Album Cover Analysis of Rihanna's Album Anti

Introduction

Album cover analysis reveals that covers like Rihanna’s 2017 “Anti” album cover often portray an image to express the artist’s feelings other than what is written in their songs. This allows their viewers to reach a deeper meaning of what they’re trying to express with their album. On Rihanna’s 2017 “Anti” album cover, the placement of certain elements across the album cover represents how fame and popularity can be blinding and hide a person’s true personality. For example, the placement of the crown, showcasing of braille, use of certain colors, and the aspects of losing sight of the past work together to display the blinding effects of fame.

Symbolism in 'Anti' Album Cover

Fame and popularity create a blinder over a person and it hides their true identity, and this is shown by the gold crown in the image. The unfocused image of a little girl, with a braid in her hair, holding a balloon in her left hand and a gold crown over her head. The gold crown is arranged so that it is covering the little girl’s eyes. This is significant because it acts as a blinder, the crown being placed in the middle of the head, around the eyes, it makes it look forced upon the little girl because it is not gracefully worn on top of the head, which is the commonly known way to wear a crown. A crown represents royalty, and from the view of the crown we can see that the head of royalty is being placed onto a little girl. This shows how fame was brought into Rihanna’s life at such a young age. The idea of fame through the world’s eyes are visions of fairy tales with loads of money and anything a person could ever dream of, however, from this album cover we can see how fame and popularity, shown by the crown becomes constraining.

The use of braille in the image also shows the effect of being blinded. On the album cover, the unfocused image of the little girl holding the balloon is covered by braille. Braille is a form of communication for legally blind people. This is what they use to read and write. The braille written across the album cover portrays that the little girl in this picture, or Rihanna herself, is having to communicate with it which further proves how fame and popularity are blinding. When people come into fame, they are exposed to the whole world. This may become unbearable to control alone. The revealing of braille in her album cover is acting as a way of reaching out for help, communicating that fame is blinding and the help from others are needed.

Color Use in the Album Cover

The use of certain colors in Rihanna’s 2017 “Anti” album cover convey that fame and popularity is dangerous. The little girl holding the balloon on the album cover is coated by a red splotch of paint that covers half of the little girl’s body. This red splotch of paint is the only other color on the album other than the gold crown. The use of these two colors are a big aspect as to why fame is blinding. The color red specifically is a very emotionally intense color. In this album cover it is symbolizing danger and this danger is starting to cover or enclose the little girl. When a person steps into fame the paparazzi and the press start to follow their every move, and not only the paparazzi but the entire world. This leaves the person with little to no privacy. From this album cover we can see how the dangers of fame were starting to come into Rihanna’s life and started to manipulate her and cripple her reputation. What the world perceives from the paparazzi can be something totally different than what the famous person’s actions really were. This shows how fame has not only blinded Rihanna, but has blinded the world from seeing who she really is. The blinding effects of fame not only inhabit the famous person, but the world as well.

Losing sight of the past is also a blinding effect of fame. On the album cover the little girl, with a braid in her hair, is holding onto a balloon with her left hand and the image is blurred. This image having a blurred aspect portrays that Rihanna is starting to lose her sight. The little girl being the thing being blurred it is showing that she started losing her sight at a young age. When a young child is holding onto a balloon there is always that chance that the balloon could easily slip out of the child’s hand and float off into the sky. This leaves the balloon out of reach for the child and gone forever. Here in this image the balloon is representing Rihanna’s past. When Rihanna stepped into fame and popularity she was holding onto her past trying not to let go or lose sight of it. Becoming popular and being blinded by fame can create a fear of forgetting where you came from. Getting caught up in the fame and popularity, it can easily allow a person to lose memories of their childhood. This means that they have to literally hold onto their past as if it were simply a balloon that could fly away in a gust of wind.

Conclusion

Rihanna’s 2017 album cover expresses the true effects that fame and popularity can bring into a person’s life. From the gold crown to the simplicity of a balloon, Rihanna shows how she is becoming blinded. This is her act of reaching out for help. She’s trying to hold onto her past and find her true self again before she becomes permanently blinded by the fame and popularity exposed to her. From this 2017 album cover we can confirm that fame and popularity is two-faced. Through the world’s eyes it may seem like a fairytale, however, for the people that are exposed to the effects of fame and popularity are losing sight of themselves.   

References

1. Gray, E. (2016, October 20). Rihanna's Anti album cover: The full meaning behind the artwork. British GQ. Retrieved from https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/rihanna-anti-cover
2. Hoffman, J. (2019, January 28). Why Rihanna's Anti is her greatest album to date. Redbrick. Retrieved from https://www.redbrick.me/why-rihannas-anti-is-her-greatest-album-to-date/
3. Dobbins, S. (2016, February 2). The hidden meanings of Rihanna's 'Anti' album cover. The Cut. Retrieved from https://www.thecut.com/2016/02/rihanna-anti-album-cover-is-braille.html