THE BLACK BACKGROUND THAT BUILT ALBUM ART

## Less, on purpose Minimalist design is loosely defined as stripped of excess, neutral colors, and simple forms. In album art, that idea keeps returning to one image, a highly stylized face contrasted against a stark black background. The look is older than hip hop, and it refuses to die. ## A lineage in covers One early source was the Beatles 1963 album With The Beatles. "The only place I could shoot it was in the dining room of the hotel where we could draw the dark curtains in the background," photographer Robert Freeman recalled of the half lit portrait that defined it. The concept carried forward. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony leaned on it for the 1995 single Tha Crossroads. The year 1996 saw both the Fugees, on The Score, and Snoop Dogg, on Tha Doggfather, employ the same minimalist frame. Death Row and G.O.O.D. Music both returned to it on magazine covers. The Firm flipped the style in 1997, drawing some inspiration from Martin Scorsese's 1995 film Casino. Even homage got an homage. Photographer Alexei Hay shot 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck in a comparable fashion for Complex's 2003 cover story, G-Unit, Bigger Than The Beatles. ## Why it lasts The black background works because it removes everything that competes with a face. No setting, no story, just presence. For artists and fans, less keeps proving to be more. Expect the next classic cover to reach for the same darkness. ## Related Reading - [THE PLASTER MASKS BEHIND CLASSIC COVERS](/article/lifecasting-album-covers-nas-tyler-fad3ad) - [KACEY MUSGRAVES GIVES SELENA HER FLOWERS](/article/kacey-musgraves-selena-tribute-houston-bfbd4c)