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1. Analysis Of CD Packaging
By Yahia El-Sayed
A-Level Media Studies

2. Why are CD/Album Covers important?
Although a body of music is purchased with the intent
of listening to music, odds are the actual artwork of
the project is what draws the target audience in with
intrigue and a desire for more. A lot of the time the
artwork and the body of music have a relationship that
only makes sense after you listen then look back at the
cover. Even before pressing play the artist is trying to
convey his thoughts, feelings, vibe of the music and
story through the artwork which a lot of people pay no
mind too. The covers are important because it
represents the music, artist, a message, his/her
struggle, political views, religious views or even social
views. A lot of the time they’re made with the intent
of making the audience think before even knowing if
they're going to buy the project which brings people
in. But some are just made to look nice.
Kanye West - my beautiful dark twisted
fantasy

3. Dizzee Rascal
Boy In the Corner

4. Dylan Kwabena Mills born 18 September 1984, better known by his stage
name Dizzee Rascal, is an English hip hop recording artist and record producer.
Often referred to as “The Godfather Of Grime”. A pioneer of grime music, his
work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop,
and R&B. He released his acclaimed debut album Boy in da Corner in 2002.
He was born in London and was raised in Bow by his mother alone after his
Father passed away while he was young boy. In an interview with The Times
London he said that as a kid “I had issues as a kid. I was violent and disruptive.
The way my mum helped was by finding me a different school every time I got
kicked out, always fighting to keep me in the school system.” But I even think
that even he would agree that without his early life struggle we wouldn’t have
gotten the critically acclaimed Boy in the Corner Album. Which is geared
towards young people who a bit rebellious.

5. Dizzee Rascal – Boy in the Corner Released : 21 July 2003
The fact that the album is called “Boy In the Corner” and the fact that
in the artwork he is literally in a corner between two walls tell us
about him. What he's trying to imply with the phrase “Boy In the
corner” is that he feels as he been pushed against the wall since was a
boy. And we can see why he feels this was from the tragic
complications he's had in his young life like violence and his father
passing. This is even more evident in the Song on the album “Just a
Rascal”. Again rascal is a term to define a troublesome young boy,
which he feels like and refers to throughout the song.
“I talk tough cuz life's been rough
Gritty, shitty life ain't been too pretty, far from buff
So I'm off to the elegant stuff”
Wearing trainers that would be associated with
troublesome young people to add to the idea that
he's felt like a “Boy In the corner” all his life.
Him pointing his fingers up like that are
meant to symbolise little horns. He's done
this to give the impression that he’s a
“little devil” and that he’s a bit naughty.
He's done that to show that’s what
people would of thought of him back
when he was a young troublesome boy.
And he choose to represent this in the
form of little horns to show that he's
trouble.
He chose to wear a tracksuit with a hood
because it represents people are seen as a bit
more “gritty”. And is often associated with
people who are poorer and grew up in more
rougher areas, as he did. He chose to represent
what people will assume of him based on his
dress through a tracksuit to show that he did
grow up in a gritty London lifestyle.
Font used for the title of the
album looks very urban a
London. Almost to a point that it
could look like graffiti while still
maintaining a professional look.
He's chosen to bring in elements
of where he's from into to the
font of his album.
The colour scheme and Framing used for
the overall album cover shows that Dizze
feels a bit greyed out from the bigger and
brighter picture. Usually for an album
cover it would just mainly be the artist, but
in this one there is a lot of space around
him. This could have been done to show
isolation and how he’s felt alone in his
past. The colours tell a similar story too.
Bright yellow background and a greyed out
figure suggests that he feels different from
his surroundings. And that its not the
world around him that should change, he
feels as if he’s different. Using framing and
colour schemes we can see how he feels
about himself and the world around him.

6. XXXTENTACION
17

7. Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy born January 23, 1998, known professionally as XXXTentacion often referred to as “X” is an
American rapper, singer and songwriter from Lauderhill, Florida. Mostly known for the extremely popular song
“Look At Me” X found success from SoundCloud where he is a massive artist for "SoundCloud Rap. X began writing
music after being released from a youth correction centre and eventually released his first song on SoundCloud in
2014.
Because X built his following from the ground up he has connection with his fans that nearly no artists have a “cult
following”. Even when he had such a small following of 200 people, he would speak to them. He would get
messages everyday from people thanking him for helping with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. And
because X had issues of his own growing up he had lack of a father, no financial stability, extreme anger issues
(which can be heard through “Look At Me”) and a lot of suicidal thoughts. In fact he's openly said that he's
attempted to kill himself multiple times because he doesn’t want to lie to his fans. He’s also been known to get into
multiple fights and nearly beat a man to death in jail because of his harsh upbringing. And for his first Studio album
he wanted to give back to those people who struggled with mental health issues like himself. His album “17” was
created and to be an escape for people who suffer depression and people attempting to end there life. And is
targeted to people are in a dark place, X is attempting to help them. In the album he talks about how life doesn’t
change or get easier “you just get stronger”, he’s a firm believer that everyone should help each other when
coming to terms with the demons in there head. He doesn’t try and say fake things like “life gets better” or “you’ll
get over it” because he's been through it and he knows it doesn’t work. Instead he tells you his story and his
emotions during the age of seventeen to try and make his fans that are going through hardship see the light. X
released his debut album, 17, on August 25, 2017. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

8. XXXTentacion – 17 : Released August 25, 2017
“There is no End to the pain YOU MUST BE NUMB.” What
this is saying is exactly what reflects in his music on the
album itself. The fact that the world doesn’t change and
maybe your situation doesn’t change, but you’ll change.
You have to make yourself mentally prepared for your own
issues even if your not ready. He put this message near the
middle so it can be one of the first things you see. Now
someone who going through a bad part in there life will see
that and be drawn to it. Then when they look closer at the
cover they could see “You are not alone” and feel a sense
of what they're going through is normal and that it can get
better. X made that initial message so bold and allowed it
to jump out so people with issues who are searching for an
escape through music can be drawn in.
X once again shows how serious he is about his project
and his message through this photo on the artwork. Its
not that clear but its actually the number “17” tattooed
on the side of his head. Now for other artists this isn’t
that big of a deal, but for X it means a lot. X has said in
the past many times that “if I get any tattoos on my skin,
its so I can look at it and gain from it a message.” X put a
photo of this tattoo to show his fans that he heavily
believes in the message of the album and what it stands
for.
“My sanity left me, when I was 17, my heart broke
beyond repair, when I was 17, I realised the pain is
and always will be a cycle when I was 17.” What this
tell us is that during the age of 17 X went through
something that he’s never felt before, a broken heart.
X throughout his whole life up to the age of 17 has felt
all types of pain. Abandonment, being beaten, spat
on, bullied, financial worries and not having a father
figure to look up to. And that all of that is nothing
compared to the pain of loving someone and then
finding out that they don’t love you back (which is
expressed on the track “Fuck Love”). “My sanity left
when I was 17” could also correlate to when X started
to get into trouble with the police and ended up going
to jail. “I realised the pain is and always will be a cycle
when I was 17” it is also the year however when X
found it within himself that “There is no end to the
pain” and that he must be numb. Because the pain
doesn’t go away instead, you get stronger. X gave us
this little insight in his life for people to see that he’s
been through pain too and that it is possible to
overcome it.
The simple picture of the noose under the words “To the pain you must be
numb” has an impact on the audience. This shows that X knows the
consequences of feeling a certain way. X knows that if you continue to feel as if
your life's never going to get better and that the pain never goes away, suicidal
thoughts can occur. And by putting that simple picture there he is showing that
he knows the pain and he knows what it can lead too. X did this to show an
outcome to people if they don’t handle there issue properly.
The artwork of the entire cover gives us an insight on
what X felt at the age of 17. From messages of “you
are not alone” to “it will never end” we see what's
going on inside his mind during the age of 17. This is
extremely evident when we look at the top of the art
“A collection of shattered thoughts and memories
“The Naked Truth” Hence the nude photos.” Around
the album we can see naked photos of X scattered
around the artwork. This is a statement that he being
boldly honest and is telling “The Naked Truth.”

9. Six Paths
Dave

10. David Santan born 5 June 1998, known simply as Dave or Santan Dave, is a
British rapper, from Streatham, South London. Dave made his debut
appearance on Black Box, a YouTube channel for freestyle rap, in May 2015
which was Dave’s first break through. He performed his first SB.TV "Warm Up
Session" in November 2015 which gave him some buzz .His debut
performance on Charlie Sloth's "Fire in the Booth", a freestyle segment on
BBC Radio 1Xtra which really showed the world Dave’s talent and skill. Then
Dave's festival debut was at Bestival in August 2016, performing alongside AJ
Tracey on their track Thiago Silva on the Eskimo Dance
Dave's influences are said to include Southern hip hop, grime, and hip hop.
As well as rapping, he also plays piano. He’s said in the past that his target
audience are people who are into more conscious rap/grime.
In October 2016, Drake premiered a remix to Dave's song "Wanna Know" on
OVO Sound Radio, which also featured Drake and was released as a single

11. Dave – Six Paths : Released on the 30th September 2016
Each photo is a different path where Dave can take his life, hence
the name six paths (also being a reference to Naruto). The album
itself does give us an insight on Dave’s life and how he’s feeling, but
we can also understand what Dave thinks his options are in life just
through the artwork. Dave has done this to show us his possibilities.
This Dave is the closest photo to Dave there is on the artwork. That and
the fact that it’s the main part of the art tells us that this is where Dave is
currently at. We can also assume this because it looks like Dave is
imagining the other five paths in his sleep while scribbling something
down. I believe that the photo itself also represents a path. A path
where Dave just stays in school, and doesn’t pursues anything.
This is the biggest photo of a path on the artwork and I feel
like its supposed to emphasis likelihood. I feel that its a lot
bigger then the rest because it’s the most likely path due
to his overwhelming success. The photo is of Dave holding
a microphone which is pretty safe to say that this path
represents a Rap career. However Dave is also scared that
he could be corrupted by the industry, which I think show
in his big gleaming eyes.
This photo of Dave represents a path of him
becoming a lawyer. This can be drawn from the
suit, briefcase, pointing and references
throughout the album. I don’t think that this is a
path that Dave wants to take. But I wouldn’t
doubt that at a time that this was the most
realistic path for him to take. Dave included this
with the artwork because he wanted to show
what an alternative path of Dave could be
This photo depicts a Dave in a big puffer jacket
on the phone with an evil look on his face. This
look in London is associated with gangs drug
dealings and robbers. I believe this to be a path
were Dave becomes a gangster/Hood-man or a
possible drug dealer. This is something that Dave
talks about a lot, the fact that he could of went
down an evil path. And that if it wasn’t for music
he would have been corrupted by the streets
and sold drugs to make a living. And the fact that
this path is right next to the path were Dave
becomes an artist shows that it could go either
way. That there is a conflicting relationship
between making a living of legal or illegal
money. Dave included this to show that there
still is a path were Dave is corrupted by the
streets.
This section shows Dave in fancy looking cloths
playing that piano. This path suggests a life were
Dave moves his passion away from UK Rap and
more into the classical scene. Dave has spoken
about how a lot of people feel like his piano talent
is being wasted on the UK Rap and instead he
should peruse his talent and focus on becoming a
pianist instead of an artist. Dave believes this to
be a path because he does recognise that he has
talent on the piano, and feels as if he could peruse
it in other genres.
This photo of Dave is right in the middle between
every other path. And because of this I feel that Dave
is scared of this path the most. This path shows Dave
walking in a cell portraying him going to prison. Dave
hasn’t ever been to prison but knows if he does then
the other paths would be a lot less likely. That’s why
its in the middle of the artwork, to show how much
power this path has. And Dave knows this and even
quotes it in his music that he has to avoid prison at all
costs. Dave included this in the middle of the artwork
to show that its still a very real possibility.