R&B Album Covers

Media A2 Coursework

“Hip-Hop is a vehicle” – Talib Kweli

..WileyThe colours in the image are quite monochrome apart from the title ‘grime wave’ which is in a variety of colours, making the viewer look at the title more than anything else.

In this album cover the artist looks straight at the camera within a medium long shot, almost defying the reader.

The viewer can ascertain that he is standing on a roof top which signifies that he is above everyone else.

As you can see in the album cover opposite, the artist is looking straight at the camera which is unusual in album covers within the urban genre of music. This could be because of the album title ‘Catch me if you can’ and has connotations of Bashy defying whoever the title is aimed at. The background images relate to the title also, showing still print screen CCTV images, Bashy’s body merging with them.

..Bashy

Bashy is a well known artist amongst the teens of the UK who is essentially his target market. The Mozilla Firefox application is widely used by teens also, so in incorporating this into his album cover he is in a sense connecting with his target audience. The album title is also ‘bashy.com’ which links back to the theme of the internet and what the youths like.

..Bashythe overall image is very successful, the Mozilla Firefox logo could be interpreted as the world in which signify the artist as the supreme ruler of within the music industry. The city buildings and stars behind the main image reinforce this

..Chipmunk Chipmunks album cover gives off an entirely different vibe than his single ‘oopsy daisy’ does. The single cover uses a bright neon pink colour against black. It is quite an abstract image, and could be described as shards of glass which reflect the song as it is about a break up, so perhaps the artist is broken as a result of it. the actual album cover in comparison is quite lively, this mainly due to the bright

yellow used. The artist sits on top of the big bold lettering signifying that he is some kind of divine entity within the music business.

..DJ IronikThe artist is looking straight at the camera but he is wearing glasses which detaches him from the scene.

The artists name text is the main focus of the album cover perhaps signifying that the artist wants his name to be widely recognized the album title is in a smaller font size underneath this, also in white and the same font.

The metal background material and the fact that the artist is pictured on the streets is significant in telling the viewer what kind of genre the music is also along with how the artist is dressed also signifies to the reader the genre of music.

..GiggsThe artist isn't looking straight at the camera, we know can spot this as a theme within the R&B industry with males. The artist, Giggs looks down and only half his face is show n. This has connotations of a hidden agenda or more to the story than what the picture is giving away to the viewer, something which perhaps you can come to know after listening to the album. Therefore the album cover could easily be compared to ‘the diary Alicia Key’s’ album

The album title is related in the background imagery depicting swings.

The album title also says ‘starring in’ which suggests that the songs within the CD are a reflection of the artist himself