Section 80 Analysis (DONE)

Kendrick Lamar's third studio album 'Section 80' was released in 2011 and was the predecessor  to his breakthrough album Overly Dedicated. It is called Section80 in reference to Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 which meant that private landlords could pay for rented housing on behalf of nearly 3.1 million low-income households. Shortened to 'Section 8' it refers to housing projects or as commonly known, the ghetto. Section 80 also represents the people who were born in the 80's so it is possible to assume that Section 80 refers being born in the 80's and the struggle he endured. 

Colour:
The colours used in the cover of this digipak are dark oranges, greens and whites. The orange is used because it represents deceit and distrust. In the album the phrase 'Bliss and Disobedience' is used twice, I think this links in with deceit and distrust because it paints the audience a picture of this generation that to not care about breaking the rules and deceiving. As opposed to the dark greens we see because they represent harmony and safety. I think Kendrick Lamar had used this as an oxymoron for what the album is about, or rather what he wishes the way he grew up as an '80's baby' was more like this. This theme continues through the use of white, which represents virginity and purity. On the album songs such as 'Keisha's Song' and 'Tammy's song' are about girls who have been turned to selling their body or being abused by men for money or security and this is why the white is an oxymoron.

Wording/Font
The font on this digipak is simple and the reason behind this is because Section80 wasn't very popular upon release and it's only Lamar's third album and from what we can see on his two previous albums (Kendrick Lamar - 2011 and Overly Dedicated - 2010) the trend of understated font continues. In my opinion, the font suits the album because he is sending a message but he is not forcing you to hear it, this matches the font in the sense that it wouldn't stand out on the shelves however if you wanted to hear it, you would pick it up. Again wording is relatively simple as Section80 refers to his neighbourhood and the only other words on the front cover are his name and the Holy Bible. There are religious messages through out the album so the Bible makes sense and also tells the audience what to expect on the album.


Choice of Images
I think this front cover has managed to fit a lot of aspects of the album onto a picture. In the frame we can see gun clips, condoms, lipstick and a Bible. These objects all together in one picture in unheard of and this was confirmed by Lamar in an interview where he said that they are 'the taboos of the world' he admits that the cover caused him to receive criticism. He goes on to say that the reason he has out these all together is because they may not be seen as the norm, however it would be understandable for a young man from Compton to posses these items all on the same table because he is still trying to find himself and that he's only human. The back of the album is the same picture but cropped to the part that says Section80 just to give the album and name even if you were to look at the back.

Design/Layout
Unfortunately, because the album is old and not very well known, there are not any images if the inside cover, but what I can comment on is the placement of the text on both the front and back cover. On the front the text is attached to the image in such a way that is trying to make the audience believe it really is on the items, he has managed to make the title look inconspicuous which I think is what he had in mind for this album. The back of the album is like most others because it just has the name of the songs on there and what number track they are, however, an interesting note is that he has placed all the producers on the tracks they produced, I think he has done this so he can tell the audience directly that J Cole produced Hii-Power which may of helped sales, by networking with a successful artist.