Reggae Album Art

I usually comb through album art for 5 or 10 minutes to do these posts, but this time it took only a minute total because each one one I came across was straight fyah!

Barry Brown's "Cool Pon Your Corner" just might be my new favorite dancehall album cover ever. Look at that thing. He's like a pose able rude boy action figure with the kung fu grip.

Reggae Album Art

Jammy ruled the 80's.



Little John posin' vicious.



Another one of my all time favorite album covers. Read the little phrases.



This looks like a high school senior year photo from Selassie High.



Right?

Reggae Album Covers

Jockey man style.



General Trees was into fixed gears before hipsters were even born.



Fire.



Chalice to chalice with Jah Woosh.



Is it me or does Toyan look like Sean Kingston?



Give me punanny me want punanny!!!



Cocaine is one helluva drug.



Rub a dub noir.



Nuff said.

Album Covers

The rap mixtape cover game is so weak it is almost comical. Look at any prominent mixtape website and you will be inundated with horrible, busy, disorienting photoshop light effects, etc.

The formula is this:

1. Some dude presents (big obnoxious type face)
2. A rapper (claiming to still sell coke or crack or both)
3. Absurd amounts of airbrushed skin and lighting effects
4. Movie poster knock off theme with accompanying type face (Godfather, Scarface, City of God, Shottas, Goodfellas, etc)

Granted this observation is not going to usher in a new movement of better design, but there are some decent covers like the one above in the sea of crappy mixtapes.

All this non sense has me reminiscing of the good ol' days when No Limit was running the album cover game. Back then all the covers were ridiculously comical in sort of a "we are serious" type of way.

Peep my personal favorite Mr. Serv-On if you doubt me.

That aside, this cover is quite creative and uses a pretty cool split person concept that works really well. Sure, the coke rap genre has reached its plateau and will surely become passe soon, but that doesn't mean that there isn't creative people still involved in it.

Pose Off

I've put together a small sample of album covers that caught my eye today. Not because of the exceptional graphic design or artwork, but more or less because every artist on these covers looks "top notch." Well sort of.




Above: Frankie Paul (on the right) has got some serious specs on. If he turns around I think he might light Coco Tea on fire inadvertently when the sunlight is magnified through those things.



Above: If I was Jamaican, in the 70's, and a reggae artist I would probably go with this look too. Flawless.



Above: You wouldn't know it by giving him a once over, but this dude made one of my favorite roots songs ever.



Above: Horace looks like someone who knows how to fix a transmission (while smoking).



Above: Somehow Leroy Smart gets not one but two ridiculous album covers in a row. The sheer fact that he pulls off looking like he embodies "grudgefulness" (not a real word mind you) in this photo is amazing.



Above: You don't have to be high to see that Leroy means business. Granted it helps, but it is not a prerequisite.



Above: First reaction to the leather pants Leroy: I'm for them!

Ed* SDTW does not condone the use and or advertisement of leather pants period.