Album Cover: Everything is everything
OBJECTIVE
Create a Hip Hop Feminism piece emphasizing the sonic and lyricism of the genre.
ELEMENTS
ideation/brainstorming, digital, graphics, creative problem solving, typography, collage
PRODUCT
An album cover and back cover for the song Everything is Everything by Lauryn Hill. Each element reflects a lyric or symbol within the music.
The two images in the middle are the Pharaohs Nefertiti and Cleopatra referring to the lines More powerful than two Cleopatras/Bomb graffiti on the tomb of NefertitiThese women are Ancient Egyptian/African queens that were in the highest position in their time, which reflects how Lauryn views herself, as well as other black women: as queens. This also reflects the genre’s voice of Queen Mother.
Everything is everything/What is meant to be, will be/After winter,/must come spring/Change, it comes eventuallyThe repetition of ‘everything is everything’ in the graphic both reinforces the title and reflects the phrase’s own repetition within the song’s refrain. The cold colors symbolic of winter and the warm are reminiscent of spring.
I wrote these words for everyone/Who struggles in their youth/Who won't accept deception/Instead of what is truth/It seems we lose the game,/Before we even start to play/Who made these rules? We're so confused/Easily led astrayThis line reflects the struggles of inner city youths in America, particularly black youths who face constant discrimination. These rules that she mentions are written by persons currently in power, removed from the black experience.The raised fist, or the clenched fist, is a symbol of solidarity and support. It is also used as a salute to express unity, strength, defiance, or resistance.
L-Boogie spars with stars and constellations/Then came down for a little conversation/Adjacent to the king, fear no human being/Roll with cherubims to Nassau Coliseum/Now hear this mixture, where Hip Hop meets scripture/Develop a negative into a positive pictureThis use of the constellation displays both empowerment and spirituality where Lauryn places herself in godly and queen status as she did with the Nefertiti and Cleopatra comparison. Pharaohs were often viewed as deities.The religious images of a cherubim (member of the second order of angels), the ichthys (a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs to resemble the profile of a fish was adopted by early Christians as a secret symbol known as the "sign of the fish" or the "Jesus fish"), and scripture allude to Lauryn imbuing herself with godly status and reinforce her strong spirituality .