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Vinyl Monday #6

This week’s Vinyl Monday is dedicated to 4 sleeves that stand inside any listing of the best hip-hop albums ever. Nevertheless we narrowed down our selection to only East Coast hip-hop, from The Tribe to Biggie from street art to politics.

1. The Notorious BIG – Ready To Die

Ready To Die vinyl Front

The visual artist is Cey Adams. Adams has been part of the visual art in Hip Hop for almost 3 decades. He’s done a majority of the artwork for Def Jam as well as Bad Boy Records. He’s managed art direction for some of the most influential artists in the industry including Run DMC, The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy, just to name a few. In the process of creating the album art, it wasn’t the original idea. In an interview with Insominac Magazine, Adams brings up that the infant on the cover wasn’t something Biggie originally wanted. It was something that had to be sold to him. After the release of Ready To Die, many people wondered who actually was the baby on the cover. Some say it was Biggie as a child, one of Puffy’s sons and some say it was the son of Puffy’s former stylist. But in a conference call on the 16th Anniversary of the album’s release, it was revealed that the infant was discovered in a casting agency. The now 20 year old Keithroy Yearwood was the subject behind Biggie’s debut album. At the time, Yearwod only made $150 for the 2 hour photoshoot. He’s not asking for anything else but for people to know that it was him. (via mixcrate)
 

“Most people want themselves on their album cover, especially for the first release. And in the end, it ended up being a great cover. It ended up really defining who he was as an artist and when people referred to him they always go back to that record.”

Ready To Die vinyl back

Year: 1994
Label: Bad Boy Entertainment
Art Direction: The Drawing Board
Artwork: Cey Adams
Photography: Butch Bel Air

2. The Low End Theory – A Tribe Called Quest (1991)

Low End Theory vinyl Front

Following up the sunny day illustration from their happy-go-lucky debut, Tribe went decidedly darker on the cover for the more mature (and classic) The Low End Theory. Painting the contours of an invisible model’s body with glow-in-the-dark paint, the red, green, and black image was sexy and Afrocentric all at once—a delicate balance that mirrored Tribe’s jazz-heavy sound at the time. The iconic imagery would continue to pop up throughout Tribe’s career (gracing the covers of their next two albums), making the painted lady hip-hop’s most recognizable mascot. Stripped-down, stylish, and original, The Low End Theory is everything a great rap album cover should be. (via Complex)

Low End Theory vinyl Back

Year: 1991
Label: Jive Records / RCA Records
Artwork: Zombart JK
Photography: Joe Grant

3. Public Enemy – Yo! Bumrush The Show

Yo Bum Rush The Show vinyl Front

Hank & Chuck met with photographer Glen Friedman and graphic & graffiti artist Eric Haze their idea was to make a cover that sounded as urgent and direct as the groups sounds and message. Friedman photographed the iconic image of the group gathered around a large map that was spread out on the table. The shot was done with a low budget camera as requested by Rick Rubin who wanted the cover shot with a grainy look. As the photographer point out in his own words ” I knew that shooting Public Enemy’s first cover was gonna be like shooting The Clash’s first album cover, to me this was the first over politicly hip-hop group”. Haze was then called to the art direction, sizing and cropping the and typesetting the lettering of the groups logo all by hand with the line, “The Government Is Irresponsible” running on the bottom of the cover.

Yo Bum Rush The Show vinyl Back

Year: 1987
Label: Def Jam/Columbia
Art Direction: Eric Haze
Photography: Glen E. Friedman

4. De La Soul – 3 Feet High & Rising

Feet High And Rising De La Soul vinyl Cover

Looking as unique as they sounded, De La entered the rap game with fluorescent colors and a cut-and-paste vibe that were both likely firsts for the genre. Old-fashioned hippie visuals begat image so iconic that De La would spend much of the years that followed living in (and eventually killing) its shadow. (via Complex)

Feet High And Rising De La Soul vinyl Back

Year: 1989
Label: Tommy Boy
Art Direction: The Grey Organization
Photography: Marie Hennechart
Illustration: Michael Uman

 

This selection is brought to you by Arara: a creative & production studio run by Malu Barretto, Rodrigo Peirão and Pedro Igor Alcantara located in Rio de Janeiro, follow them on instagram @ararainc.




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