Jay-z Poster Analysis

Jay-Z – Blueprint. Poster 2

 



 This poster is from Jay-z’s album blueprint. The denotation of this poster is the artist smoking a large cigarette. The Target demographic can make many different connotations from this image which will be explored in this analysis.

Firstly the main image is a high angled shot looking down at the artist. The audience immediately get the interpretation that the artist is the dominate antagonist in the picture through the intimating look he is using to look at the people in the corner. This ideology is supported as only the shoes of anyone else are shown; the artist is the only person on the screen at a time. The high angled shot denoting this connotes to the audience that the artist has much more significance than anyone in the image hence only their feet are shown. One of the many codes and conventions of this music genre is drugs and money. Jay Z has confirmed this codes and conventions in his album as he is denoted smoking what seems to be some form or self rolled cigarette. This image has been used on a connotative level as these main images could have been used to enlighten the audience of possible issues the artist he may have faced throughout this life thus the drug use. The artist’s pure black attire could also be used to connote the darkness in which lies within the artist,, he who which gets over these issues by writing music about it. Thirdly the artist is seen to be wearing Black sunglasses although the lighting is very desiderated and dark. This ideology could suggest to the demographic that the artist does not want the audience to see the pain and hurt in his eyes. Jay Z is doing his best to express his feelings in this album but does not want to subvert the very common stereotype in this genre which suggests the artists are big and tough and do not feel emotion.

However the images denoted in the bottom right poster offer a very different connotation to the audience. The audience have a bird’s eye view of what seems to be musical equipment situated in the bottom right of the screen. The saturated light shining on this equipment denotes this is something the artist wanted the audience to see. At first jay z is being represented as a drug addict thug however this album poster may be his way of telling his audience to think of him because of the music he makes rather than the drugs he takes. This connotation is explored further through the use of the white font for the artists name and album title, the colour white connotes innocence and purity, Although it is clear from the images jay z is far from that however these colours could suggest that he does not want the audience judging him for his out of music actions.