digipak analysis 2
TRANSCRIPT
Digipak Analysis 2Jamie Tilsley
Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly To Pimp a Butterfly (TPAB for short) is
Lamar’s 2nd commercial album.
Highly rated as one of the best albums in the rap genre- Meta Critic: 10/10
Released on March 15th 2015.
Won Grammy for best rap album 2015.
First Impressions The immediate stand out point of the
album is probably the strong imagery used within the Digipak, and the realism in all of the pictures. The black and white colouring is also notable, as it makes the album stand out less.
The album contains a CD with 16 songs and a lyric booklet containing images and a list of contributors to the album.
Front coverThe notable thing about this album cover is that there is no name for the front. This is odd, as there is no way to see what the albums name is, or even the artists name which is negative fin terms of promoting the artist and his album.
The image depicts a group of shirtless African Americans outside the Whitehouse, piled on top of a white man, who can be perceived as dead with crosses over his eyes. This imagery can be linked to a lot of the songs subject matter, including a song called “Hood Politics” , as the group are situated outside the white house. This also links to lyrics found within some of the music, saying “if I was the president”.
The colour theme within the front cover is all black and white, which runs throughout the album.
The main artist Kendrick Lamar can be seen within the group of people, possibly symbolising the fact he is one of the people, as you can’t distinguish him very clearly. This is positive for his image, as in rap culture, you are seen as more powerful if you have a larger friendship group
As rap is synonymous with black culture, it is a convention to have people of black culture on the front cover of the album.
The fact the group are mainly shown with stacks of money, chains and alcohol, links to the rap cultures tendency to flaunt they’re expensive belongings and money, as it is ideological to be powerful in their society.
The parental advisory sticker is a convention in hip-hop, as many rappers se strong language in order to get their point across in the music. This would also change the target audience for the album to more mature people.
Back coverThe theme is kept with the back cover, the only colours used are black and white. This gives the back cover a pure and clean look as the majority is white and very bright.
The hand drawn appearance of the typography gives the album a less formal look. The variations in size and shape give it a graffiti like feel, which links to the street culture linked to the rap genre.
There is small print at the bottom, however,. It is not very visible as it is a similar colour to the background. This could be to keep all focus upon the track listings above.
The simplicity shows a level of humbleness for the artist, as he doesn't attempt to grab audiences with a colourful Digipak, which could break conventions in rap, as it is ideological to stand out and be dominant.
The hand written typography also gives a more lower class appearance to the back of the album, as compared to typed font. This can be compared to the convention that many rappers have a poorer upbringing, which is also talked about within the music
DiscThe disc, again follows the black and white themes of the rest of the album, making it look more professional as it links to the rest of the Digipak.
There is brail like markings on the front of the disc, which most likely spell out the name of the album so blind people can identify the album. There are typical symbols such as the record labels, which are displayed in black in keeping with the theme.
There is writing displayed around the edge of the disc, giving information about copyrights and the record label. This is displayed The bright white and plain appearance of the disc can draw connotations of being pure and positive. This may link to the subject matter on the disc, which tries to spread a positive message overall. The fact all of the Digipak is black and white may also lead audiences to believe this is connected to the heavy subject matter of racism and being black or white. This is an easily distinguishable link within the Digipak and can be a clue before the album is even listened to as to what the songs speak about
Inside
The background is the same shade of white seen on all the other
sections of the Digipak, again keeping with the theme of the album.
The inside takes on an image of a butterfly. This then creates a cross promotion between the name of the album, “To Pimp A Butterfly”.
The butterfly often acts as a symbol of change, joy and colour. These themes are reflected within the album in one way or another. The symbolism from butterflies starting as a caterpillar, then morphing and changing, can be a double entendre for other themes such as (one which comes up a lot on the album) a strive for change for rights for black people.
The colour of the butterfly is
contrasted by the lack of
colour from the white
background.
The butterfly is the centre of attention within the inside cover, this is why it has been positioned within the centre of the frame, in order to gain the audiences gaze.
Additional Album ArtworkThis additional album artwork works as another cross promotion for the album. We see the main artist Kendrick Lamar, in the same costume as the front cover. Audiences realise this from looking at the artwork, and can create a link from this to the front of the album, which is more recognisable.
Lamar is surrounded by money, which lays on the floor around him. This adds to his appearance of him being wealthy and powerful, as we see he is associated with large amounts of money. The black and white theme is also followed as shown, having a running theme, which audiences begin to get used to seeing. This creates a link with the artists work and all things black and white
Kendrick is situated in centre frame, giving him all the attention so audiences recognise him, and the album/music he creates within.
The bottle of alcohol he holds in his hands along with the bottle to his right, are established with the rap genre, as it is a convention to get drunk and have a good time in the rap genre. Kendrick follows this and can be seen as more of a legitimate rapper as he upholds the ideologies
Reflection After analysing this Digipak from the rap genre, I have
learned conventions which are shown in Digipak from the rap genre. This will aid me when I come to design my own Digipak as I look to implement the appropriate stereotypes of rap for a more legitimate looking Digipak.
I learn the importance of placement of images when taking pictures for my digipak, as through looking at the pictures taken for To Pimp A Butterfly, I see why the photographers and editors have taken certain measurements to ensure the artists work is themed, through colours and imagery, in order to gain cross promotion and have a professional standard album digipak.