Rhianna and Plan B comparison

I have chosen to compare two similar yet to completely different CD covers each done by two different artists. The first CD cover I am going to analyse is Rhianna's album Loud, on the cover of this album is her face filling it all making her the main and only focus of the cover. One of the main colours on this cover is mainly red with her red hair flowing behind and around her face and her bright red lips in the centre, these lips are the focal point of the CD cover with your eyes instantly being drawn towards them. The choice of colouring for the lips (red) connotes lust and love expressing that the album may be focused on these subjects. The album title is also at the bottom of the cover and in thin white writing connoting a strong urge not to draw focus from her. Rhianna is also not looking at the camera giving it a 'natural' look as though she didn't know it was being taken so she hasn't posed trying to connote natural beauty however it is clear to see that it is a posed image. You can also see that the contrast of the image has been edited with dark shadows underneath her chin and extremely black eyelashes. This music video includes the male gaze with many males being drawn to the bright colours and sheer beauty of Rhianna which has been done purposely to persuade them to buy it.The cover is quite ironic with the album title being 'loud' however the image is quite static with not much going on in it.

 In comparison to Rhianna  this album cover By Plan B  'who needs actions when you got words' is much more realistic trying to represent his real life rather than a rappers fantasy the cover doesn't connote wealth it connotes poverty with him wearing one shoe sitting on a dirty sofa, papers piled on the floor  with a retro style TV behind him all in one dirty room. The gun in his arm and the graffiti on the wall connote crime and vandalism which is usually found in city suburbs especially London which is where he is from. Looking at the album cover and around the time that is was released it is almost poison on the edge of a massive  uproar about youth and knife crime however the cover does fit the genre of the music with it being grime you can see definite elements of grime instantly looking and the graffiti and gun. His CD cover isn't creating surrealism it is creating realism suggesting that the album could be very personal to him with it seeming as though he is sitting in his own grimy flat.

While comparing the two CD covers when it comes to representation of gender it is clear to see that there is one big difference between them. The main difference is the fact that Rhianna's album is sold on sex appeal and lust where as Plan B's is sold on the basis of his views on reality.