Masculine/Feminine

Representations.
 Hip-Hop/R'n'b
Male & Female
Solo Artist Comparisons.
Chamillionare;; The Sound Of Revenge.
The main image on this album cover is the artist,
Chamillionare. It is a close up shot of his face so I interpret
this as he wants you to look at his face which is flooded with
anger, and not look at his body, which is surprising for this
genre as the Hip-Hop genre is usually full of topless album
covers. Because of this you can only see part of his outfit but
he it seems he is wearing a hooded top with a cap. The cap
is patterned with a keyboard design, showing a fun side of
him. But the pose is completely contrasting, Chamillionare
squinting and pointing at the camera. It is quite an
intimidating image as it looks like he is interrogating
someone- this ties in with the fierce title of ‘The Sound Of
Revenge’. The main image is cloaked in an smoky effect, like
a steamed up car window which suggests he is actually
pointing at someone through the window of a car. The
colours used are white, blue and grey. Though Rihanna uses
these colours on her album cover, Chamillionare’s take on
the colour scheme is steely and cold, rather than soft. The
title of the album is written in a dark blue distressed font, and
like Rihanna it is going horizontally across the album cover.
Rihanna;; Good Girl Gone Bad.
This is another surprising image for this genre as Rihanna
is full clothed, and looks quite classy while many female
solo artists in her genre prefer to parade around in tight
jeans and a bikini top for their covers. She is wearing a
plain white dress which is quite clingy so she still looks
sexy but natural and not overdone. She is longing back
against a wall, hands clasped and gazing dreamily at the
camera. Though the pose looks quite mature and sultry, the
hands clasped together looks young and innocent. The
picture is black and white which gives the album cover an
upmarket, sophisticated feel and because of her make up
and clothing she looks more like an actress from decades
ago rather than an R'n'b singer. There is a smoky effect,
like ‘The Sound Of Revenge’ but it has a completely
different effect as it gives a sense of mystery. Her name is
written in aqua, thin capital letters and it’s splashed across
the main image, the title of the album ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’
is written in baby blue lower capitals and is much smaller
than her name. This suggests that she wants things to be
about her and maybe that she puts her image above her
music.
 !Masculine & Feminine
Representations.

In this album cover, Robbie Williams looks

Out of these three album covers, 50 Cent’s
‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’’ is the most masculine.
Though the diamond jewellery may be
considered feminine is some circles, in the
Hip-Hop genre, it is a sign of masculinity. 50
Cent is covered in tattoos and his skin is shiny
to draw attention to his bulging muscles. He
doesn’t look intimidating, like most of the
male solo artists in his genre, he looks
ambitious and powerful (two adjectives that
are typically associated with men), like he
really wants something; this ties in with the
albums name, ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’’.
very gentle and meek, he is looking away
from the camera, which to me suggests
he is shy. Like 50 Cent, he is exposing
his, but his shirt is still on. It is blowing
behind him and it reminds me of an angel.
As this is a greatest hits album, the
‘angel’ image he is portraying can mean
two things. Like it is a death of an era, or
as one of his more popular songs is
‘Angels’, this could symbolise the song.
The text is vertical and in line with
Robbie’s body and the image is black and
white which gives it a stark, classic feel.
Will Young looks the most feminine out
of these three album covers. He looks
relaxed and is lounging on a sofa looking
at the camera blankly. He doesn’t look
intimidating and he is wearing an outfit
which would be considered quite camp.
Also, the CD’s name is ‘All Time Love’
which is quite a soppy name which
would usually be associated with a
female solo artist of the same genre.
Also, the font compared to the other 2
album covers is very different. 50 Cent
and Robbie Williams have their names
written in blank font while Will Young’s
font is modern and elaborate.

Most Masculine. Most Feminine.

 !Masculine & Feminine
Representations.
I consider this image to be the most
feminine of the three as Christina
Aguilera is exposing a lot of flesh (she
is topless with long hair covering her
breasts). As women are commonly
portrayed as sex objects in the media,
nowadays being scantily clad is
considered quite feminine. Also the
nudity in this album links with the
album title of ‘Stripped’. Christina is
placed in the centre of the album so
she is the main focus and the attention
is brought straight to her.
Most Feminine.
Even though Annie Lennox’s ‘Songs of
Mass Destruction’ doesn’t incorporate
sugar-pink and lilac into it’s colour
theme, the brown and red tones are
quite sensual and feminine. Annie’s
pose is her learning over in a chocolate
coloured gown exposing a lot of
cleavage. She looks like she is
dreaming, or hoping for a better place
and may tie in with the suggested war
theme in the album's title ‘Songs of
Mass Destruction’. The font is elaborate
and there is an emphasis on the word
‘Songs’ as it is printed in a beautiful,
white twirling font.
Though many aspects of this cover would
be considered quite feminine (Roses, pink
hair, cleavage, doves), this is by far the
most masculine of these female solo artist
covers. The main image of Pink’s album
cover is her, baring her teeth, head tilted
back, screaming at the camera. She looks
quite aggressive which is a characteristic
usually associated with the male gender.
Even the album title ‘I’m Not Dead’ sounds
aggressive, and can’t be softened by the
text inside a crimson, rose decorated
banner. The most feminine aspect of this
album cover, to me is here halo of stars,
which makes me think of the Virgin Mary.
Therefore I oddly link this image with
words like purity and meekness despite the
cloak of aggression around it.
Most Masculine.
Regina Spektor;; Begin To Hope;;
Alternative Rock/Experimental/Acoustic.
The main image of this album cover is the
artist, Regina Spektor. It is a black and
white edited image- you can see very little
detail on her face; it resembles a blank
mask of white with eyes and lips. Her hair is
messily styled and black because of the
edited photo. You can make out a Star of
David charm on her necklace, this is
because she is from a Jewish Russian family
and many of her songs reflect this. Her
facial expression is like she is daydreaming
or hoping for something, this ties in with
the album’s title; Begin To Hope. Regina
Spektor and the album title (which is
printed in maroon) is all in lower case
letters. This gives it a childlike, youthful
edge, this is emphasised with stars draped
over the text and dotted around the cover.
The stars and the album title are the only
coloured items on the cover which gives a
stark contrast which is very effective.
Lisa Lashes;; Lashed;;
Hard House/Trance/Dance.

Lisa Lashes doesn’t follow the image of

most females involved in the dance music
industry. Most of the other DJs, singers
and models are tanned blondes in bright
clothing whilst Lashes looks quite gothic
and would not look out of place in a rock
band. Her hair is a dark, unnatural red,
she is wearing thick eyeliner and is
dressed in all black with a piercing on her
lip. The only other details that fit the
conventions of a dance album are the
fonts and the square graphics that
decorate the otherwise, blank album
cover. The font on the cover is a
magenta faux-monarch styled font and
the white graffiti ‘mixed by Lisa Lashes’
across from the main image of Lisa.
Despite the hard, stark contrast of black
and pink Lisa looks innocent and is gazing
away from the camera, like Regina
Spektor does on her album cover.