Golden Era Hip-Hop Covers: N.W.A., Ice-T & Queen Latifah

Transcript

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[00:00:00] Welcome & Introductions

Sir Daniel: Greetings and welcome to another episode of Queue Points podcast. I am DJ Sir Daniel

Jay Ray: And my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my governments as Johnnie Ray Kornegay III. And, um, Sir Daniel,

Sir Daniel: Yeah

Jay Ray: to, exactly, we are about to reminisce about a time in hip-hop. This is such an interesting time because hip-hop was ascending and people were figuring out what they could do visually. And, uh, I'm looking forward to chatting with you about covers from the golden era of hip-hop that we, that we love. We wanted to highlight some.

[00:00:43] Why Album Covers Mattered

Sir Daniel: Absolutely. And I, I will say, so some of the album covers I, I definitely have in my possession, and there... I have a pick that is iconic. It's just I don't have the album, but it is iconic. And when you, when you find out which one it is, and I believe it's my first one that we're gonna discuss. But yeah, Jay Ray, there was a, a time when album covers were just as, if not more important than the music on the record.

It was like the album cover, we literally eat with our eyes first.

Jay Ray: Yeah,

Sir Daniel: And so, and, and record companies knew that. And so an album cover, if I'm... I'll be bold to say an album cover can make or break, well, back then could make or break the sales of your record

Jay Ray: Yeah. So if we rewind to that time, I'm so glad you mentioned that, Sir Daniel. So

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: we now live in a moment where are digital, right? And digital is, uh, artwork is important to the digital experience today. But it's different when you walk into a record store,

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: and there is so many things competing for your attention.

Sir Daniel: Exactly

Jay Ray: this when we're flipping through and going through records, a lot of times we just will stop and be like, "Oh, what's this?"

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: because there's something about that cover that attracts you. You may not know who the artist is,

Sir Daniel: Yep

Jay Ray: "I wanna know more about this," because this cover is a thing.

And so I think you're, you're right where the stakes were just higher. Like, you had to be able to break through visually

Sir Daniel: Yes.

[00:02:28] The Business Behind Cover Art & Grammy Museum

Sir Daniel: And before we go there, I also wanna talk about how many people were employed

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: because of the importance of album covers. You're talking photographers, art directors, um, and it, and it was important to the, to the actual retailers, to the stores,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: you know, the, the mom and pops and, and the big, to the, to the big chain stores.

I would dare say it had an important say in how the album covers were displayed because if you were a mom and pop, you had a little bit more license to, to what you put on Front Street or what you put in the window of your store or... And, and then you have, um, the record companies also invested money in artwork, posters, cutouts that you put in the stores.

I mean, there was so much more that went into the marketing and promotion of records in a time long gone, Jay Ray,

Jay Ray: A time long gone.

Sir Daniel: that we have to, you know, pay homage to these people that put in a lot of work and created some of these... These are, these are pieces of art, Jay Ray. I mean, I believe, uh, so funny that we're discussing this.

Our friend to the show, um, uh, Kyriakos

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: recently took a trip to LA and he went to the Grammy's Museum.

Jay Ray: Nice

Sir Daniel: And part of the hip hop, um, uh, exhibit is nothing but album covers.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: Nothing but album covers right here in Atlanta. Oh, yes. Right here in Atlanta in the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, our good friend Jas, who is the proprietor of the legendary Earwax Record Store here in Atlanta, has an exhibit in Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

And w- Jay Ray, I went to that pr- um, to that, um, installation when it was first an installation, um, at Pullman Yards a couple years ago. And I'm telling you, there was so many albums I was, I was salivating because there were a lot of records that at one point I had and I didn't have anymore. There was some that I was just, uh, they just still to this day had that same pull on me of m- as when I was 12 years old going into the, to the record store right around the corner from my house.

Jay Ray: Wow.

Sir Daniel: without further ado, um, J- you know what? I'm interested, uh, with your first choice, Jay Ray. So I want you to go ahead, yes, I want you to go ahead and, um, and tantalize us with your wares, sir. What is your first pick of your favorite album cover? Hip hop album cover.

Jay Ray: cool. I am going to share my pick, which... But I feel like I have to set it up a little bit, and by the time I set it up, people are gonna know what I'm picking.

But I think it's, um, I think it's important to share... Let me just share my pick first, and then I'm gonna back into it. So

Sir Daniel: Got it

[00:05:26] Jay Ray's Pick 1: N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton

Jay Ray: first pick is from 1988, it is Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A.,

Sir Daniel: Mm.

Jay Ray: as what I think is one of the iconic and important covers in all of music history for a lot of reasons. Um, that particular cover was shot by Eric Poppleton, was that, uh, person's name. was at the time a freelance photographer, who had graduated from Cal Arts. And essentially the way this worked was, um, there was of course no set.

He was just kind of roaming, uh, Los Angeles with the, the group. And a- and it was just kind of improvising shots. So at some point they landed in an alley, and, P- Eric laid on the ground in the alley, and Eazy-E pulled out the firearm and aimed the firearm at, at the camera directly, right?

that really did just come together by them just kind of roaming Los Angeles and taking that shot with him laying on the ground and Eazy-E pointing that gun at the camera. Now, here are some interesting facts, though. Uh, he doesn't know if that gun was loaded or not

Sir Daniel: Yikes

Jay Ray: He still does not to this day know if that gun was loaded or not. And you know what? Eazy-E is long g- long passed away, so we will never know if that gun was loaded or not, right? so I think that's interesting, and I wanna back into, um, I wanna back into the fact that by 1988, hip-hop was moving west, right?

[00:07:27] West Coast Guns on Covers

Jay Ray: So we had had, uh, and the West Coast put guns on their covers a lot.

So there is definitely a, a, a language that is coming to light in the late 1980s as it relates to album covers, and on the West Coast, that language was specifically firearms and guns as the thing, whereas on the East Coast we didn't see that as much

Sir Daniel: Well, leave it to Jay Ray to steal my thunder because

Jay Ray: one too?

[00:07:59] Sir Daniel's Pick 1: Ice-T, Power

Sir Daniel: my very first pick is Ice-T's Power, released in 1988. And the reason why I picked this album, I d- that's an album I do not, I have never owned, I do not own, but I picked it because it is iconic. It is, and I picked it because I think the album cover is more iconic than the music

Jay Ray: Agreed.

Sir Daniel: I will dare say that I will, you know, I- that's a hill I'm willing to die on.

I think the album cover is more iconic than the music that's actually on there. But to your point about the West Coast glorification of, uh, s- of street, um, little street violence, of, um, of gang- gangster a- activity, gangster mentality, but Ice-T was more on the pimp side

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm

Sir Daniel: of things, of the, of the street activities and street life.

And so what really made that album cover, um, iconic is the fact that his girlfriend at the time, Darlene Ortiz, is heavily featured on the cover wearing a very skimpy two-piece bikini. But... And she's the one holding the sawed-off pistol grip pump,

Jay Ray: Yep

Sir Daniel: I think even took it to another level of marrying both sex and violence, which is, uh, is an ongoing theme that picks up in hip-hop, gains momentum in hip-hop in the upcoming years.

I am certain that that album cover was fap material for a lot of adolescent boys

Jay Ray: Absolutely

Sir Daniel: time. Um, she to this day I think she's more known for that hip-hop cover. The, the photographer of that album cover was Glen E.

Friedman. Um, it... So I think even the pos- even their positioning

Jay Ray: Yeah

Sir Daniel: to right, she is the first figure that you see there. Um, gorgeous body, hair, the whole nine. She is, she is like a prototype of what, uh, she's the prototype of what hip-hop beauty came to be

Jay Ray: like

Sir Daniel: the turn

Jay Ray: is, yep

Sir Daniel: of... The first hip-hop vixen.

Dare I say it, she is the first hip-hop vixen and, um, and the prototype of what it, what it means to be a hip- a baddie in hip-hop. And the beauty standard too, because I don't even know if they knew that of what, because Ice-T is a Black man, and here he has positioned his girlfriend, uh, long-term girlfriend, on this album cover.

And that, um, and that, um, indicates and it, um I guess, uh, what's the word I'm looking for? Informs young men, uh, uh, adolescent men of what they think beauty, the beauty standard is when it comes to, um, who we present as beautiful in hip-hop. So, you know, yes, there's the controversy about the violence glorified, um, you know, the heavy gold chains, which is the rap es- ex- aesthetic.

But I think, um, you know, if we're talking, um, jewelry, one f- um, fun fact about the, that photo shoot is that DJ Evil D, Evil E

Jay Ray: LiKWUiD,

Sir Daniel: are actually rocking the same... They had to put on each other the, the same gold bracelet.

Jay Ray: Oh

Sir Daniel: that, and Ice-T and Evil E were rocking the same Rolex watch. It was like, "We only got one Rolex for this, um, for this budget,

Jay Ray: put...

Sir Daniel: s-

Jay Ray: We gonna swap

Sir Daniel: so we gonna swap it out and, and layer it together."

But I, you know, say what you will about it, it is, it, it, you know, to this day it stands out as an iconic, uh, album cover. You know what ma- how you know your album cover is iconic? When people are wearing it as a T-shirt

Jay Ray: Absolutely. And you know, you mentioned something interesting, and I know that we, we, we talked about this a little bit when we started, but Definitely when people wear it as a T-shirt and can still wear it today as a shirt. But also they were really strategic. That Darlene, 'cause it was a long shot of

her, that's perfect for the long box.

Remember back then

Sir Daniel: Yes. CDs were coming. Yep

Jay Ray: coming in the long box. So if you are s- if you are, once again, shopping in the record store, that, when you see that, you are going to stop and pick it up and wanna know what this is.

Sir Daniel: Absolutely

Jay Ray: so yeah, yeah, good choice. Oh my gosh. Okay. Um, so

[00:12:49] Jay Ray's Pick 2: Masta Ace, Take a Look Around

Jay Ray: my second choice, uh, Sir Daniel, is this cover is, I think, the best album cover that Cold Chillin' Records ever had.

Sir Daniel: Ooh,

Jay Ray: um,

Sir Daniel: got me at Cold Chillin

Jay Ray: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, uh, my, my second choice is Masta Ace's. He was Master Ace then. His debut album, Take a Look Around from 1990. Um, I love this covers, this cover. So for those that, that don't know, um, this cover features a bright blue sky with Masta Ace kinda sitting on, like, some dirt and, but there's buildings behind him.

So you're kind of looking up. The buildings are kind of coming up from behind him, and it's just this kind of beautiful shot where he's kind of in the center of it.

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm

Jay Ray: and I just think it's so dope. So the, the photographer for this cover is George DuBose. George DuBose did most everything that Cold Chillin' ever released actually. So you can actually go to George DuBose's website today and see his archive of Cold Chillin', uh, covers and all the photos that he did for all the different artists there. But interestingly enough, um, a lot of people thought that the background, the buildings in the background were the Brownsville Projects. And it turns out it wasn't. So they were actually out shooting that day at Coney Island. So yeah,

Sir Daniel: 'Cause

Jay Ray: were out,

Sir Daniel: out in the back there's sand. He's on the beach. Yeah.

Jay Ray: So they were out at Coney Island doing the shoot, so that, that, the buildings behind him were buildings that were at Coney Island. now here's the, the, um, the interesting thing. Warner Brothers completely were about to reject this album cover. They actually did reject it. Masta Ace had to explain to them what it meant. And so this cover is actually an homage to Curtis Mayfield's Curtis album. You know how Curtis Mayfield is sitting with the sky behind him on the

Curtis cover in

Sir Daniel: Yes

Jay Ray: So they are basically recreating that. And so Masta Ace was inspired because, you know, that's a record that he grew up with. It was in his parents' collection, right? So he, he felt like that would be a good homage to p- to, to, to pay. And it was only after he made that explanation that they approved the cover to be used. So Take a Look Around almost had a completely different cover art for it. But, um, yeah, man, like that, that, uh, that cover is dope. And of course, this record includes Me and the Biz.

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm

Jay Ray: uh, which it has a whole interesting story in itself because it ended up creating The Puppet of Biz Markie. Uh, it's a whole thing around all of that. But, um, it also contains Four Minus Three, which is one of the most interesting tracks because it takes his verse from The Symphony, because Masta Ace is the new artist, right? He opens The Symphony, and this Four Minus Three extends the song all the way out. So if you go and you listen to Take a Look Around, you get to hear Masta Ace do, uh, the whole song by himself. Um, and yeah, so Take a Look Around is my second choice, uh, by Masta Ace

Sir Daniel: So I'm looking, first of all, this, the styling takes me back

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: because there is a, there's a slight shift. You see a slight shift in the way he's being styled, but it's very, it's still very Brooklyn.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: I'm looking, I'm trying to, I, I'm trying to see if those shoes are, I wanna say they're Wallabees, but I don't think they're Wallabees.

I, I'm try- I can't tell if they're Wallabees or if they are Travel Fox, which if you know your hip hop, um, clothing, both brands, Wallabees and Travel Fox were very, very important to the culture at that time. If somebody knows you're l- out there listening, shoot us an email. Let us know if you know that those are tr- e- either Travel Fox or Wallabees, or they could be something completely different that Masta Ace is wearing on his feet.

Very dope album cover. It's actually quite beautiful. It's quite stunning.

Jay Ray: Yeah

Sir Daniel: a q- it's a very stunning album cover, and so I'm following you onto the, um, East Coast. We're, we're, we're following each other here with these album covers.

[00:17:45] Sir Daniel's Pick 2: Queen Latifah, All Hail the Queen

Sir Daniel: I'm following you back to the East Coast to 1989, um, for the debut album of a young lady who literally becomes the queen of not only hip hop, the queen of multimedia,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: um, an actress, a s- a, the literal, the literal definition of a star, and I'm talking about none other than Dana Elaine Owens,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: Queen Latifah's All Hail the Queen.

So another very striking,

Jay Ray: Yeah

Sir Daniel: I, and I know I tend to use that word, but I'm, I'm being dead ass when I say this. This is a very striking album cover because of how bare it is. It's a white background. It's her kind of c- no, she's standing directly in the middle of the, um, of the album. She's dressed in all black.

She's posed in a very, um, in a sh- this is a very strategic pose of, um, her right arm kind of lifted in a, not a full on Fist pump in the air, but kind of close to her chest. Um, but her fist is clenched. It's a, it's a power, it's a power fist. It's clenched. She's, her outfit, her, um, her two-piece is all black except for the two gold bands on the, on the wrist, which I would be very interested to know if there's anything behind that.

And here's something that's very different for a lot of women rappers at the time. Her head is completely covered on this album cover.

Jay Ray: Yep

Sir Daniel: Queen Latifah, for, um, all intents and purposes, is introducing regal Afrocentricity, and that's the first... I think we start hearing that word, Jay Ray. Remember when we started hearing the word Afrocentric and Afrocentricity

Jay Ray: started to wear medallions. It was a whole thing, and this is at the, right at the pinnacle, like the lead-in of that

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm. And so, and, and tying into the whole Pan-African identity, the... For that album cover, her name is written in red

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: The name of the album, All Hail the Queen. Underneath that is a full circle. Underneath that is spelled out in green lettering, and smack dab in the middle is a picture of Afrika in all black.

Jay Ray: Yes.

Sir Daniel: a statement in and of itself right there. This woman, first of all, there's not a whole lot of, um, of female rappers at the time with a full-length album release solo

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: by a major label,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm

Sir Daniel: um, at Tommy Boy at this time. And shout out to Tommy Boy. Tommy Boy Records has a, a history of very important album covers, and we'll talk about that in a second.

But, um, yeah, she is... It's stunning. Her head is covered.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: All the other female rappers, you know, from Salt-N-Pepa to MC Lyte, their hair is done.

Jay Ray: Yeah,

Sir Daniel: Their hair is done in very, um, uh, at the time, very stylish and expected hairstyles.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: But Queen Latifah goes for a more regal wrap, which is indicative of a lot of women who at the time are following, either they are r- were already doing it, or after that, we noticed that a lot of sisters started wrapping their heads just like Queen Latifah.

And so shout out to Bart Everly, the photographer of this, um, front cover photo, um, for making yet another i- for another iconic shot. Um, the album itself,

Jay Ray: Legendary

Sir Daniel: it's legendary. See, I think this is the antithesis of an Ice-T's Power because this, she's fully covered. It's only her, only her on the album.

But the record itself, the songs on the album, bullet after bullet after bullet, dart after dart. It's a no skips album. You've got, um, you've got, uh, uh, um, you've got "Ladies First," of course, which is iconic and it's an anthem. You've got, um, "Wrath of My Madness," which really just shook things up because here we have this girl rapping, but she's also singing her own hook, and she's got a little reggae twist to it, so it's like, well, wait a minute.

And then she's coming out of Jersey.

Jay Ray: Yep.

Sir Daniel: Now mind you, Jersey, we give, uh, we give New York all the credit and all the love, but Jersey, when you think about it, New Jersey is where hip-hop, the c- the commercial side of hip-hop actually got started because where is Sylvia Rhone from?

Jay Ray: Hmm. Ah, yeah. You mean

Sir Daniel: Sugar Hill,

Jay Ray: you mean Sylvia Robinson?

Sir Daniel: Sylvia Robinson, excuse me. Sylvia Robinson because Sugar Hill rappers, Sugar Hill Records is born out from Sylvia Robinson, and she's from New Jersey. And Latifah is part of that lineage out of Jersey just carrying hip-hop in another major factor. And so, um, yeah, that album, I mean, so much, you, you have...

It's, it feels international

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: because you've got, um, Pros featuring Daddy-O, which is a, a, which is a very slow and slinky reggae track. Then you have Come Into My House, which

Jay Ray: Still

lights up the dance floor today

Sir Daniel: you can't talk about hip house and not talk about,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: um, Come Into My House. Jay Ray, you know I saw, I... Okay, you know I saw a pod- a podcast of other people talking, of, of young people talking about how much they absolutely hate Come Into My House.

Jay Ray: They don't

understand.

Sir Daniel: and of course it was steeped in, it was steeped in homophobia, and they just said like, "Oh, I hate that." They, what's that? That give me body song? Y'all are crazy

Jay Ray: And listen, and let's let the kids know, speaking of kids, so Queen Latifah on that song, or is that on Dance For Me? Does she pop dip and spin with the

Sir Daniel: That's dance for me on po-

Jay Ray: Queen Latifah was, like, giving

Sir Daniel: She was hanging with the ballroom kids. Yes, she was

Jay Ray: kids at, on album one.

Sir Daniel: She was hanging with the Ballroom kids. And shout out to, you know what, it's so funny that we are having this conversation about this album. Um, at the time of the recording of this album is actually the anniversary of the passing of Mark the 45 King, who outside of, um, uh, Daddy-O and KRS One is the primary producer on this album.

Jay Ray: Yep

Sir Daniel: the architect of, he is the architect of Flavor Unit Records, of Flavor U- the sound, the Flavor Unit sound.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm

Sir Daniel: um, you know, rest in peace Mark the 45 King, and, um, of course, all hail the queen

Jay Ray: Absolutely. Oh, I love that album so much. Make sure y'all go play that. Um, so I'm staying on the East Coast, uh, for, for this one, and, um,

[00:25:31] Jay Ray's Pick 3: A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory

Jay Ray: my third and final pick for this conversation is A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory.

So 1991. So it was interesting, right? Like, I wanted to pick Midnight Marauders, but really there would be no Midnight Marauders

Sir Daniel: Without

Jay Ray: a Low End Theory. So this partic- ... So here's the first interesting fact about The Low End Theory. The first interesting fact is that is not a painting. That is actually a person,

Sir Daniel: It is

Jay Ray: a photo. So the photo was actually, um, shot by Joe Grant. So this is really, the, the creative team is like an in- an internal Jive team. But Q-Tip was responsible for all of the concepts for all of the Ji- all of the Tribe, uh, uh, you know, all the visuals, right? So

they all come from Q-Tip. Um, and we know he's kinda the Ginsu master of all things A Tribe Called Quest, right? He does everything. so according to history, Q-Tip was inspired by the Ohio Players.

So what he wanted to do was he wanted a '70s-style Ohio Players super sexy album cover with a model. So plan was he wanted it to be Naomi Campbell. So in his mind, this album cover was going to feature Naomi Campbell as the model.

Sir Daniel: Mm.

Jay Ray: And the, the model that they ended up getting is, like, an unnamed model.

But, um, so was, like, ultimately in his head. He wanted it to be Ohio Players, he wanted it to be sexy, and he wanted it to kinda have this, this particular look, right? Um, the, the model is, is painted with, um, uh, uh, red and green paint, and so it's a red, black, and green motif.

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm

Jay Ray: Um, and on the, the side her bum is the A Tribe Called Quest logo painted.

Sir Daniel: The side of her bum.

Jay Ray: um, we tryna stay streaming.

Sir Daniel: Right.

Jay Ray: what's so cool about this though that this figure takes on a life of their own, right?

This whole idea of this character, this figure from, uh, uh, The Low End Theory becomes a consistent piece of Tribe history up until The Love Movement. you see this figure showing up every single time. So for the next three, so from The Low End Theory, to Midnight Marauders, to, um, Beats, Rhymes, and Life, this figure shows up somehow.

So super iconic. it, it literally made, it gave Tribe a symbol that kind of ushered us through each of their records from this point forward. Um, but yeah, it was a photo done by Joe Grant

Sir Daniel: Funny, um, recently on Instagram somebody released some photographs from the album release of Low End Theory,

Jay Ray: Uh-huh

Sir Daniel: and what they did is they actually, they had models, but they were wearing cat suits with the, with the, um, with the stripes and whatnot. And you're absolutely right. You can't, uh, if I saw that figure alone, I'm automatically thinking A Tribe Called Quest, and it's just, just sheer genius.

Jay Ray: Yeah

Sir Daniel: about those, you know, that group, everything attached to it is sheer genius. So great pick. Great pick

Jay Ray: What you got? What's your last one for this show?

Sir Daniel: All right. So my last pick is, is coming out of, um, y'all are probably, you're gonna be like, "Oh yeah, that sounds like a Sir Daniel pick." But then again, you're gonna be like, "Hmm, I never thought about that."

But

[00:30:00] Sir Daniel's Pick 3: Finesse & Synquis, Soul Sisters

Sir Daniel: my final pick is the album cover for Finesse and Synquis's Soul Sisters, and I'll tell you why. This album came out in 1988, and here we have... So we start off with an album that the album cover is more iconic than the music. Um, a- and then we of course, we have a album cover with Queen Latifah that's, that's stripped down and very bare bones, but super impactful and a, a really impactful record attached to it.

Finesse and Synquis, um, are kind of like they're ki- they're footnotes in hip hop history.

Jay Ray: Hmm.

Sir Daniel: But again, I think a lo- I, I've said this before on other shows, I don't think people understand how much they influenced other hip hop, um, parts of the culture. Their real names, Finesse and Synquis, their real names are Sidney and Sharane, which are the names of the characters of House Party.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm

Sir Daniel: Party has a direct connection with Uptown Records. There's a whole, there's a whole lore, a House Party lore around, um, um, of Finesse and Synquis and also, um, other Uptown Records, um, crew, uh, Groove B Chill. Remember that group?

Jay Ray: Yep.

Sir Daniel: Groove B Chill, both of them, they ended up in the movie, but they ended up f- they were, um,

Jay Ray: Side characters

Sir Daniel: they were side characters, but they both tried out.

They were supposed to be auditioned as the Kid 'n Play characters

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: for that movie. So anyway, so back to the album. The, the album to me, the album cover is iconic, um, because of the, the, to me, because of the Dapper Dan fashions that they're wearing on the album cover. That again, that the, the styling which is the styling of that, um, of the, of Finesse and Synquis of that album is credited toward to Calvin Lowery

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: for Uptown Records.

You know, I know we think of Misa immediately when it comes to Uptown Records, but bef- Misa, this was before Misa's time.

Jay Ray: Uh-huh

Sir Daniel: And so the, the jackets, it's a full jacket and matching pants. Um, they're bubble jackets and matching pants. Of course, credited to Dapper Dan, who is the king of making... We all know Dapper Dan's history.

He's the king of taking hip hop fashion and taking, um, high-end fashion labels and creating hip hop looks for, for a lot of the, the sh- the street medicinal players in back in the day, the hustlers.

Jay Ray: players.

Sir Daniel: Yes. You know, and, and, and a lot of rappers wanted to imitate that look.

Jay Ray: Yeah

Sir Daniel: Finesse and Synquis, um, they, for the, it was just the two of them on the album cover, which is different at the time because a lot of rap groups and duos were centered around a DJ.

They didn't have a DJ on the cover. Um, and it took a lot of risks. But when you saw that record in the shop It was like it was standing out because one is dressed in all green and one is dressed in all, uh, yellow. And it kind of reminded me of the Sprite, um, the Sprite cans, the, the, uh, lemon and lime make green, um, campaign back in the day.

But this shot, the album cover shot is cr- is credited to a gentleman that only uses one name, but Laalace is the name. But when I did some digging, his first name is Abe, and he is linked to a jewelry brand now in New Orleans,

Jay Ray: Okay

Sir Daniel: he's a photographer. He spent 25 years, uh, doing photography in New York, and now he has since transitioned into jewelry making and, uh, into another art form.

But, um, yeah, this is an album. I think the look again is more iconic than the album itself. The album is tough though.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: The album is tough. It's, it's very heavy. It's got a lot of classic production by, uh, hip hop luminaries, including the Ultramagnetic MCs.

and a lot, uh, Eddie F.

Again, people who have gone on to make a significant impact in hip hop. But that is my final pick for hip hop album covers. You know I was gonna, you know, you know I was gonna represent for the ladies on that one. It just, it's, it, it, it's just one of those things where I'm like the... It's just quintessential hip hop poses.

You

Jay Ray: Yes.

Sir Daniel: posed in front of a Wrangler. They're sitting on top of a Wrangler, which is so hip hop at the time. So hip hop. And then when you flip over the back cover of the record, it's the, their back sides, and they're kinda like doing that B-girl pose where their arms are on each other's shoulders

Jay Ray: Yeah

Sir Daniel: their names spelled out on the back of the jacket.

So I'm sure somebody, if they have those outfits, I don't know why they're not on display somewhere in, uh, one of these hip hop, um, museums.

Jay Ray: They should

Sir Daniel: I hope they kept them. You know, a lot of people unfortunately lose or have to sell off their artifacts or whatever. But I think that is, that album cover is dope and deserves some shine.

So if you haven't seen it, go look for it. You know you've seen it before. You've seen the, the, the, the Dapper Dan look, but the, check out the album, Soul Sisters

[00:35:50] Wrap-Up & Sign-Off

Jay Ray: Y'all, so let us know what are some of your favorite album covers from the golden era. You can leave us a video. We, uh, y'all haven't left us a video in a long time. Drop us a video and let us know. Uh, for video or audio, you can just email us. We just wanna hear from y'all, so let us know what are some of your favorite covers from the golden era and why. And, uh, thank y'all so much for tuning in for this, uh, conversation on Queue Points. If you can see our faces and hear our voices, definitely subscribe wherever you are. Visit queuepoints.com. That's Q-U-E-U-E points.com. You can do everything on our website. So you can follow us, you can get to our social media, you can join the newsletter, you can shop the store.

You can do everything, so that's the one place to get every and anything that you need related to this show. Become a member. It helps to support the work that we do here at Queue Points, and we appreciate y'all and we love y'all

Sir Daniel: We absolutely do. And it's like I say on every episode, in this life, you have a choice. You can either pick up the needle or you can let the record play with a really dope album cover.

I am DJ Sir Daniel

Jay Ray: And my name is Jay Ray, y'all.

Sir Daniel: And this is Queue Points podcast, dropping the needle on Black music history. We will see you on the next go-round. Peace, y'all

Jay Ray: Peace, y'all.

[00:37:12] Outro Theme