King Push—Darkest Before the Dawn: The Prelude by DONDA
For the cover of Pusha T’s new record, “King Push — Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude,” team DONDA found inspiration in scarification portraits of African tribes. "The magnitude of that pain captured in a moment,” describes photographer Fabien Montique. Pain has been a constant lyrical theme throughout Pusha's work, and this latest outing is the best graphic execution of that concept that we've seen from him. It's certainly evokes the nihilism in his music more clearly than the more traditional (and cliché) covers that graced his and Clipse's earlier efforts.
The ultimate goal was to create a piece that translated the emotion and power of the Virginia-bred emcee’s rhymes into something visually stimulating, raw and influential. As Pusha himself says, “I wanted something strong and iconic that would last a lifetime.”
“We researched scarification portraits of African tribes — the magnitude of that pain captured in a moment.”
"Untouchable"
"M.F.T.R"
"Crutches, Crosses, Caskets"
The three singles from the record use the same dark, gritty and photography. The third breaks the bird-in-flight motif, but still feels very much of the same spirit, with it's clear religious overtones and tough-as-nails texture.
“I wanted something strong and iconic that would last a lifetime.”
DONDA also designed a limited edition (500) zine for the album's release—60 pages of brutal black and white that may as well be from a Swedish black metal album. Still, it's a perfect companion piece to the album. With imagery from Brazil, England, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, India and America, the piece touches on religion, poverty and ultimately, hope.
Involved in the conception and design were DONDA’s Chief Creative Director Kanye West, DONDA’s Creative Director Virgil Abloh, and Justin Saunders, Nate Brown & Joe Perez, three of DONDA's Art Directors. 💯
Photography: Fabien Montique
Art Coordination: Tai Linzie
Donda Chief Creative Director: Kanye West
Donda Creative Director: Virgil Abloh
Photography: Fabien Montique
Donda Art Directors: Justin Saunders, Nate Brown, Joe Perez
Donda Graphic Design: Joe Perez
Graphic Design Assistants: Bryan Rivera, Jenna Marsh, Travis Brothers
Package Production: Andy Proctor
