The document analyzes and summarizes the album covers of Jay-Z's "American Gangster" (2007), D12's "Purple Hills" (2001), and 50 Cent's "Before I Self Destruct" (2009). For Jay-Z's cover, it notes the smoky, abandoned setting enhances the gangster imagery. For D12, it discusses how the gold chain represents the group's fame and status. For 50 Cent, it describes his aggressive posture and the expensive jewelry used to convey dominance and wealth.

1. Hip-Hop Album Cover Analysis
Ammer Mohammed

2. Jay-Z American Gangster (2007)
Photography
The photo of Jay-z shows
this kind of powerful
gangster side of him, also
the fact he is in an
abounded restaurant
filled with smoke with
adds to the whole
gangster look.
Lighting/Colour
Their isn’t much vibrant
lighting used in the shot
but it adds to the whole
gangster look as
everything around him
looks abounded. Also he
has that silhouette look
to him which makes the
whole shot of him seem
mysterious yet powerful.
Costume
His costume represents
how modern day mafia
gangsters look, such as
the long over coat he
wearing on top of his suit
gives him the
stereotypical look of a
mafia gangster which
dates back to olden days
when gangsters in the
70-80’s looked as they
mostly wear suits and
hats etc. A good example
of how gangsters looked
can be seen from the
movie Gangster Squad
Props
The props in the shot are
very confusing as to why
they are there but it
makes the shot look a
whole lot more
mysterious such as the
upside chairs may give
off the sense of the area
being empty which some
might question why he’s
there himself

3. D12 – Purple Hills (2001)
Photography
The image that stands
out most in the album
cover and takes up
most of he image is the
chain which is the
representative of the
group D12, also the fact
it is a gold chain which
signifies wealth and
status and the fame
D12 hold to get
themselves onto a
chain
Colour
The background colour of the
album clearly connotes the
use of the name ‘Purple’ pills
but the title itself stands out
but has a white coloured font
which still stands out but the
background colour mostly
represents what the word
says and when someone
reads the word purple the
background colour almost
comes out instantly
Cover
The white marks on the
cover makes it look like
it’s quite old but give it
that kind of futuristic but
vintage look meaning
people would look it and
think that it’s old but the
realise it gives it that kind
of future hit cover
Text
The title text stands out
quite a lot they use that
kind of formal look to it
also the second word
‘Pills’ looks similar to the
word ‘Hills’ which is one
of the songs in the album
which is called Purple Hill,
it’s also sounds like a drug
reference.

5. 50 Cent – Before I Self Destruct (2009)
Photography
The photo of 50 cent
is quite a striking
picture as it shows his
dominant aggressive
side you can see this
through his arm
positions as one is in
the air near his face
and the other relaxed
over his legs also
holding watches on
them, also the stern
look on his face adds
to the aggressiveness.
This is a typical album
cover which the artists
typical show their
dominance through
their posture and
position within the
cover.
Props
The props in the video
directly relate to the
stereotypical props
used in album covers
which feature an
extensive amount of
jewelry as this shows
the artists dominance
and wealth and in this
cover we can clearly
see 50 is wearing a
necklace, watch,
bracelet and ring all of
which are presumably
expensive to show his
masculine wealth
Costume
The costume 50 is wearing is a typical hip hop artists costume as most of
them usually wear these kinds of outfits in their videos such as The
Game, Eminem etc all wear these kinds of outfits to fit in with their
videos which often involves clubs or other parties