Not so much.

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KEAPHOPE INTRO
It’s not secret I’m a fan of cover art. From working on my own adaptations for singles to KeapHope’s recent project with Tanya Morgan for, The Sandwich Shop EP, my interest in cover art goes back to a time when the image, color and concept that surrounded a packaged piece of music was as much a part of the purchase process as hitting play for that first time. I remember buying, The Life and Times of S. Carter Vol 3, with the classic Jay-z intro and his statement “If you’re like me you’re reading the credits right now,” well thats who I was. I loved opening a CD. Trying not to crack the jewel case when I would pop off the cover tray (this made getting that pesky top sticker off a lot easier) to the smell of the liner note insert. I may have have grown up a bit late for the Vinyl revolution but trust that CD purchases were a regular occurrence. Every Tuesday it was off to the local shop to pick up something, anything, and much of those early purchases were stemmed from what looked good. It wasn’t as easy to preview tracks from an album or check a leak, we were making decisions based on what spoke to us from the shelf. Often the familiarity of a project or its features could spark dropping a cool $15 on a new CD, but I loved looking at those covers. I still keep a few hundred CD’s around my apartment in a big ass binder, and all those CD have the liner notes sitting in their protective sleeves. I hated those cardboard cases that wouldn’t have anything inside to throw up in the binder.

It’s funny how times have changed. As music has gone to a mostly digital world we’ve lost a lot of the importance of cover art and overall branding that used to go into making a project stand out. We’ve seen some recent examples of good work here and there, and its those exceptions that inspired this conversation to start. While distracting myself on twitter from the growing mountain of work for the day job I checked the homie Richie Cruz’s twitter update talking about a release with something special, Curren$y’s upcoming, Pilot Talk. Richie was praising the originality of the artwork, and reading his statement, I found myself nodding in agreement and immediately emailed Richie to talk about getting this conversation going. After a quick lunch, we found ourselves on the same page with music art. We will be sharing these musing both here on KeapHope and on Richie’s personal blog,Suits Is Watching.

Over the coming weeks Richie and I will take some time to present one upcoming project a week and dig into the details that round out these releases creatively, beyond the music, to make them standout among the seemingly thousands of free downloads, mixtape, torrent searches and classic releases that fill our itunes daily. We begin with the project that launched the discussion, Curren$y’s, Pilot Talk.

After the jump, intro thoughts from Suits Is Watching and our conversation on Pilot Talk

SUITS IS WATCHING INTRO
Honestly, album art and inserts are (were) the reason I’m such a hip-hop snob. The thing about hip-hop is that we don’t always require the most incredible, thought-provoking Canibusesque rhymes or photoshoots with million dollar budgets- those things are great at surface value, but usually don’t pay dividends in the grand scheme of things. All I ask for is honesty and some type of artistic integrity (sounds like a pipe dream, but I have faith that it exists somewhere…) Ultimately, the demise of the CD has led to something interesting… and great. Music is everywhere. Google a song name, it pops up in mp3 format with the associated artwork transfixed neatly next to it. The problem is that its about 5 pixels tall by 5 pixels wide.

Ok, that’s an exaggeration, but you get my point.

More music being downloaded means more artwork needs to be produced. Standards need to be established for digital single/mixtape/album art…so they can be broken and surpassed by another. The amazing thing is that we’re living in a time where access to tools like Photoshop enable everyone to create. The problem is, every one shouldn’t (even if they can). Hopefully through the subsequent posts, Jamie and I can figure out what the hell is going on, and make sense to what should be applauded and frowned upon as artwork battles for the blog, the iTunes corner, and most importantly, the iPhone screen.

THE CONVERSATION

KEAPHOPE:

Before we even get too deep into this project, I just wanted to comment on your email notes for the project. You made a great point on the size relationship to music, with all of our current relationship to music art being limited to the lower corner of itunes and maybe the screen on an iphone/ipod. How much do you think this is changing the work? Is it becoming something that requires readability at a super small scale? Talk about a big change from the 12×12 world of vinyl covers.

I remember reading something about Kanye’s cover art for 808’s, about how its simplicity translated in the modern space. Clean lines, no photo, just text. It worked great for the mood of the album but more importantly was a strong visual cue to what was actually being listened to. Lets start with this point as jump off point for the Curren$y project. First off what makes this work great? For me it starts simply with getting away from the played out BIG ASS HEADSHOT cover that so many new artists use. Here we have illustration, down to the text.

How readable is it small? Well, maybe not super readable but it think its clearly Spitta. The color alone is a cue that Curren$y has embraced, from his love of herb to his JETS logo use. That alone give a nice visual reference to the listener when glancing down at that ipod.

Illustration. How great is this? DD172 has done a couple pieces in this style, and there is a good crew poster with headshots of all of the memebers in this similar free flowing look. To me it evokes the clouds of smoke you think of when picturing a Curren$y show and you’ve got to love the New York to New Orleans elements from the skyline to the Super Dome.

SUITS IS WATCHING:

Well, as someone who appreciates depth, dualities, and metaphors, it was fresh to see a contemporary rapper incorporate a “look beneath the surface” approach to illustration while maintaining some universal elements that won’t box out the masses that refuse to think. I’m not a creative director by any stretch of the imagination, but I work with the best of ‘em (ha!), and I’m pretty sure that they’d appreciate the boldness (not to mention the symbolic significance) implied with the heavy use of green. It immediately reminds me of how purple was used as the dominant color in Big Boi’s first installment of “Got Purp?” (ironic how weed references define the hues…)

Another interesting thing worth noting is the absence of Curren$y’s likeness in the cover. The classically-trained marketer in me is screaming, “It’s his debut album! People need to see him!”, but the culturally-aware marketer in me feels the opposite and recognizes that this is actually a blessing in disguise. The artwork for “King Kong” and “The Hangover” are consistent in aesthetic, setting up this final “big reveal”. Also, as self-assured and cocky as his rhymes are, he isn’t arrogant or narcissistic- his rhymes are his identity, and he chooses to define himself through his words- which, in the attention-starved landscape, is admirable.

All in all, I think your man is onto something. In linking with an “art collective” in DD172, he’s engineering both mystique and artistic credibility at the same time, setting a foundation for himself while setting himself apart from the status quo.

Regardless of performance, he’s already won a victory in my book.

KEAPHOPE:

You make some great points. Is the weed thing too much sometimes? Maybe, but this dude is playing perfectly into his audience. He knows who is buying his music and why. The kids need something to ride to and from what I’ve heard, this won’t dissapoint. I can easily picture this cover up front in a video with Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa breaking up bud on the top of the jewel case. It has a bit of a timelessness to it that I think you may have hit on with the no photo setup. There is a tactic we don’t see much. It seems way to easy to go ahead and throw an artists mug on the front a CD with some of-the-moment type treatment and call it a day. This steps enough away from that system to really make its mark.

I like that you brought up the single cover art for “King Kong” and “The Hangover.” Here we have three different treatments, each with their own style that make them standout on their own, but we have some similarities through out. First on “King Kong” we actually get a glimpse of a Spitta character, still illustrated, but perched over the destruction below. All black/white/grey and looking like a foot in the door, “I’m here now pay attention” message to the hip-hop community. This is a dude who has been aligned with No Limit, Cash Money and now sort-of-Roc-a-fella, but def Dame Dash and this is him being presented like his first true release. While most will sort of snicker at the idea of a dude with a near thousand+ song catalog calling this his debut, I agree with Richie on this being an introduction to the masses. Fitting for the cover art on “King Kong,” the firs single for the project.

Next we look at the Mikey Rocks assisted cut, “The Hangover.” Again illustrated ties to the other content, though this time with a slightly more colorful setting. Funny if you were too consider this the results of a night full of, Pilot Talk, infused fun. I like the almost Art Deco inspired treatment to Curren$y’s name on the “King Kong” cover that seems to be revisited here in the color palette and comic’d treatment to this cover. At first glance one might not see that the pool scene is completely trashed from a night of debauchery, but to me that ties in perfectly with the idea of a hangover, like the movie, its not always clear till you start piecing together the details. The type treatment here ties in well being almost an after thought, scrawled in to the cover like a name and number on a napkin. To me this looks like a sample sketch that was refined and left a bit loose and compliments the more detailed refinement we see on the albums true cover.

I think its important we at least mention the artist involved in the illustration of the cover. Pilot Talk, was illustrated by David Barnett, the Creative Director for DD172. I haven’t been able to find out too much information on the artist, but lets hope his work continues to influence the direction of the DD172 collective and rings out among other new projects from the rest of the hip-hop community. Mr Barnett, if you ever want to get down on the next conversation be sure to drop me a line.

Till the next Covered Conversation go out and cop, Pilot Talk, in store today.

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1) most sports writers perfectly captured my perplexity,  letdown, and the implication of his self-inflicted de-coronation,

and..

2) there are some choice lines from “B.M.F.” that adequately reflect the events that transpired:

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#cmonlebron.

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Here’s a little kinetic typography to hold it down as we continue movin’ on this side… Respect to Cookin’ Soul for putting this together… Spotted at NahRight (peace to “The Originators” Dre & Eskay)…

More SUITS soon enough….

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(In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell discussed the real-world implications of this cultural hurdle in his anecdote of Colombian pilots’ apprehension to speak firmly to a Caucasian Air Traffic Control during a mid-air crisis- all passengers on board died as a result of the subsequent crash.)

The silver lining is that with every generation, the winds of change descend to create a more empowered disposition; a new zeitgeist that defines the culture. This is what’s described in Souls of My Young Sisters, a collection of experiences written and edited by Dawn Marie Daniels and Candace Sandy, intent on helping renew the identity and sense of purpose that has been diluted throughout history. With a foreword written by Mary J. Blige and contributions of 60 female authors, including the homie and extremely talented Dee Vazquez, the narrative attacks the problem of confronting authority and establishing one’s own truths and reality through the personal anecdotes of these young, progressive women.

I give much respect to Ms. Daniels and Ms. Sandy for bringing awareness and insight around an issue that’s so pervasive in our cultural landscape, in a time where “change” seems to define the times, and ultimately, the success of our people.  The book is available… go cop.

For more information, visit Souls Of My Sisters

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ABSOLUT BROOKLYN is a Limited Edition flavored Vodka created in collaboration with Spike Lee.
It is a blend of Red Apple and Ginger that captures the vibrancy and uniqueness of Brooklyn and the creativity it inspires.

“Brooklyn wins again.” – Jean Grae (and damn near everyone I know from the borough…)

You KNOW I’m happy about this one.

Happier to find out that the 750ml 1L bottle (their 4th in the “American City” collection” is in collaboration with Spike Lee.

Enthused at the fact that the homie Lemon provided this prose that will be located in the recipe flyer:

Sitting on the tenement stoops
Brownsville steps
crown heights flights
funky medina repetoire
5 star borough
tree lined blocks
somewhere in the world
Brooklyn’s in the house
and you know we won’t stop
spreading love
cause that’s our way

From the small morsels of information that I’ve read, it’ll be released in 2 months. All the brand buzzword banter that I hear on a daily basis about the importance of “community” and “culture” can be accomplished simply by doing it and committing. Thank you, Pernod-Ricard USA for giving this humble Brooklynite more fodder for my geocentric rants.

Catch me at the launch party.

SUITS!

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Before Steve Jobs & Apple addressed the issue of clutter by announcing the advent of “app folders” at his Keynote for iPhone OS4, a lot (a lot meaning most) of my ADD-riddled homies were victim to a phenomenon that plagues most iPhone users: downloading apps left and right, but actually using very few of them (some none at all).

This is probably a result of users not finding utilities that are essential to their lifestyle; first-use irrelevance is a death sentence for these apps. My homie Louis Colon, who in a former life was the founder/owner of Laces Boutique and Kicksclusive Magazine, has looked to change that with his iPhone app called MySneakers (available in the App Store starting today). We’ve already seen sneaker magazines and blogs make their content available in the form of an iPhone app, which, for better or worse, provides the users with information that they need to stay in tune with every release date, rumors of collabs, and what designers are doing in Beaverton. Perfect timing as the industry begins shifting it’s product delivery strategies wholly towards the digital landscape.

My Sneakers 1.0 delivers release date information, store details, aggregates popular blog content, and a offers a robust look at an almost infinite amount of kicks (all the information one would need to influence purchase decision) in an easy-to-navigate user interface. It also allows users to post their discoveries to their respective Facebook or Twitter friends/followers. Not bad.

If you’re an iPhone/iPod Touch user reading this, and have an insatiable appetite for Mikes, Foams, Chucks, Uptowns, or whatever, I implore you be the early adopter that you think you are, and check out the application.

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Last week, a few of my homies and I were talking about HBO’s “How To Make It In America”, specificly about how we would consult Cam, Ben, and René on their respective business ventures (if the show was real, of course) given the events that have transpired by the end of the first season.

In the real world, their brands- the scrappy, upstart denim line Crisp and brilliantly-named energy drink Rasta Monsta- would both be considered “challengers” (if considered at all) in their respective categories. To add some context, I think it’s fair to say that both the streetwear apparell and functional beverage industries are hyper-competitive, riddled with high barriers to entry, and, for lack of a better word, cluttered.

Nonetheless, below (click to enlarge!) is a very basic, straightforward analysis of both brands that I’d apply to clients during early project phases. Based on the exercise (which was solely based on my individual knowledge of the category’s landscapes along with what I’ve gathered from watching the show) I wouldn’t say one is better than the other, but it IS interesting how both Crisp and Rasta Monsta have unique traits that could benefit them in the long run.

I’ll say this much though: you’ll be surprised at the magic that a wrapped stepvan and free samples can make! (HA!)

HBO get at me!

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In the weeks preceding Kanye’s immortalized first solo show at SOBs back in 2003, I remember getting into several college lunchroom (and dorm room) arguments over whether or not the already-noteworthy producer could rap. Aside from “The Bounce” off Blueprint 2, at the time, there really wasn’t anything publicly facing (or mixshow-facing for that matter) that helped support my case that he was going to be important. Not just “big” or on “son is poppin’” status, but a true value add- an asset- to the culture and the economics of its entertainment landscape.

I forget exactly how I did it, but I managed to collect a few scattered freestyles from across some random message boards with hopes of piecing together some adequate proof that Kanye was, in fact, dope, and that his contributions as a going-against-the-grain-but-still-acceptable traditionalist and music purist to what was, at-the-time, an unstoppable force, but a label which represented everything but middle-class.

Anyway, after playing those joints for my crew of Doubting Thomases (some of whom work in the music industry now, coincidentally), the monumental project “I’m Good” (the classic mixtape that was released right after his infamous car accident- kicking off a series of events which unfolded so opportunistically that it made him the urban manifestation of an “outlier”… but I digress…) dropped, and that became all the proof I needed.

A few weeks later, a few of us took to SOBs, and the rest, as they say, is history.

A quick aside: Urban America has experienced a cultural shift specifically in the second half of the last decade, largely defined by widespread Internet penetration and democratization of information… and the former “gatekeepers” growing irrelevant and obsolete entering a new life stage.

Quick jump in the Delorean (or hot tub, if you prefer), and here we are seven years later. Same place. SOBs.

To Varick and Houston I returned early last week, in anticipation to hear to what J. Cole, Roc Nation’s ace-in-hole, had to offer. I had met Cole quickly almost a year ago backstage at a Wale show in the East Village, and even before the attention and recognition, he struck me as a very cool cat.

The stage was already set, the story drafted to perfection- (I’m just sayin’, “Jay-Z Protégé Performs On Same Sold-Out Stage As Kanye Seven Years Late! Everyone’s Faith In Hip-Hop Is Renewed!” is a layup for today’s authenticity-starved blogosphere)- and to say the least, I was impressed.

But not fulfilled.

I left the show with a certain perplexity that I couldn’t shake- was it that I began to realize that the reasons that I valued hip-hop were evolving into something different, or worse, invalid? Like any hip-hop fan, I played Devil’s Advocate and immediately compared what I just saw in young Cole to the immediate, unswerving awe and impact I felt when first hearing Jay-Z, Kanye, Nas, etc., because they’re the gold standard- those who left the game different from when they first touched it (in my experience at least). Right after the show, my emotional investment just didn’t look like it’d pay dividends with Cole as he was very calculated and was following a predesigned roadmap- ultimately, I wanted to hear something truly new… something I couldn’t fully grasp but would be drawn to.

However, after a brief IM conversation with my good friend (and Billboard.com editor) Mariel Concepcion the next day, I realized that my stubborn, content-spoiled Brooklyn ass wasn’t being fair. In fact, I was being a cabezón for failing recognize Cole for what he’s already accomplished and contributed- an honest, wonderfully-crafted project in The Warm Up, and a stage presence that was polished far beyond his experience would suggest. Over the last few days, I listened to The Warm Up with a more purposeful ear, and I feel confident saying that his range, depth of lyrics, and versatility of delivery have earned J. Cole a place at today’s influential roundtable (who, for all intents and purposes, includes Drake, Jay Electronica, Kid Cudi, and Donnis. But that’s just me. And my track record is flawless.),  and considered to be of XXL’s systematic 2010 Freshmen Class.

I say that to say this: if you’re a hip-hop cynic, keep your “show and prove” shield up, as it’s your filter to block out nonsense- your defense against the dark arts, if you will . But lend an ear to J. Cole and embrace what he’s about to prove… because all the stars are seemingly aligning in his benefit.

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