afrocentric

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 hip-hop, r&b, soul, funk, jazz tradition and feature work by Lauryn Hill, Stevie Wonder, Pharoah Sanders. 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.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill — album cover art

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill (1998)

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill cover is not a photograph of Hill sitting at a classroom desk. Eric Johnson photographed Hill during an album shoot at Columbia High School, then one close-up portrait was transformed by retoucher Will Kennedy to look carved into a warm wooden school desk under art direction by Lauryn Hill and Erwin Gorostiza. The final front pairs that etched-looking portrait with scratched lettering and a pencil resting in the desk groove.

Label
Ruffhouse / Columbia
Designer
Erwin Gorostiza
Genre
Hip-Hop, R&B, Soul
Decade
1990s
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Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder — album cover art

Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder (1976)

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.

Label
Tamla
Designer
Uncredited
Photographer
Uncredited
Genre
R&B, Soul, Funk
Decade
1970s
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Village of the Pharoahs by Pharoah Sanders — album cover art

Village of the Pharoahs by Pharoah Sanders (1973)

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.

Label
Impulse! Records
Genre
Jazz
Decade
1970s
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