Album Art Spotlight
Editor’s Note: Indepedent J comes to us from earfuzz.com. We hope to have him back again soon.
Hi there, I’m stepping in for Douglas’s last two posts on album art homages and hopefully not tracking too much dirt on to his clean carpet. Today I want to look into hip hop albums, which not only are audibly constructed from samples from other musical sources but often sample the visuals provided by their influences/heroes/villains/resources.
LET’S SAMPLE BLUE NOTE
So much seminal hip hop is based on Blue Note jazz samples that the label released a compilation of some of the more famous sample sources late last year. Below is not a comprehensive list of hip hop album cover’s devotion to the Blue Note aesthetic, but captures my favorites.
The Turnaround by Hank Mobley and Intoxicated Demons by The Beatnuts
It is likely a coincidence that both my favorite Mobley album and my favorite Beatnuts album utilize the same clean, minimal art work. The clean typography that is minimized down to the essential information was a staple of 60s Blue Note cover art. It is definitely missed in today’s world of overly busy, detail-free cover art. Of course, the old style perhaps lends itself easily to domination of the JamsMatch game.
Hub-Tones by Freddie Hubbard and The Low End Sequence EP by Boom Bip & DJ Osiris
Steve Stoll wasn’t the only one feeling the Hub-tone laid out by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. Boom Bip and DJ Osiris collaborated on a fine EP of instrumental hip hop with a smooth jazz feel. They even got a little live trumpet for one of the tracks, although unfortunately not from the still active Mr. Hubbard. This album design is by the amazing Reid Miles and has been bitten (love bites all) many, many times for all kinds of uses. Skipping out on music for a bit I’ll toss in the movie poster for Steven Soderbergh’s The Limey, which didn’t feature any jazz or hip hop on the soundtrack.
A New Perspective by Donald Byrd and Loc-ed After Dark by Tone-Loc and Blue Note Revisited by Various Artists (bonus: Off To The Races by Donald Byrd and The Cat Walk by Donald Byrd)
Here is a great triple threat of referencing. Another Blue Note trumpeter who got the hip hop homage was the incredibly prolific Donald Byrd. Tone-Loc made this album cover famous and unforgettable since it covers the disc containing frat/irony party staples “Funky Cold Medina” and “Wild Thing.” Blue Note themselves brought back this car and replaced both Byrd and the by-then cartoon-voicing Tone with a hotty in a dress made from aluminum foil scraps(?) for their album of dance remixes of some of their classic tracks. Maybe by then the car cost too much and ate up the photo shoot budget. Byrd has had a wonderfully distinguished, long-lasting, and well documented career (as opposed to Tone-Loc…I miss you Loc). He occasionally has received jazz snob criticism for going back to the same well too often. For his playing and band-leading I think that is unfair, but maybe the critics are thinking of his album art and his fascination with leaning on cars (see Off To The Races and The Cat Walk – Byrd loves flossin’).
Speak Like A Child by Herbie Hancock and Connected by Foreign Exchange
One of my all time favorite album covers is Hancock’s Speak Like A Child, which captures a beautiful moment and a lovely sentiment. Foreign Exchange, the partnership between producer Nicolay and rapper Phonte (of Little Brother), pays homage with the cover of their album Connected. The way they subtly flip the script from Hancock’s cover is interesting though. For Speak the couple has clear separation with a very chaste smooch and with the man carrying his briefcase (possibly lunch box) it is clearly either the early morning parting or the evening reunion. It makes a difference because sailors need to interpret that pink/red sky. Meanwhile, Connected’s lady has her man pinned on the fence and it is clear neither has anywhere to go anytime soon…more overt passion, but less of a legacy feel between the couple. Again, it could be the start of a day of hangsies for these two love-birds or the beginning of a passionate night…either way they could not do much better than giving Speak a turn on the stereo while they do whatever it is they do when they leave that fence behind and head to the neighborhood in the background.
IT WASN’T JUST BLUE NOTE – NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THE ADORATION
Much like how hip hop producers have not been afraid to pull audio samples from anywhere and everywhere, hip hop album art looked far afield for their reference points. From funk (obvious), digger prized record labels (maybe still obvious), the Beatles (ok still obvious), soundtracks, and even other hip hop groups.
Please, Please, Please by James Brown and Bazerk, Bazerk, Bazerk by Son of Bazerk
Number one in ego-trip’s list of rap album artwork based on other LP covers, the Son of Bazerk dared to draw direct reference to the Godfather himself. And beautifully done as well. This album is not always that easy to find, but with its strong Bomb Squad production it is definitely worth picking up. And the first album release by the hardest working man in show business? Well I think you know you can never have enough of the super sensational Mr. Dynamite in your music collection or life.
Meet The Beatles! by The Beatles and Young Black Teenagers by Young Black Teenagers and LiVE by The Roots
Before they were busy tapping the bottle and twisting the cap, YBT evidently spent a little time with their parents records. Again it is super clean design that deserves to be revisited again and again. I feel like I could have a nice afternoon listening to Meet and YBT after I finish writing this. And while I recognize it isn’t quite the same design, whomever made this compilation of live music by The Roots (it smells a little bootleggy to me) captured much the same aesthetic.
The Warriors Soundtrack and Delinquent Habits by Delinquent Habits
Another cover homage I was turned onto by ego trip. The Warriors has a devoted cult following that is distinctly strong in the hip hop community. Interestingly enough, The Warriors samples (especially the rattling bottles for those in the know) show up frequently in UK hip hop and jungle.
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So there you have it, some of my favorite hip hop album covers…covers of covers I mean. There are dozens more I can think of and probably hundreds more in existence. I’d love to hear about more, so make like some Baseball Furies post some ideas in the comments from your dugout club house.
