I came across this wonderful article entitled The 100 Worst Hip-Hop Album Covers Of All Time. So I decided to post a few of my favorites but PLEASE click the link at the top or bottom of the page to see the rest. And give me your feedback! Main themes I noticed were the sexualization of women, money, drugs, blood, guns and bling.
Look at the sexualized hen cartoon with literal breasts. It reads as though women are just pieces of meat who exist to solely satiate men. The woman used in this photo is completely anonymous since only a very small part of her is exposed. She's just another leg on his plate. But I guess Ludacris has a point, we are a finger-lickin' good gender.
A nice mix of pop culture and drugs if you ask me.
In-n-out is better although a stack of hundreds is probably pretty tasty. I'm not sure how to break this one down. Consumption is a huge facet of hip hop culture, and this picture is a literal representation of that?
The care bears were caught smuggling drugs :( WHAT DOES THIS PHOTO MEAN?
If this isn't enough ass for you there's a lot more cover shots on the actual article. I like the craftsmanship of the ocean and sky background. Solid job.
Obviously a play off of Reaganomics.
The long awaited sequel to "Are You My Mother?"
These are fascinating, Caitlin. I feel as if all of these covers further exemplify a lot of topics discussed in the film yesterday. All of the album covers involve either violence, drugs, money, or the objectification and sexualization of females.
ReplyDeleteI found the Uncle Murda one especially interesting, because the record is titled "Return of the Bad Guy." The cover depicting him shooting popular culture figures that are widely known as all that is good, nice, and caring. Whoever, thought that cover up had quite the imagination.
Also, that Ludacris one is very well...ludicrous. But it has some very interesting content to examine. Like you said, the over sexualization of women is just blatantly obvious whether it be the salted leg he is about to lick, or the chicken with huge breasts. But I also thought his choice of fired chicken was interesting and that maybe he was attempting to address stereotypes by making his cover chalk full of all things stereotypically viewed as "black" or "hip-hop" by including these sexualized depictions of females, alcohol, and the fried chicken. I have no idea that could be reading way too far into a possibly meaningless cover but just some food for thought.
I found these album covers very entertaining given how odd most of them are. I agree with both views on the first album cover; I feel that he was blatantly trying to make his cover offensive and stereotypical so that it would be controversial and perhaps sell more albums that way. Also, I do feel that the woman is anonymous to greater exemplify how women are just seen as another piece of meat and it doesn't matter their name, background, personality because they are there just for male consumption. I feel that the fried chicken and the woman's leg are paired to show how they are both a version of "fast-food" and are easily achieved.
ReplyDeleteIn Mac Mill's album cover where he mocks Indian Jones and adds drugs into the equation in an attempt to mock popular culture and in a way try and prove himself to society by not being afraid to place drug content on the cover of his album.
Also, I feel that with the album cover of Big Kuntry King, he is trying to exemplify, with the use of a fast-food burger bun stuffed with money, that with fame and fortune his origins will stay intact. This is shown through his use of the burger bun, representing his past and upbringing, yet it is stuffed with hundred dollar bills, representing his fame in the future. He is faded out in the background showing how he is a mixture of both realities. Also, I feel that he is also trying to show how most people, when they become rich and famous, seem to eat away their money and are not smart about it. I think that he is trying to show how he sees this happen to others, and thus won't allow it to happen to himself.
That's wild. The "Slam Dunkin" was ridiculous to me. oddly enough, "Chicken & Beer" is one of my favorite albums.
ReplyDeleteBut now to my thoughts; they all represent something the artist chose to stand for. They wanted to hit the genereal public and they wanted to send a message. The craftsmanship can also be something that happened on purpose, or the artsit didn't have the means/knowledge to have a nice cover. Sure they're degrading, but that just puts them in that category that they choose to be in.
They're all relative to something