Then, Barry Woods photographed me doing a cheap imitation of the timeless move over a mattress to later comp in to the design.
For design inspiration, I looked at classic hip hop flyers by another inspiration of mine, Phase II.
In order to bring this classic format to a different level, I built a three-dimensional paper sculpture following the graphic language that Phase II invented out of thin air and we now take for granted as classic hip hop (symmetrical layout, lots of borders, 3D stars, etc.). Remember that he did these designs using rub on letters and even wax paste-up (a technique that the Philadelphia Citypaper was still employing to layout their editorial section when I worked there back in 2003).
Finally, Barry photograped the sculpture straight on (with his amazing still-life skills as usual), and I comped in a quick illustration of Martha's photo along with the shot of me. Thank you Frosty for lifting us higher!
For me, this project also sums up the spirit of hip hop. Learn and respect what the pioneers did before you and digest it. Add your own character and do your best to produce something new, fresh, honest, from the heart and most importantly – FUN! The album drops at the end of this month as a limited edition from DJ Floskel.
