#PulseList2015: 10 best and worse album covers of 2015

Pulse Music gives you the top 10 best and worst album covers of 2015.

2015 was the year of albums in Nigeria, with 29 albums so far.

While the most obvious subject of discussion and concern is the music, we at Pulse are different. We see past that, taking a holistic view of the product.

There was a time when album artwork was considered almost as important as the album itself. From Olamide’s iconic cover to “Baddest Guy Ever Liveth”, to  Banky W’s sleek look on “R&BW”, we've celebrated design, both great and awful, beautiful and ugly, thoughtful and nonsensical.

Behind every great album is great artwork. The design of an album’s cover is a crucial aspect of the album itself. Although it might seem that an album is all about the music, the artwork is the face of the album, which means that it’s the thing that gives potential listeners their first impressions. Your album’s first impression is central to its success.

There is one overriding purpose for album artwork: to attract listeners to your music.

Pulse Music gives you the top 10 best and worst album covers of 2015.

 

1. Burna Boy – “On A Spaceship”

 

What’s not to love about this. The singer who has always had  a fascination with the ‘high’ life rceived freedom from Aristokrat Records to form Spaceship Entertainment. To give his sophomore LP a face that interprets the title “On A Spaceship” he hires artiste Ken Nwadiogbu. 40 days later this was born.

 

2. DJ Spinall – “My Story”

 

Having come through the rugged straights of the Nigerian disc jockeying scene, the former Ray Power FM DJ has had quite a story to tell. He titles his pop album "My Story", and proceeds to bring that to life via an album cover that surely drew nods of appreciation all through the country.

 

3. Falz - "Stories That Touch"

Falz, ever the comic man, created a conceptual album telling relatable stories that pierce through our barriers, uniting us in music, rhymes and bars. His album art stays true to that with a slightly disturbing image of his face, and lyrics off the songs scrawled on them. Genius lives here.

 

4. Seyi Shay - "Seyi or Shay"

 

Part of the conceptual theme of this lady's marketing has been the creation of an alter ego to ensure that copies of the album leave the shelves, and this does make her music look attractive. If anything, the morbid, ominous look of the art is enough to make a man give it a spin.

 

5. Runtown - "Ghetto University"

 

 

6. Orezi - "The Ghen Ghen"

 

Pop albums in Nigeria are a noisy bunch. They contain easy to digest songs which are meant to be good-timing materials which capture the spirit of the times. Orezi has that spirit displayed on this album arts which is colourful, striking and attention-seeking. This is truly “The Ghen Ghen” album cover.

 

7. Reminisce - "Baba Hafusa"

 

This rapper possesses a keen understanding of imagery and all the joys that come with one. Reminisce titled his album 'Baba Hafusa', which translates to 'Hafusa's Dad', after his first child, Hafusa. To make that name stick with an image, Reminisce rocked his traditional look, but added extra zip with left hand holding tightly to a gigantic red stuffed animal, and the right clutching a baby carrier. This is truly a music making dad.

 

8. LeriQ - "The Lost Sounds"

 

LeriQ is currently Nigeria's most experimental music producer, with a catalogue boasting of amazing fusion sounds. On his project he captures that production wizardry via the title and the accompanying cover that depicts him as an enchanter with all the access to powers lost and sacred.

 

9. Naeto C - "Day 1"

 

This rapper pressed the reset button with this conceptual Hip-hop gem which showed all of his lyrical prowess, and to get that into the open, his cover was reminiscent of the glory days of art; the Renaissance. With Gothic fonts and compasses, this really does strike you as classy work...which it is.

 

10. Oritse Femi - "Money Stops Nonsense"

 

Let's all take a moment to look at the rebranding of Oritse Femi as the Musical taliban. This he has been selling after his single 'Double Wahala' gave him second life. This art is the embodiment of that idea.

 

The Worst Album Covers of 2015

1. Skales - "Man Of Year"

 

Now how is this an album art for a debut album, with such an over-ambitious title. Red cup, corny look, poor representation. 'Whack of the year; is an appropriate title for this.'

 

2. Yemi Sax - "J.A.L.T.O.S"

 

Creativity went missing on this cover, as the Sax Man found a way to create something to inspire nothing. That in itself is a talent.

 

3. Iyanya - "Applaudise"

 

As prosaic album covers go, this sits on the list as the only one which features no creative direction. There was no effort on this. Just a mischievous look on Iyanya's face, and some photoshop. Where did it all go wrong for the 'Kukere' master? We would have accepted something which shows him shirtless, and with a title, "Mr Oreo."

 

4. Naeto C - "Festival"

 

This singer gave us joy with his first album, and now he serves the reverse on this one. A traditional feel was the direction for this art, but the separation and execution leaves more to be desired.

 

5. Wande Coal - "Wanted"

 

Wande went the extra mile to create the look of a Wild West outlaw. That look failed.

 

6. MC Galaxy - "Breakthrough"

 

Someone took this hustler's idea, and dream and ran South with it. This is the deal breaker.

7. Joe EL - "Timeless"

 

"Timeless" album showed a creative flaw by being too similar to Sunny Neji’s 2012 ‘Timeless’ album. Even the album art looks like a modern version of its predecessor. There is also no mention of creative inspiration from Sunny Neji. This is simply cover plagiarism.

8. Olamide - "Eyan Mayweather"

 

This was meant to be symbolic and exquisite. They put in time into the work, and the effort comes right at you. But execution was skewed, and the end product is without a prayer.

 

9. Darey - "Naked"

 

When people screamed that Darey had posed naked for a shot on this album, many were gladdened with the captivating imagery that it promised. But that was not to be. The singer chose this. He chose this cliche.

 

10. Olamide, Phyno - "2 Kings"

The King of the West aligned with the Eastern Ruler on a symbolic album to mark time, and someone in both teams decided to go with this. How shameful.