2 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 2 album covers documented under the "native tongues" design theme, spanning the 1980s, 1990s. These covers sit within the hip-hop, jazz tradition and feature work by A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul. 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.
Strikingly minimal by hip-hop standards — a silhouetted figure against black with Pan-African red, green, and white text. The visual simplicity reflected the album's musical philosophy of rhythm, space, and groove that most successfully merged jazz and hip-hop.
An explosion of day-glo color — peace signs, daisies, Pop Art graphics — was a visual manifesto for the D.A.I.S.Y. Age, declaring that hip-hop could be playful, conscious, and joyful in an era dominated by images of urban toughness.