ALBUMSTUDY
the colors of the Album are vibrant and eye catching. its iconic effect on modern music echoes throughout music to the present day.
The album features frank ocean with water dripping from him, his palm over his face with a bandage over his index finger, with his iconic Green Hair. The album in retrospect to the cover is perfect as the themes of love, heartbreak and life are shown and interpreted in the album
STARBOY
STARBOY Starboy is the third studio album by Canadian singer the Weeknd, released on November 25, 2016, through XO and Republic Records. It features guest appearances from Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar, and Future. As the album's executive producers, the Weeknd and Doc McKinney enlisted a variety of producers such as Diplo, Cashmere Cat, Metro Boomin, Frank Dukes, and Labrinth, among others. Starboy was supported by seven singles, including the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one lead single of the same name and the top-five single "I Feel It Coming". It received generally favorable reviews from critics and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 348,000 album-equivalent units (209,000 of which were pure sales), becoming the Weeknd's second consecutive number-one album. It also debuted at number one on Billboard's Canadian Albums Chart. Starboy won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018, marking the Weeknd's second win in that category. As of April 2022, the album is certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
BLONDE
Blonde (alternatively titled blond) is the second studio album by American singer Frank Ocean. It was released on August 20, 2016, as a timed exclusive on the iTunes Store and Apple Music, and followed the August 19 release of Ocean's video album Endless. The album features guest vocals from André 3000, Beyoncé, and Kim Burrell, among others. Production was handled by Ocean himself, alongside a variety of high-profile record producers, including Malay and Om'Mas Keith, who collaborated with Ocean on Channel Orange, as well as James Blake, Jon Brion, Buddy Ross, Pharrell Williams, and Rostam Batmanglij, among others.
In 2013, Ocean confirmed that his follow up to Channel Orange would be another concept album. Initially known as Boys Don't Cry and teased for a July 2015 release, the album suffered several delays and was the subject of widespread media anticipation leading up to its release. Beginning in 2013 and ending in 2016, recording for the album took place at New York's Electric Lady Studios and, after a period of writer's block, in London at Abbey Road Studios and in Los Angeles' Henson Recording Studios. Its physical release was accompanied by a magazine entitled Boys Don't Cry.
Blonde features an abstract and experimental sound in comparison to Ocean's previous releases, encompassing styles such as R&B, pop, soul, avant-garde, indie rock, electronica, psychedelia, and hip hop. Ocean also notably makes use of pitch shifted vocals. The Beach Boys' de facto leader Brian Wilson is recognized as a strong influence on the album's lush arrangements and layered vocal harmonies, while the guitar and keyboard rhythms on the album are considered as languid and minimal. The album's themes surrounds Ocean dealing with his masculinity and emotions, inspired by sexual experiences, heartbreak, loss and trauma.
Blonde received widespread acclaim, with critics praising Ocean's introspective lyrics and the album's unconventional and progressive sounds. Critics also complimented the album for challenging the conventions of R&B and pop music. Supported by its lead single "Nikes", the album debuted at number one in several countries, including the United States. It earned first week sales of 275,000 with album-equivalent units in the US, with 232,000 being pure sales, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Among other publications, Time named it the best album of 2016. Metacritic named it one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year by music publications. In 2020, Pitchfork named it the best album of the 2010s and Rolling Stone ranked it at number 79 on their updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The album cover features a man sat down in an ocean atop a rainbow colored plank in a distant camera shot
which shows the creativity and the themes in the album
The album cover features chance the rapper smiling looking down towards the floor in a sky of pink clouds and stars. This album features gospel and hip hop tracks in a way that has never been done before
THE MELODIC BLUE
The Melodic Blue is the debut studio album by American rapper and record producer Baby Keem. It was released on September 10, 2021, by PGLang and Columbia Records, with Keem serving as the executive producer. The standard version of the album featured guest appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Don Toliver; an updated version, released on September 22, features an additional guest appearance from Brent Faiyaz. The deluxe edition of The Melodic Blue, released on October 28, 2022, contained additional guest appearances from PinkPantheress and Lil Uzi Vert
The Melodic Blue was supported by four singles, including "Durag Activity" with Scott and "Family Ties" with Lamar. "Durag Activity" peaked at number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100 "Family Ties" peaked at number 18 on the Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance, marking Keem's first Grammy Award The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, earning 53,000 total album-equivalent units in its first week.
THE COLORING BOOK
Coloring Book is the third mixtape by American rapper Chance the Rapper. It was produced by his group The Social Experiment, Lido, and Kaytranada, among others. For the mixtape, Chance also collaborated with musicians such as Kanye West, Young Thug, Francis and the Lights, Justin Bieber, 2 Chainz, Kirk Franklin, and the Chicago Children's Choir.
Coloring Book was released on May 13, 2016, exclusively on Apple Music, before being made available to other streaming services on May 27. It was the first mixtape to chart on the US Billboard 200 solely on streams, peaking at number eight, while receiving widespread acclaim from critics who praised its fusion of hip hop and gospel sounds. The mixtape won Best Rap Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards. It was also the first streaming-only album ever to win a Grammy.
The album cover features kendrick against a brick wall with the name of the album sitting above him.
this relates to the hip hop rap theme of the city rap genre.
DAMN.
Damn (stylized as DAMN.) is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on April 14, 2017, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Lamar assembled numerous artists and producers to produce the album, including executive producer and Top Dawg Entertainment label-head Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, Sounwave, DJ Dahi, Mike Will Made It, and Ricci Riera, as well as further production contributions from James Blake, Steve Lacy, BadBadNotGood, Greg Kurstin, The Alchemist, and 9th Wonder, among others. The album features guest vocals from singers Rihanna and Top Dawg singer Zacari, along with Irish rock band
The album has been categorized as conscious hip hop, a genre Lamar incorporated on his previous studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly. The album also incorporates elements of trap, contemporary R&B, and pop. Prior to the album's release, Lamar released a promotional single, "The Heart Part 4". In the months that followed, Lamar released three singles from the album; "Humble" was released in March 2017, "Loyalty" in June 2017, and "Love" in October 2017, the first of which became Lamar's first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist.
Damn received widespread critical acclaim, with many naming the album one of the best albums of 2017 and the decade. The album became the first non-jazz or classical work to earn a Pulitzer Prize for Music and won Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards, as well receiving a nomination for Album of the Year at the ceremony. The album topped the US Billboard 200 with 603,000 album-equivalent units earned in its first week and topped the chart of Canada while reaching number two in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It has since been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in May 2018 and was the Billboard Year-End number one album of 2017. In 2020, the album was ranked 175th on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The album features letters with lots of depressing and dark themes on the letters with polaroid photos. the album presents an uncomfortable tone with retrospect to the songs that present dark themes of death and depression.
the album relates to many people with the same state of mind and in a way is the voice people needed to hear
17
17 is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer XXXTentacion. It was released on August 25, 2017, by Bad Vibes Forever and Empire Distribution. With a total length of just under 22 minutes, the album is barely an LP, and does not feature a song longer than three minutes, which is considered unconventional for a studio album. The album was supported by the lead single "Revenge", and is XXXTentacion's second commercial record, following the compilation mixtape of the same name (2017). 17 includes a sole appearance from Trippie Redd and heavy sampling of Shiloh Dynasty, and production was handled by XXXTentacion, among others.
The album is built on acoustic and piano-driven songs, rather than the "turn-up" style and distortion bass sounds that was popular in XXXTentacion's native Florida scene. It experiments with a variety of genres, such as emo, lo-fi, indie rock, alternative R&B and grunge, while the lyrics are based around themes such as suicide, failed relationships, and infidelity. XXXTentacion stated that the album's target audience is people who suffer with depression, and that the album is also an "entry" into his mind.
The album produced the singles "Jocelyn Flores", and "Fuck Love". "Jocelyn Flores", "Revenge", "Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares", "Depression & Obsession", "Save Me" and "Carry On" all debuted on the Billboard Hot 100. "Jocelyn Flores", "Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares" and "Fuck Love" also debuted in the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart.
Although 17 was marketed with no radio play or much press coverage, it was a commercial success and was positively reviewed by several publications. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, with 87,000 album-equivalent units, and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It also charted highly in numerous European countries, including top five positions in Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Sweden, and a number one position in Norway. The album has also been certified platinum in Canada, Denmark and New Zealand. XXXTentacion posthumously won Favourite Soul/R&B Album for 17 at the 2018 American Music Awards.