By Denisa Sykaj

RAP/HIP-HOP CD ALBUM

RESEARCH!

FRONT COVER RESEARCH!

Researching front covers for rap/hip-hop is very intriguing as there are so

many different designs, structures, layouts, images etc. Many rap/hip-hop

artists have images of cars, money, jewellery, girls , group members, houses

etc. This is a very common thing to find on CD covers of this genre. There are

also very simplistic covers which mainly focus on just the artist and nothing

else, the background is usually one plain colour, or two mixed colours or

sometimes faded images as a background. There are a variety of poses that

are done by the artists on their covers, some poses represent a symbol of

some sort, some poses are in reference to the meaning of one song or more

on that album/single and some are just for the sake of doing it. On the

contrary of the simplistic covers, there also happen to be some cliché covers

which usually again link in with either the songs or the name of the

album/single, this could be from having a very unrealistic image of perhaps the

artist on a particular item or in a particular surrounding. An example of this is

‘Top Dog – Slam-dunk Hoes’ which is on the next slide.

EXAMPLES OF CD COVERS:

REOCCURRING CONVENTIONS!

Whilst conducting my front cover research for rap/hip-hop CD albums, I came across a reoccurring

feature which is used by many artist as in the examples below. The three different CD covers within

the rap/hip-hop genre all have one thing in common. The artists are all wearing a white t-shirt. The

images are very different in terms of the pose, the structure, the layout, the locations etc except for

the clothing. This is a simple but fashionable piece of clothing as white goes with a lot of other

colours but also because it gives the artist that extra effect.

PARENTAL ADVISORY EXPLICIT CONTENT!

Another aspect which had to be research

in order to make a good quality CD Cover

was the logo’s used on professional CD

albums of the rap/hip-hop genre. This

logo ‘ Parental Advisory Explicit Content’ is

something very common which is found on

rap/hip-hop CD covers. The purpose

behind this logo is a warning that the

songs contain strong language or perhaps

sexual references so that the

public/listeners know what to expect in the

songs. This label was affixed by the

Recording Industry Association Of America

(RIAA).

BACK COVER RESEARCH

Another aspect I researched before starting my CD digipak was how typical

rap/hip-hop artists back of their CD covers looked like, whether they all had

similar conventions or if different conventions were shown. From my

research I have realised that many back covers of CD albums from artists in

the rap/hip-hop genre are fairly quite similar and follow similar conventions.

There are two common structures which most albums have used, these

being the artist is on the back with a pose of some sort and the titles of

the songs listed either on the side or at the top depending on where the

artist is positioned – sometimes you may even find the text typed on

top of the image of the artist. The second way is the artist does not

appear at the back of the album/single. It varies from images of

buildings, objects such as cars or even money although rarely you will

find a rather blank image that has the titles of the song listed on either

side or top or bottom.

THE FIRST COMMON STRUCTURE!

• The first example of ways many

artists in this genre (Rap/Hip-Hop)

have presented their back covers.

The artist is posing whether

standing up or sitting down and the

song titles listed on the side,

alongside the song titles, there is

other information placed on back

covers.

MORE EXAMPLES….

THE SECOND COMMON STRUCTURE!

• The second way of structuring a back cover for a rap/hip-hop CD album is

without a main image of the artist/s but instead of something else which fills the

frame, this being anything from guns to cars to money to buildings to faded

images of a certain thing or person (could be the artist) or even girls in

revealing clothing. Here is an example of this common structure.

MORE EXAMPLES….

TYPOGRAPHY Before creating my CD digipak, I researched fonts used

for Rap/Hip-hop CD covers to enlighten my imagination

and help me for my own CD album which will need to

convey common rap/hip-hop conventions used by many

artists on their albums/singles. This is another aspect of

importance because representation is very important

when it comes to Rap/hip-hop CD album designs. The

way any piece of a CD album of this genre is designed

automatically represents the artist and in some ways

their music.

EXAMPLE 1: RICK ROSS

The font used for this front cover is

very bold, it is clear and it certainly

captures attention. The use of

capitals gives it that extra effect as

does the interpretation of the dollar

signs as the 'S' which links in well

with the image as he is holding what

looks like an expensive piece of

jewellery which is almost the main

focus of this cover.

EXAMPLE 2 : T.I

For this front cover, the font used is

very simple, nothing fancy or

creative for that matter, just

simplicity however, it is very clear

and bold which automatically draws

attention as it is also positioned in a

very visible place on this cover

which does not clash or overlap with

the image.

EXAMPLE 3: LUDACRISLikewise with the font used in

this front cover, it is also very

simple but clear. It is again in

capitals which seems to be a

common effect which is used

by many rap/hip-hop artists.

The color is for extra effect to

ensure that his name stands

out and not just because it

is centered in the middle of the

cover but because it stands out

as it is a yellow/gold like color.

EXAMPLE 4 : CHRIS BROWN

In comparison to the examples above

there are also CD covers that have

completely different fonts and text.

This cover of ‘Chris Brown’ is a very

unique cover in itself as it doesn't

follow the normal, typical rap/hip-hop

conventions of a CD cover of that

genre. The symbols on this cover

could be either a symbolic

representation of the meaning behind

the songs or perhaps a hint about the

songs on this album or it could be just

a different way of designing a front

cover.

From the research, it is apparent that the fonts used to show the

names of the artists and titles of the albums/singles are quite

simplistic. The colours are very well coordinated with the imagery,

they are positioned in very clear, eye-catching places like the

middle, or the top or even the bottom. The sizes are not to big

however they are not too small either, this is so that it doesn't take

up all of the space on the frame, nor does it make the cover look

plain or unorganised. In some fonts, symbols are embedded in

them to represent the artist or the main topic of the album referring

back to the previous example of ‘Rick Ross’ who had the dollar

signs instead of the letter ‘S’.

EXAMPLES OF FONTS I COULD USE :

When researching CD albums I realised another important aspect is the typography used by other

professional artists albums. Here are examples of fonts I created following the conventions of a

rap/hip-hop album.

LOGOS FOR BACK COVERS!

During my research process, it came to my realisation that on many albums of this genre

(Rap/hip-hop) the logos/labels are on shown on the back cover. There are some that would

perhaps have them printed on the front cover but mainly on the back. Here are examples of

logos/labels I found on professional rap/hip-hop back covers of the albums.