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For the promotion of my work, I will be collaborating with my friend and artist, Tom Watts. He agreed to design the artwork for my album cover. I will be looking into what makes good album artwork for a hip hop album.
Hip hop album art is often dark and gritty, trying to portray a specific story or message. In the past it was often the artist on the album cover, to give them maximum exposure to their fans, however recently the covers take on a more conceptual feel to them. Often the imagery is related to crime, violence and dark concepts that are related to hip hop as many artist bring their past stories and experiences with them, for example Nas' 'Illmatic' album is a picture of him as a pre teen, faded with the Brooklyn projects burning behind him. This work well because it tells the story of where he grew up and in the tracks for that album he himself tells the story of what it was like to be a teen, growing up around poverty and crime. Another example is Joey Badass' 'B4da$$', Which shows a black and white image of him looking over New York city, the city he grew up in, where his stories and experiences come from. In hip hop the art work often relates to the artists story or the message they are trying to convey. (1, 2)
Hip hop album art is often dark and gritty, trying to portray a specific story or message. In the past it was often the artist on the album cover, to give them maximum exposure to their fans, however recently the covers take on a more conceptual feel to them. Often the imagery is related to crime, violence and dark concepts that are related to hip hop as many artist bring their past stories and experiences with them, for example Nas' 'Illmatic' album is a picture of him as a pre teen, faded with the Brooklyn projects burning behind him. This work well because it tells the story of where he grew up and in the tracks for that album he himself tells the story of what it was like to be a teen, growing up around poverty and crime. Another example is Joey Badass' 'B4da$$', Which shows a black and white image of him looking over New York city, the city he grew up in, where his stories and experiences come from. In hip hop the art work often relates to the artists story or the message they are trying to convey. (1, 2)