Pulse List 2017: 7 best Nigerian album covers of year

Photographic portraits, paintings, collages -- all these and more are on Pulse’s best album covers of 2017.

It isn’t just about the music anymore.

While the sounds is still the major essential element of an album, but you can’t deny the role of album covers in ensuring that you make your decision to either buy or ignore a body of work.

While the cover art of albums have changed over the years with technology and improvement in our understanding of colours and how it affects art, the basics of it still means that people should relate a striking and symbolic album art to the music on display.

Photographic portraits, paintings, collages -- all these and more are on Pulse’s best album covers of 2017.

Ajebutter22 – “What Happens In Lagos”
 

Ajebutter22’s conceptual album art takes the win here for its descriptive symbolism of the project. The art shows a young Lagos boy in all his stages of life as he navigates the city in the hope of attaining success.

Olamide – “Lagos Nawa”

 

Baddo made an album for the masses of Lagos, aptly tagging it the ‘Wobe’ album. What else defines the Lagos populace better than it’s most famous means of transport – the Danfo buses. Olamide’s album art is the characteristic official colour of the mainland Danfo buses.

D’banj : “King Don Come”

 

An album about his legacy, D’banj went for symbolism on this one. Created by Nduka Abii, popularly known as Duks Arts, the project draws inspiration from the HBO hit TV series “Game Of Thrones.” The album art which was shared by the singer via social media showed the Nigerian superstar depicted as a medieval king. D’banj is sitting on a throne placed against the backdrop of a raging battle. He is dressed in kingly robes and jewelry, with animal fur draping his shoulder, and his famous DB gold chain on his neck.

Simi – “Simisola”

 

Simi is the girl next door. From her branding to everything else, she’s the relatable star, who is unashamed in her skin. Her debut album “Simisola” is all about her person, and at the core of that is that persona. She captures that essence in the music, and the album art.

BOJ – “Magic”

 

Stare deep enough at BOJ’s cover art for “Magic,” and things begin to get psychedelic. From descriptions of his art, to photo representations of his guests, the art, with its ominous design throws up a million possibilities, hinting at the very title of the project – Magic.

Jesse Jagz – “Odyssey”

 

Jesse Jagz named his album ‘Odysseus’, which simply means ‘journey’. To sell that record, he dug deep into his archives, to a historic photo of his origins. The little black girl in the middle is Jesse and M.I Abaga’s mother in 1975. It was taken at Baissa, Taraba State, where she grew up with the Boer family, who were Christian missionaries. It was the origin of his story, this journey that has led him to music.

Bemyoda – “Stark”

 

Bemyoda’s album art for stark hits a part of you that you can’t describe. That monochrome photo of the kid, pulls at your heart strings. In a way that feeling is stark, and it connects with exactly what the music is about: a record about the human experience and all the iterations of living in a conscious mind.

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