Presentation1
- 1. Hip-Hop Album Cover Analysis Ammer Mohammed
- 2. Jay-Z American Gangster (2007) Photography The photo of Jay-z shows this kind of powerful gangster side of him, also the fact he is in an abounded restaurant filled with smoke with adds to the whole gangster look. Lighting/Colour Their isn’t much vibrant lighting used in the shot but it adds to the whole gangster look as everything around him looks abounded. Also he has that silhouette look to him which makes the whole shot of him seem mysterious yet powerful. Costume His costume represents how modern day mafia gangsters look, such as the long over coat he wearing on top of his suit gives him the stereotypical look of a mafia gangster which dates back to olden days when gangsters in the 70-80’s looked as they mostly wear suits and hats etc. A good example of how gangsters looked can be seen from the movie Gangster Squad Props The props in the shot are very confusing as to why they are there but it makes the shot look a whole lot more mysterious such as the upside chairs may give off the sense of the area being empty which some might question why he’s there himself
- 3. D12 – Purple Hills (2001) Photography The image that stands out most in the album cover and takes up most of he image is the chain which is the representative of the group D12, also the fact it is a gold chain which signifies wealth and status and the fame D12 hold to get themselves onto a chain Colour The background colour of the album clearly connotes the use of the name ‘Purple’ pill. Also the use of purple is mainly represents royalty which is a symbol of power and status, the D12 group are known for their own wealth and status this can be easily seen by the use of the gold chain which bares the groups name Cover The white marks on the cover makes it look like it’s quite vintage look meaning people would look it and think that it’s old but the realise it gives it that kind of future hit cover it also makes it look more distinct as not many other album covers have this kind of affect. Text The title text stands out quite a lot they use that kind of formal look to it also the second word ‘Pills’ looks similar to the word ‘Hills’ which is one of the songs in the album which is called Purple Hill, it’s also sounds like a drug reference.
- 5. 50 Cent – Before I Self Destruct (2009) Photography The photo of 50 cent is quite a striking picture as it shows his dominant aggressive side you can see this through his arm positions as one is in the air near his face and the other relaxed over his legs also holding watches on them, also the stern look on his face adds to the aggressiveness. This is a typical album cover which the artists typical show their dominance through their posture and position within the cover. Props The props in the video directly relate to the stereotypical props used in album covers which feature an extensive amount of jewelry as this shows the artists dominance and wealth and in this cover we can clearly see 50 is wearing a necklace, watch, bracelet and ring all of which are presumably expensive to show his masculine wealth. Costume The costume 50 is wearing is a typical hip hop artists costume as most of them usually wear these kinds of outfits in their videos such as The Game, Eminem etc all wear these kinds of outfits to fit in with their videos which often involves clubs or other parties. This is a kind of casual outing look which fits in with their (style), and this look is very popular amongst many rappers.