3 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 3 album covers documented under the "afrocentric" design theme, spanning the 1970s, 1990s. These covers sit within the r&b, soul, funk, jazz, hip-hop tradition and feature work by Stevie Wonder, Pharoah Sanders, Lauryn Hill. Each entry below includes the cover artwork, the designers and photographers behind it, and a short story about the visual choices that defined the release.
Stevie Wonder's double album featured an innovative fold-out cover with intricate African-inspired border patterns and symbolic imagery representing life's journey. The artwork's cosmic and spiritual elements perfectly matched Wonder's most ambitious musical statement.
The cover for Pharoah Sanders' spiritual jazz masterpiece features mysterious ancient Egyptian imagery that perfectly captured the album's mystical exploration of African heritage and consciousness during the height of the Black Power movement.
The warm, sepia-toned cover resembles a wood carving or desk etching, referencing Carter G. Woodson's 1933 book 'The Mis-Education of the Negro' — a deliberate statement about authenticity and substance in late-1990s pop and hip-hop.