At my homies Josh & Geneveive’s house on Halloween, Josh pulled out an old Heavy D & the Boyz record (as opposed to a new one?). It struck me that they were smiling on the cover. But why is that even remarkable, I wondered. I realized that rappers never smile on their album covers anymore. The only one in recent memory is Common’s Be. Not only did I realize that, but I realized how delightful it is to see that. I mean, if the music is happy music, shouldn’t the album reflect that? Instead it’s always a bored or grimey face (including mine). Plus, and I know this from working in the magazine industry, smiling faces and eye-contact sell more mags. Well, mark my words: Next album–I’m smiling.
PS: This is me as Joe 6-Pack and my girlfriend as The Color Purple (and that’s my friend’s piss stain):
