Black and white imagery can provide and interesting look to an album cover, usually garnering a dark kind of tone to fit the picture. A few of these album covers are actually iconic and their artists would probably scoff at the idea of colorization but the digital artist Outlyning decided to give a splash of color that gives these covers a whole new dimension of appreciation. These are just some of my favorites from the series…
Roddy Rich’s Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial
The original cover was notable for using the simplicity to showcase the intensity on the face of Roddy Ricch. However, the colorized version here makes his stare seem more notable because his colored eyes pop as his chain contrasts with the outfit.
A$AP Rocky’s Live. Love. A$AP
This is probably my favorite of them all, as the American flag is such an iconic set of colors that it provides a colorful backdrop for Rocky. The original does have more of a punk/anti-establishment feel to it but Rocky’s attention to the American entrepreneurial dream and the inclusion of it in his music makes this feel more appropriate for Flacko’s style.
Playboi Carti’s Die Lit
Die Lit is such a busy picture. There is so much chaos and frenetic energy in just one frame as everyone seems in motion but is captured cleanly. The colorization kind of highlights the very essence of the dingy atmosphere. Like the Live.Love.A$AP one, the original does feel more punk in nature but this is a great version.
Denzel Curry’s TA13OO
The original cover of this album uses the black and white to really make Denzel look ferocious, and he does. However, the colorized version really makes the blood stain pop against the black background/white face paint on him. This would be considered an instant upgrade in my book. Bonus points for the great way the gold reflects and stands out against his skin tone.
Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly
To Pimp A Butterfly is easily one of the greatest hip-hop albums to ever get released, and its black and white image serves as an iconic cover in its own right. But honestly, outside of the artistic freedom of being able to do so, it just seems so much better with color. The sky and trees give a green and blue set of shades while making the White House even more prominent. The skin tones of the people on the cover also make the statement of taking strength in the socio-political state of affairs much more poignant.
Mac Miller’s GO:OD AM
Simple, but effective, giving Mac Miller a colorful pink backdrop and restoring his fleshtones. For one, GO:OD AM is one of my favorite albums of all-time, and while the cover is definitely quirky and indicative of the “good morning” theme of the album, this colorized version adds to the fun nature of the record. Both are great and an argument could be made for either being superior.
Drake’s Scorpion
This album cover was shot by Norman Wong, and is up there with one of the classiest album covers to ever drop as it is in this almost vintage Hollywood style with the strong hair light and headshot-esque composition. In that regard, the black and white is definitely the way to go for the aesthetics purpose. However, this colorized version adds some glam to the already stellar picture and almost makes it seem more luxurious.
Please follow @OutLyningArt for album cover art on Instagram and check out her website for awesome Photoshop assets along with tips and tricks that can be seen on her page.
Colors, Tastes, and Sounds 