purchased etc. the designer used the official logos of each shop as a way of creating a sense of familiarity and also authenticity as money and similar domains are a highly important but equally delicate part of luring a customer to buy a product or not.