Analysis of Album Covers

Producing an Album Cover

When selling your music to the public, it is essential to represent your music through your cover in order for the audience to understand what you are trying to portray though it. It is vital to portray the genre, mood and atmosphere of the music through the cover using techniques such as lighting, camera position, font, size of text, foreground and background and many more. These will all be explained with more precision using examples of album covers throughout this PowerPoint.

I will be analysing different album covers from the same genre, which will be rap music. I will analysing how much the genre varies from certain denominations, such as gangsta rap or more political rap. I believe this will truly show how the genre differentiates and how it conveys this though the album covers, yet how they can also be very alike.

Denominations of Genre Within the rap genre, there are many different denominations of which both

differentiate and are similar to one another. This is greatly highlighted through the album cover, as it gives the impression of what genre of music it is, but also shows itself in a sub-division of that genre.

For example, with a gangsta rap cover, it is usually more controversial of which may include political statements, a certain opinion or something the artists themselves feel strongly about using their own unique way to express it. They may use a less serious tone and express it more in a comedic way, or they may convey it more violently than usual.

More political rap usually has a lot more meaning expressed through the image, showing less controversial topics and more of a statement as to what their lyrics are expressing and try to influence the viewer by choosing a strong and meaningful cover which provokes deeper thought. This can be anything from a simple photograph to a huge, edited piece with many different objects and people to look at and perceive in a certain way.

Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly

It shows a large group of people who are all wearing the same style of clothing with the shirt off and trousers on. This highlights that they are in a group or gang of whom are all with the same cause and are on the same level as one another. This could also express that they are strong as a group and that they can’t be taken down, not even by the White House.

There is a man of which seems to be in a suit, holding an American flag on the floor underneath the large group of people. This may denote that this is a man of higher power as he is wearing something formal and most likely part of the American government as it has the White House in the background and he is holding an American flag.

There are ‘x’s on his eyes which may show that he is dead as that is how they show characters are dead in things like cartoons. He is also underneath the group which may show that he has been overthrown and they now have power over him.

There is a parental advisory label on the side to show that this album goes with caution as it is not for children and includes content of which may not be appropriate for all ages. From the assumed gang that is depicted at the front, this may also show to parents just by the image that this may not be suitable for their children and aimed at an older demographic.

The background includes the White House which is symbolic of America and the higher power within it. It is there to emphasise the fact that they now have the power and are free to express who they really are without the power of the government over them.

The image is in greyscale to show the grit and to pretty much denote the rawness of this image as it is very clear as to what it portrays.

Many of the members are holding what seems to be large amounts of cash which may highlight that they now have the money they deserve/need in order to live a better life than they currently have/previously had.

The album cover has no text on it as the image shown may say everything needed to understand what the album is about.

All of the people shown are unclothed which may show a lack of care when it comes to appearance or it may show that they are trying to show their strength to the people observing. It may also show that they have an uncivilised nature as opposed to the standards of the government.

Kendrick Lamar Album Analysis The album name ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ is not necessarily a light hearted title. It may

emphasise that they are changing something beautiful such as a butterfly to something more their style or suited to their way of looking at things.

This album cover is a depiction of Kendrick Lamar’s songs and what he is trying to express through it to convey what his lyrics are about. From the White House in the background and the man in the suit on the ground holding the American flag, this is a strong portrayal that this is a political rap and that he has a strong message to convey through his music.

It uses a dark tone and low key lighting to depict a very dark and serious tone to his music. The greyscale also captures the tone well and the lighting used within this is focused from the sky to the gang on the ground, highlighting that they are the main thing to look at.

The camera position is about level to the gang and puts the viewer on the same level as them which can convey unanimity or mutual understanding for something. It is a straight forward look at the gang and shows them with raw features as there is nothing between the viewer and them.

Most of the gang in the photo seem to be smiling or are happy about what they have done, whatever it is they have done. This may be because they are free of government power and that they are holding large amounts of money in their hands.

Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, m.A.A.d CityA rather light background e.g. the

blue sky, lighting on the car and the houses behind. This may convey more of a light hearted approach to how he raps in this album.

A darker foreground is used, the dark van, maybe to highlight that it may seem dark yet from the background you may realise that it is lighter than you may of first thought, e.g. if you listen to the lyrics/the way the lyrics are structured.

May be more thought provoking and have a deeper meaning to it since at first glance it may just be a simple image of a dark van, but with more incite, you may be able to see it for what it really expresses.

Shows that his kind of music is not suited for children and should be played with caution and risk when children are around.

Looks like the album and artists name have been written on with pen rather than that of print or text. This may have been done by the artist himself, which may portray how much meaning this has to him or the listener. May also highlight the fact that this is raw and that this is directly from the artist himself and not changed or manipulated by anyone else.

A lighter, clearer background may show that he is not trying to be as vulgar and explicit with this album, and may show that he is cleaning up his act/music. It might emphasise that he is changing what he is doing and that he is starting fresh with a new style to his music or that this is the beginning of something new.

Houses in the background don’t look large or expensive, hence he may be in a less well off area. This may show that this album is with his roots and that he is expressing who he is by showing his hometown, his writing and his car to show that this album is all his and that there is nothing between him and the viewer. May also have exclusivity to viewers who know who he is as they may recognise that as Compton, which is where he grew up.

Uses a raw photograph as opposed to something of which has been edited and manipulated to depict something else. This may be his trademark as he has used this style with other albums of his.

The condition of the cover looks worn out which may give the impression that it is trying to look old or uncared for as he may want the audience to see what he owns is old. He may depict it this way as he may now have had the support to own new things, hence showing the audience this by using marks to make it look worn.

Kendrick Lamar Album Analysis The album name ‘Good Kid, m.A.A.d City’, is more of a light hearted name as opposed to ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’. It

may refer to himself being the good kid within that context living in a mad city as he puts it. The acronym ‘m.A.A.d’ stands for ‘Me an Angel on Angel Dust’, which may refer to how he feels after he has taken drugs and it may try to portray them as being somewhat heavenly given the name ‘Angel Dust’. It may refer to how he feels after he takes drugs or when he is on drugs.

It is a rather blank image with not many things going on, which may refer to the relaxed state in which he feels after he has reached a certain high. It may also depict the album as being calm and less brutal than his other albums.

It may be an image of which provokes more thought to it if you look for long enough, as the things chosen to be in the image may be a symbol or sign for something else with deeper meaning. For example, the empty space, calm nature and high key lighting of the image may depict that this is the beginning of something new with a calm and open approach to it.

The background of the image shows houses of which don’t necessarily look all to flashy or expensive, which may represent his hometown of Compton. It may emphasise that he is being open about who he is and where he grew up.

This also includes the way the album name is inputted on the album as it is written, presumably by the artist himself. This may highlight that he doesn’t want anything between him and the observer, giving it a raw feel of connection between him and his fans through his album and his music.

Like his other album, this is only a photograph with a filter on it and nothing more, again provoking a sensation of connection between the artist and the observer and/or the listener. From this technique, it may show that he is conveying to the viewer of the album that like the cover, the music is also raw and comes straight from him and his thoughts.

Kendrick Lamar Conclusion From both albums that Kendrick Lamar has produced, the covers contrast vastly, yet

also share some similarities between one another The first album shown is rather dark and uses a greyscale filter with low key lighting

to portray a certain feel to this album. On the other hand, the second album shown is much lighter with a filter with more colour used and uses high key lighting to bring different thoughts to the observer than that of the first.

Even though the same artist produced both of these albums, they differ greatly from one another, as one looks to be darker with a less serious tone to it as it depicts a large gang holding up handfuls of money with smiles on their faces, whereas the other looks much lighter and takes a much more serious approach to this my using a much more thought provoking image which may make the observer wonder why he has chosen that specific image to represent an entire album.

Both of these images can also be very similar as they are both photographs of which have filters applied to bring a different emotion to feel when analysing it. They also both include the ‘Parental Advisory’ label which is implying that this isn’t suitable for children and should be taken with caution.

A$AP Rocky – Long.Live.A$AP

Uses a TV warp maybe to suggest the fact that it is old or broken, or just a distorted way upon the way the lyrics are viewed. Could also give the impression of take over as it could be seen as a TV being hacked to show his face and his name

Parental Advisory label to emphasise that this album is not suitable for children, possibly for profanity or the fact that things presented in the lyrics shouldn’t be comprehended by children as the artists expression on the album cover suggests that it may be deep or thought provoking.

From the artists facial expression, it may suggest that the album has more of a serious tone and that it provokes thought, yet from the distortion it may give the sense that it is provoking these thoughts in a diverse way or that it is distorting the mind.

Even though the album cover shows that it is warped, the artist’s face presented says normal and in balance with the rest of the image, yet it is split in two from top to bottom, maybe emphasising that his words come before his thoughts to the face of society as his mouth is on the top half and his head is on the bottom, which may represent that he is misunderstood.

The colour used again refers to the serious and dark tones of the music easily highlighting to the audience that it is no laughing matter. This also links back to Kendrick Lamar’s album, therefore showing similarities within the genre.

American Flag is used to suggest his nationality but also to show that he is patriotic or that he has some form of power in the country, using the flag around him to symbolise this, maybe even that the country has power over him as it is covering most of his image.

Artist’s name and album name are presented at the very front and centre of the actual album, maybe depicting that his name gets in front of who he really is and that it is just a label rather than who he is mentally. It also has a large, black border to put more emphasis on the white text, making the names the most noticeable thing on the album.

A$AP Rocky Album Analysis

The name ‘Long.Live.A$AP’ may refer to his name or gang name to be remembered for a long time, suggesting that they are or he is one of great power or recognisability to the public.

There is no background used apart from a grey space which may depict the area of thought which will become of something when you listen to the album, basically saying that there is a space in your mind for the lyrics to have space.

Distortion of the album may suggest that thought will be changed when the album is listened to which may open one’s mind to other thought. Yet, from the American flag used on the artist, it may represent that the USA is trying to corrupt or distort the mind of the public and he is trying to signal this through the cover as the flag still stands as relatively balanced.

From the expression on the artists face and the greyscale used, it may suggest that it is to be taken seriously and that deeper thought is needed in order to comprehend the lyrics to the full extent. This may also tie in with the distortion as it could say that the different shades used are different perspectives of others or one and that it is still all part of one big part of something greater.

Similarities and Differences

Although these albums are two of the same genre, they both share similarities and differences to one another through imagery used and the intentions behind them.

For example, both Lamar and Rocky use greyscale in their albums but they use them for different reasons. Lamar uses this to show the grit and rawness of what the image portrays as it is basically untouched and seems to be an ordinary photograph as opposed to Rocky’s which is edited. Rocky seems to use the greyscale effect on his album to connote the seriousness and thought behind the album and it is used to expand the minds boundaries with different thought as opposed to Lamar’s which depicts people smiling and having a good time.

In Lamar’s album, it shows a large group or gang with their shirts off to show uncivilised nature as opposed to government standards. From this, it gives the sense of anarchy and takeover of the public or at least a gang to show people that they have a sense of power. With Rocky’s however, it shows the American flag covering his body which may show that they have power over him and that they are distorting views from the warp used.

Lamar also doesn’t seem to feature his name or the name of the album on his album covers to be easily seen. It may be because that he doesn’t care about names as they are just labels to cover up what something really is, trying to show people that names aren’t needed and that things can just be perceived as thought. Rocky, on the other hand, features his name and album name clearly on the cover showing that names, like Lamar, are a label that gets in the way of an image. This is a clear demonstration that even though different methods to get a message across are used, they are still showing the same message to the same demographic of fans, hence, this may be a common aspect within the genre.