They say never judge an album by its cover (close enough), but a great album cover can inspire and encourage people to stop and literally listen to what your music has to say. As part of our collaboration with the oh-so legendary Wyclef Jean, we asked five talented Fiverr illustrators to remix Wyclef’s album covers in their own unique style in order to pay major homage to this incredible artist. Spoiler: They’re out-of-this-world.
Who: Steffen Heil, AKA Trippiesteff
What: Illustrator and animator
Where: Berlin, Germany
What inspired you to choose this particular album? I stumbled upon "The Score" somewhere in the early 2000’s. The way they mixed different styles and genres blew my mind, and even though it wasn’t a new album, there was something so different about it. I was also so fascinated by the lyrics, especially Wyclef’s mix of conscious, political gangsta. All Time Classic!
Walk us through your design The iconic "The Score" artwork is super dark so I wanted to make it colorful as an homage to the fusion of styles and messages mixed on the record. I also tried to showcase the differences between the three Fugees and pay tribute to the characters they represent.
What's your favorite Wyclef song? I love Wyclef on "Fu-Gee-Laa". "We used to be number 10, now we're permanent one...", it’s great. It's so hard to tell which one's the best track on this record, its filled with awesome moments.
Who: Zhivko Paketov (a.k.a VNUG)
What: Illustrator / Graphic Designer
Where: Macedonia
What inspired you to choose this particular album? I’m a huge music nerd and I’ve always dreamed of illustrating a cover for music legends like Wyclef Jean. When I was approached to do this project, I saw the list of Wyclef albums to choose from and the second I saw the title "The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book" an idea came to my head and I immediately knew I have to go for it!
Walk us through your design I wanted to draw a book - inspired by the title of the album - and have different elements from the songs flying out of it. I drew a Columbia Records logo ("Columbia Records"), hand-drawn Fugees typography with a question mark ("Where are the Fugees?"), an angel (“Thug Angles”), police car (“911”), red traffic light ("Red Light District"), microphone ("Da Cypha"), a tie ("Perfect Gentleman"), torn $100 bills ("Low Income"), Hollywood sign ("Hollywood for Hollywood"), portrait of Diallo ("Diallo"), a joint ("Something about Mary") and a bus ("Bus Search").
What's your favorite Wyclef song? It is hard to choose but my favorite song "Diallo". It’s also one of the first songs of Wyclef's that I’ve I heard and I couldn’t get it out of my head for so long!
Who: Luna Monogatari
What: Wyclef Jean, Carnival III Album Cover
Where: I'm from Lisbon, Portugal but living in London, United Kingdom
What inspired you to choose this particular album? I chose this particular album not so much because of the content, but because the cover was so minimalistic - it’s the opposite of my work and style! I thought it would be a great challenge to illustrate something very complex, but with a similar essence of the original album cover.
Walk us through your design My design is a mix of colors and shapes that define my vision on the world and that’s how I look at life. The original “Carnival” cover was almost completely black and white, so this is my own take of what the cover would look like full of color and illustrations.
What's your favorite Wyclef song? Definitely “Thank God for the Culture”.
Who: Noah Eadie AKA, noaheadie
What: Carnival III: The Fall and Rise of a Refugee
Where: New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA
Carnival III was the most recent album of Wyclef's, so it's the best representation of where he's at right now as an artist.
Most of the album - especially Slums, Turn Me Good, Borrowed Time, and Double Dutch - is reflective on Wyclef's journey from Haiti to the slums to where he is now - his fall and rise. I think we've all had a moment, either in the middle of or right after some personal conflict, where you look into the mirror and really think about what got you there at that moment in time, and where you expect to be in the future. The album feels like one big reflective moment like that. The colors and framing are based off the Haitian flag, to tie back to Wyclef's connection to his homeland.
“Turn Me Good” reminds me of my life partner and how they elevated me from being just some “art guy” to where I am today. They're my better half. Turn Me Good has a lot of analogues between what Wyclef's girl did for him and what my partner did for me, so I have a bit of a personal connection to it.
Who: Shelby Criswell
What: “Troublemaker and illustrator”
Where: San Antonio, TX, USA
What inspired you to choose this particular album? I chose "The Score Revamped" because I'm a huge fan of The Score. I remember my mother blasting this CD in her car when I was a kid nonstop.
Walk us through your design The design sort of took an alternative, underground hip-hop vibe. Think MF Doom meets The Gorillaz, something a little more modern yet still drawing back to that classic album.
What's your favorite Wyclef song? LOVE "Sweetest Girl" by Wyclef
Have a favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
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