Album Cover Artwork - Mrs Fisher

I have chosen to research two artists within the reggae genre, the first one is Damian Marley and the second is Freddie McGregor. The reason I chose to research these artists is because they are well known and have had a lot of success when it comes to reggae songs. Damian Marley is the son of the famous Bob Marley and has produced songs such as; ‘Welcome to Jamrock’ and ‘Road to Zion’. Freddie McGregor is also a very well known artist who sang songs such as; ‘Just don’t want to be lonely’ and ‘That Girl’. The reason I have chosen the Reggae genre is because the song that my group and I have chosen to use as background music in our music video is by a reggae artist whose name is ‘Shani’. 

Here are the two album covers of both my chosen reggae artists. Both songs I have chosen in this case are the songs that made the artists recognized for their musical abilities and talents. As you can see both album covers are very different and show a different side to each artist that the music label behind the artists want to show to the audience. Even though both artists are based within the same genre their artwork is very different from one another. Damian Marley's artwork gives off a dangerous feeling due to the background, as well as the clothes he is wearing which is an army uniform. This is associated with a rough stereotypical perception that rappers would mainly use within their artwork. Whereas Freddie McGregor’s artwork for his album cover shows warmth as his body language is very inviting due to his hands being place out in front of him.

I have researched and found different album covers from each artist and have compared the artwork on each cover as well as  what makes them individual and stand out so that consumers are attracted to go out and buy new releases from artists. All album artwork covers are very different from each other and they are used to show consumers what the songs are about. Damian Marley's artwork covers are very different as they show different sides to him. The first album cover shows a tough side to Damian as the conventions used in that image are very specific towards a violent type of genre. It is also seen as aggressive due to the use of colours, clothes and the body language Damian is displaying. However in the second album cover it shows a much softer side to Damian as he is smiling and shows a welcoming attitude that consumer will be able to relate to. The font type used usually says a lot about the artist and in this case the font type and size is used to show a bring out a different side to Damian which other may attract a wider target audience. Finally, the last album cover I have chosen to look at by Damian Marley doesn't give the audience any indication or hint into how the song may be or how the content of it is. As a result of this it makes consumers want to know more which will make them go out and buy the album/single. As well as this the colours used on the album cover show consumers that not a lot of affects and visuals were put into place when the cover was created. Having said that it can be argued that when the album was released there was no high technology available at that time to show the representation between the lyrics and what the song is about to make the link with the artwork. 

Moving on, Freddie McGregor's artwork on his album covers shows that he is a welcoming character in each picture taken of him. In all album covers he is in the photo himself making the audience aware of what kind of song he is singing about and how he is himself as a person. The audience are able to tell this from Freddie's body language as well as the use of colour and conventions we expect to see in an album cover by Freddie. Freddie is associated with being an upbeat character who mainly sang love songs. This has allowed me to come to the conclusion that all of the artwork used on each album cover represents the kind of person Freddie is. Being a reggae artist also brings around stereotypical views in how artists should act or the way their work should be. In the next album cover below, the black and white photograph works well and is very effective with the coloured writing at the top and bottom of the image. Red, yellow and green are seen as very African heritage colours which allow me to conclude that part of the stereotype is being displayed. This also creates a link to reggae music because consumers will relate them specific colours to reggae artists. Freddie's facial expressions show the type of person he is and allows him to attract an audience who just enjoy listening to reggae music and not talk about violence and suffering which is the opposite of what Damian Marley portrays within his work.

Finally, the last album cover I will be talking about is the image on the right. Freddie McGregor always shows emotion throughout each album artwork cover and I have found out that this helps the audience relate to him and his music. As well as this from the use of colour in the piece of artwork on the right shows that Freddie wants to give off a different kind of emotion other than love, however that it may be sorrow. I have drawn this conclusion due to Freddie's body language and facial expression. As he is looking down I am able to make the link between not having any confidence so this is what the song may consist of. 'Hard to Get' is the name of the album and creates a link between a vulnerable impression Freddie is showing within the image.