Highlights of #BestBlackAlbumCovers
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This presentation shares memorable album covers from black artists, as celebrated recently on Twitter via the trending #BestBlackAlbumCovers.
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Highlights of #BestBlackAlbumCovers
- 1. Highlights of #BestBlackAlbumCovers David J. Deal http://www.davidjdeal.com December 23, 2015
- 2. @SonofBaldwin ignited a fire in the Twitterverse
- 3. #BestBlackAlbumCovers Captured Our Imagination Journalists and everyday people shared their favorites
- 4. Following are some of my favorites . . .
- 5. Isaac Hayes, Hot Buttered Soul
- 7. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly
- 8. Al Green, Greatest Hits
- 10. Teddy Pendergrass, Duets – Love & Soul
- 11. The Roots, Things Fall Apart
- 12. Donna Summer, Bad Girls
- 14. Nas, Nas
- 16. Marvin Gaye, What’s Going On
- 17. Public Enemy, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
- 18. Grace Jones, Island Life
- 19. The Notorious B.I.G., Ready to Die
- 20. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
- 22. Stevie Wonder, Talking Book
- 23. Queen Latifah, All Hail the Queen
- 25. Diana Ross, Diana Ross
- 26. Jimi Hendrix, Axis: Bold as Love
- 27. Isaac Hayes, Black Moses
- 28. James Brown, James Brown Plays Nothing but Soul
- 30. Janet Jackson, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814
- 31. Marvin Gaye, I Want You
- 34. Nina Simone, Forever Young, Gifted & Black
- 35. Wara from the NBHD, If Guns Could Speak PSA
- 36. Earth, Wind & Fire, All ‘n All
- 37. Sly & the Family Stone, There’s a Riot Goin’ On
Editor's Notes
- What are the best all-time album covers by black artists? Google #BestBlackAlbumCovers and find out. On December 23, 2015, @SonofBaldwin started tweeting his favorite album covers from black artists, using the hashtag #BestBlackAlbumCovers. What followed was Twitter on its best day. #BestBlackAlbumCovers started trending as the Twitterverse began contributing a wide-range of opinions, with ideas coming from journalists such as Charles Blow and Shaun King and many everyday people like you and me. I got immersed posting some of my #BestBlackAlbumCovers that capture powerful images, such as the sensual, bare-chested Al Green gracing the cover of Greatest Hits and Isaac Hayes's striking bald head on Hot Buttered Soul. I participated in some fun "Wow, you like this album, too?" moments with people I'd never met -- an unexpected joy and a purely organic phenomenon.
- This SlideShare highlights some of the covers that turned my Twitter stream into an inspired collection of some of the best album covers ever made by any artist of any color. What makes #BestBlackAlbumCovers especially significant is how they reflect the many dimensions of black culture. The scarred shoulders on the cover of Nas’s self-titled album express both the pain of being black and the strength required to overcome that pain. Nina Simone's expressive eyes on Forever Young, Gifted & Black make a powerful statement about black pride. The florid fashions depicted in the Isley Brothers's Showdown and Teddy Pendergrass's Duets -- Love & Soul capture an undeniably black sense of style. Marvin Gaye's What's Going On will forever express a certain kind of indescribable urban cool.
- Many of the album covers make strong statements about what it means to be black in America, including the aforementioned Nas, Sly & the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On and Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly. These covers are not always the easy to look at, but that's the point of something like It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. These covers are not meant to make you feel comfortable (especially if you are white). They serve as reminders of the racism, injustice, and inequality that characterize the contemporary black experience.
- Most of all, all the album cover art featured in #BestBlackAlbumCovers invites you to listen to the music inside the albums, experience the musicians' art, and maybe even learn something about yourself and the world around you. Check out the following slides for highlights.
- This one doesn’t need words on the cover. Is there any doubt whose bald head this is?
- Bold, confident, and somehow pure.
- 7
- Sensual soul. I saw those trousers in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
- Good call to make Curtis Mayfield’s sensitive face larger than the movie imagery – the soundtrack transcended the movie. The mustard-yellow lettering screams ‘70s cool.
- Who else but Teddy Pendergrass could pull off this look?
- One of five different covers that depicted the turmoil of history and current events. This photo was taken in the 1960s and depicts police chasing blacks after a riot in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. More about the cover here: http://www.complex.com/style/2014/02/the-roots-things-fall-apart-album-covers/woman-running
- All Donna: sexy, cool, and confident.
- When Michael was becoming a man.
- The scarred shoulders on the cover of Nas’s self-titled album express both the pain of being black and the strength required to overcome that pain.
- A glimpse of another America in that flag and in those faces.
- Marvin Gaye’s upturned collar and expression will forever capture the essence of cool.
- Marvin Gaye was comfortable with being cool. Public Enemy was comfortable making you uncomfortable.
- This trick shot defined Grace Jones. The story about the cover here: http://www.afrobella.com/2013/02/04/28-moments-of-black-beauty-historygrace-jones-island-life-photo/
- One face tells a story rife with cultural context. Here’s the story behind the story: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.14471/title.baby-from-notorious-b-i-g-s-ready-to-die-album-cover-identified
- Symbolic and brilliant on many levels.
- As complicated, byzantine, and mysterious as the King of Pop is.
- Reflective: you feel like you are interrupting a quiet moment just by looking at this portrait.
- Oozes pride and power.
- Pure badassery.
- You know what they say: call her Miss Ross. This album perfectly captures her essence. The simple, direct look draws your attention to where your eyes belong; watching Miss Ross.
- A visual feast and daring self-depiction that has become symbolic of an era.
- As daring as the religious imagery evident in Axis: Bold as Love. Like Jimi Hendrix, Isaac Hayes delivered on the promise of the title.
- A gritty look of determination and will.
- Gutsy, crazy, and all Prince. A kerchief, panties, and that salacious look.
- A compelling album cover for a defining moment on Janet Jackson’s career.
- Don’t you want to be in this picture? I first encountered the image as the credits for Good Times were rolling. The painting is Ernie Barnes’s The Sugar Shack.
- Unforgettable sensual funk that defined a decade.
- Jump suits, head bands, sequins, a walking stick – and that red shirt tied up like a bow. This is look is theirs and theirs alone.
- Nina Simone's expressive eyes on Forever Young, Gifted & Black make a powerful statement about black pride.
- It’s difficult to find a more urgent and timely album than this 2015 release.
- The spiritual mysticism of Earth, Wind & Fire explodes in color and vivid imagery.
- An iconic image that reclaimed the American flag in a new, disturbing context.
- Great album covers resonate even at a time when album sales have declined. Albums may never return to their glory days of the 1970, but album cover art remains an important way for musicians to connect with fans and represent their art. As I’ve mentioned before, their function has changed — from gracing the cover of a single work to acting as a visual totem published across many touch points, ranging from an artist’s Facebook page to their merchandise. In fact, album cover art is perfectly suited for today’s visual era. Album covers tell visual stories that express the music of the album, capture the personality of the artist, and engage your interest — just as great visual stories should do.