3 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 3 album covers documented under the "afrofuturism" design theme, spanning the 1970s, 1990s, 2010s. These covers sit within the r&b, soul, pop, hip-hop, funk, jazz tradition and feature work by Janelle Monáe, OutKast, Miles Davis. 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 ArchAndroid turns Janelle Monáe into the futuristic messiah at the center of her Metropolis saga. Chad Weatherford and Chuck Lightning art-directed the world around Andrew Zaeh's portrait, while Weatherford designed the crown-and-armor look that makes Monáe appear part woman, part machine and part city.
A phone call relayed André 3000's request to a Columbus painter, who got two or three days to turn OutKast's music into a 1970s funk fantasy. The result, with its hovering mothership and gold Egyptian medallion, reached millions and became one of the most celebrated Black album covers in hip hop.
Mati Klarwein's Afro-psychedelic painting depicts two Black faces in profile surrounded by swirling organic forms — flowers, waves, fire, and cosmic phenomena — a visual match for the album that essentially invented jazz fusion.