The Watch The Throne album is a duo album by Jay-Z & Kanye West who are arguably 2 of the most iconic figures in Hip Hop. The album cover is gold & looks as if its been embroided. The inside images appear to look printed & painted. Riccardo Tisci who created the album cover shows his signature style of space age minimalism, exploring textures of cultural identity & the bold gold colours, I think, are symbolizing the power & masculinity of the iconic figures. Also animal faces, architectural themes, symmetric shapes & religious images are incorporated to make this powerful album cover.
The fact that the artists name isn't on the cover suggests that we should know who they are. The inside cover of the album folds out like a cross. On the top half of the cross is the U.S.A flag, which I think is there to maybe show their respect for their country or to tell people where they are from. The centre of the cross shows what looks like tiger skin. This links with the left & right side of the cross as they depict Jay-Z & Kanye West as tigers, which could be to show their solidity & the fact that they are the biggest names in hip hop at this current time. The apex of the cross shows a sort of angel with a star on their face. The angel seems to be engulfed by fire around the legs & demons at each side of it, in a forest environment. I think the purpose of this is to tell the audience that maybe a new era has begun or is taking over & maybe they are the two demons. The animal faces & "American Obsessions" as it seems, serve as major repeated theme or motif, linking the albums artwork with Tisci's design principles often explore various textures of cultural identity
The bold colors and angular lines of the inside cover were incorporated allegorically I think to convey the iconic statues of Jay-z & Kanye West. It's a more colourful & vibrant version of the front cover of the album, which I think could be showing the softer side of these characters or that they are opening up to us.
Rated R is an album by Rihanna which was very successful. The album cover shows Rihanna in a moody, contemplative stance wearing a leather top with her right eye being covered by her right hand. She also has rings on each fingers. It was impossible at the time to look at her eye & not remember the attack she suffered from Chris Brown, which I think gives more depth to this image. The cover is similar to 'Velvet Rope' by Janet Jackson as its centered on her & has a personal feel to it. The black & white can be compared to the singer Grace Jones' album covers in the 80's as they were all black &a white. The cover gives off a dark tone but a personal feel, which makes you think that she's going to be revealing her dark & maybe troubled side. The back of the album cover shows Rihanna wearing seductive underwear to catch the attention of whoever is looking at it. Also Rihanna looks as if she's staring right at you & her make up round her eyes seems to be running as if she's been crying or going through mental stress which I think is further projected by the cigarette she's holding. The black background helps to make Rihanna stand out as a bright light is shone on her. This also shows her isolation as you can't see the background & no one is around.
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