CD Digipak analysis of Drake 'Take Care'

Drake's 'Take Care'Album Cover 

This is the cover of Drake and Rihanna’s album called ‘Take Care’. The image used on the cover is a close up establishing shot showing Drake sitting alone on a table where he looks lonely, isolated and depressed. In the cover Drake is wearing gold chains and drinking out of a gold cup whist looking down showing us that he is miserable, depressed and upset. The audience can also see that Drake is wealthy from what he is wearing and the surroundings as he has a gold candle holder, gold cup and gold chains. However, it is clear that Drake is going through a break up which could be the reason why the album is called ‘Take Care’ as he says ‘bye’ to his girlfriend. As a result, from Drake's facial expressions and the surroundings the message that we receive is that money can buy you anything and everything apart from love, because it is priceless.

In the background we can see that there is a picture and gold figure of a bird which symbolises freedom. This connotes that he might have been trapped in a relationship as a result, himself and his girlfriend are now free to live their own lives how they want. The album ‘Take Care’ is about fighting for the person you love. In the cover we can see that Drake has lost the fight as he is sitting alone on a table. The fact that he has not shaved also suggests that he is going through severe depression. One of the main colours used in this cover is the colour gold in ‘Take Care’. The colour gold symbolises power and strength where we can see that Drake is rich and wealthy and has everything apart from his love who is Rihanna. Even though she is not in the album cover she is in the song hence he is telling her to take care of herself now that they have split up. Another colour used is black which symbolises sadness, unhappiness and wealth which is exactly what Drake is going through even though he is wealthy and capable enough to afford anything he wants.

From this album cover I would use a medium shot when creating the album cover of the music video myself and my group produce. This is because through a medium shot the audience can see what is inside the mise en scene as well as the artist’s facial expressions and emotions. I could also use the layout of this album cover as it breaks the convention of having the artists’ name on the front cover so that the audience know who the album belongs and who the artist is that sang the album.

Inside of cover of Drake's album

This is the inside cover of Drake’s album ‘Take Care’. This cover breaks the convention of having a person or artist as a centre image. The reason why there is a black printed background could be because it represents sadness, depression and power which is what the album is about. Also the inside cover is simple and consistent in comparison to the front album cover which makes the cover look successful.

The track listing in this cover is in the centre compared to Jay Sean’s ‘The Mistress’ whose is on the left. This makes it easier for the audience to read the track list as it is straightforward and simple. There is also the use of typography as the colour of the font is gold which is the same colour used on the album’s front cover hence symbolising power and strength which contrasts with the black. On the bottom of the inside cover case is a small paragraph of recognition from the artist to say who helped to create and produce the album which gives the audience the ideas who is part of it and have more information of the artist bringing them closer whilst knowing the artist is sincere. There is also the use of record labels which is shown on the bottom of the cover which allows the audience to see who helped to release the album and what record company the artist is signed to. In this case it is Cash Money Records and Universal Republic.

Some of the elements I would use from this inside cover is the use of colour and layout. This is because the inside cover does not have an image of the artist but is simple where the track list is listed in the middle which keeps it straightforward for the audience to read. The inside cover is also consistent as it uses the same colours which are on the album’s front cover. As a result I can use these ideas to make sure that the album covers me and my group members produce look professional and follow the conventions of a CD album.