BT - These Hopeful Machines

Illustrator Aaron Jasinski illustrated this amazing piece for popular electronic music artist BT's newest release. I've been following Jasinski's work for years through DeviantART, where he is somewhat of a celebrity. I agree with him that this is some of the best work he's done, taking advantage of the very long insert. You can see what it looks like in person on his blog.



A fantastic piece all around, falling in line with much of his other music-inspired pieces (below). If I were at all a BT fan I'd pick this up immediately.



Aaron Jasinski
BT

Method Man, Ghostface & Raekwon - Wu-Massacre

How perfect is this cover for the upcoming Wu-Tang release? Wu-Massacre is a collaboration between Method Man, Ghostface and Raekwon finally set to be released on March 30th. It will also feature Wu-Tang affiliates RZA, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna and others.



The artwork was handled by Chris Bachalo, a comic artist who's been in the industry since 1989, known for his exagerated, cartoon-like figures. He has worked for both Marvel and DC, illustrating titles such as The Sandman, X-Men Unlimited and his own series Steampunk.



I suddenly feel like posting an entry on hip-hop album covers done by comic book artists. I can think of a few. If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment!

Chris Bachalo
Wu-Tang

Freeway & Jake One - The Stimulus Package

I was considering picking up Freeway and producer Jake One's new album on Rhymesayers, but after seeing this I have to buy it. Thanks to Mykola for pointing it out. Rhymesayers has been doing well with the crazy packaging as of late.



I can't post this without mentioning the designer, Brent Rollins. Rollins has had a hand in a number of albums in my collection, including classics like Black Star, Blackalicious' Nia, Latyrx and others. You can check out an entry I wrote on his work for Junk Science way back in '07.

Just How BIG Is The Stimulus Package?
Brent Rollins
Freeway
Jake One
Rhymesayers

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Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: The End of Day

I'll admit, Kid Cudi's music hasn't grown on me yet. I'm not exactly sure why. "Day 'n' Night" was cool. What he did with Nosaj Thing's instrumental was good. The Lady Gaga beat was nice. But the album never clicked for some reason. Either way, that isn't what this post is about. It's about the cover art!



The artwork, Cudi's face against a vibrantly colored full moon, was illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz, a Jersey-bred artist made popular by his innovative use of oil paints, collage and mimeograph in the 80's for Marvel and DC Comics. After a period of creating movie posters in the 90's, he was approached by Def Jam to make an album cover for EPMD's third release Business As Usual (above). Later he was commissioned to create the art for RZA's first Bobby Digital album (above), using 70's-era Blaxploitation film posters as inspiration. Also of note is his book Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix (below), an illustrated biography of Jimi Hendrix, written by Martin I. Green.



Oddly enough, the first time Sienkiewicz work caught my attention was after seeing his amazing paintings in the third Venture Brothers DVD release (below). Look at Brock. He totally just killed a bunch of guys.



Bill Sienkiewicz
Comic Creator: Bill Sienkiewicz
Kid Cudi
RZA
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Madlib - Madlib Medicine Show #1: Before The Verdict

I'm having trouble keeping up with Stones Throw. It seems as if every product they release is designed specifically to make me reach for my wallet. The first in Madlib's monthly album series, Medicine Show #1, is no exception. To start things off he's brought along Detroit MC Guilty Simpson, a precursor to their OJ Simpson release coming later in April.



The vinyl edition of the album is being released in a hand-printed sleeve designed by Jeff Jank and produced by the Hit + Run Crew. I'm enjoying this trend of hand-made album covers and hope it continues. Tonight in L.A. there will be a release party with live screen printing. I wish I could be there. I'll have to settle for the video produced by ABCNT (top). But if you're in L.A....



Download: ♪ Guilty Simpson - "Before The Verdict"

Madlib
Guilty Simpson
Hit + Run Crew
ABCNT

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BTS Radio ReLaunch

After a long hiatus, BTS Radio is finally being relaunched. It's felt like a long time since I anxiously awaited every show a few years back, providing me with mixes by beatmakers like Jneiro Jarel, Flying Lotus, DJ Mitsu and others (in fact my second post on this blog was about BTS). But it's great to have it back, especially now that the global beat scene has exploded.



DJ Andrew Meza will be hosting a guest mix every Tuesday and digging up a mix from the archives every Thursday. Of course this will all be graced with art direction by Charles Munka (aka Ques) of LCP United, now also associated with Brainfeeder. Joining the team is Paul Rodriguez, the official photographer who's work has appeared in Spin, Current TV, Ubiquity and other spots. This week's mix is by the UK-based production duo Letherette, featuring their beats and a few favorite tracks.

Download: ♪ Letherette - Beat Showcase #003

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Various - You Don't Know: Ninja Cuts

Just one of the purchases in my short obsession with record label compilations last year, Ninja Tune's You Don't Know: Ninja Cuts, the fifth in a series of collections they've released, is a 3-disc package bringing together old, unreleased, rare, remixed and new recordings. Ninja Tune veterans like Mr. Scruff, The Cinematic Orchestra and Bonobo make an appearance, along with newer arrivals like The Long Lost, Cadence Weapon and Yppah. It's a decent view of where the label has been and where they're going, especially for those not familiar.



Ninja Tune decided to use a fittingly futuristic Syd Mead illustration of a lush orbiting space station for the cover. Each disc has it's own artwork, but this is the most interesting. The insert also folds out into a poster, which I scanned (above). Vegetables in space. X-Ray Delta One has a great collection of Syd Mead work on Flickr, three of which are below.




I had the pleasure of hearing Mead speak at my school in 2007. He is famous for his futuristic conceptual work, especially his vehicle designs. His work has appeared in many films including Tron (light cycles!), Blade Runner, Star Trek, Aliens, Turn A Gundam and Yamato 2520. He's also done designs for a Sega Saturn game I played years ago, Cyber Speedway (below). Not only are his vehicles great, but the music (by the mysterious Bygone Dogs), really made an impression on me back when most video game music I had been exposed to was 16-bit Genesis tunes. Skip to 3:50 to hear what I'm talking about.



Syd Mead
Ninja Tune

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