Cover art is more important than ever in 2017, and Aminé made sure that his debut album has a memorable one. But Good For You will be remembered for a lot more than just a picture of Aminé taking a dump, because there's levels to this shit. Literally.
At first glance, yes, Aminé is poised atop his throne reading a newspaper, but if you look closely you'll notice there is a heavy amount of detail on that newspaper. So much detail that it almost looks... real. And guess what? It is real. It's so fucking real. And Aminé was willing to give P&P the exclusive scoop on The Good For You Post. What it means, what's inside of it, and where you can get your copy.
"The main purpose of the newspaper is just to give advice and a look into my world, and help understand who my friends are, the people that I look up to, my family, and what I stand for." Aminé tells us. "I think it kind of helps people get a better understanding of who I am personally. When they listen to the music, if I can make you understand who I am more, before you listen to the music, that kind of makes me feel better when you press play."
The Good For You Post does just that. Every page is a look into not just the mind of Aminé, but into the minds of the people who influence Aminé the most. Designed by Lauren Ogard, the paper includes articles written by Aminé's mom, his best friends, and fellow artists like Taco, Steve Lacy, and Madeintyo. Topics covered include supernovas, gentrification, Kobe, skating, headassery, booty eating and tons more.
The pages are full of photographs, stories, advice columns, recipes, comics, and word searches. In an age where music is grossly abundant, and is released, digested, and forgotten on a weekly basis, it's really refreshing to see an artist take the time to create a tangible piece of art to compliment and enhance an album.
The very first article is titled "Good For Me" and is written by Aminé himself. Here it is in full:
I wasn’t devastated when the girl I loved broke up with me. After she closed my apartment door and said her last goodbye, I looked into my bathroom mirror for a few minutes and wondered why tears weren’t running down my face. I think that’s what made me cry moments later. I wasn’t sad for the reasons of a regular break-up; more so because I lost the person that kept me afloat and distracted me from my actual problems. The problems I didn’t want to talk about. You made me feel like everything was okay and I got accustomed to that.
When melancholy has been your word of the day since you were 16, it's hard to believe happiness truly exists. Every day seemed like a task and every smile, forced. I know there's a word for that, but I didn't believe it until I was writing a letter to myself, questioning the purpose of my life last year. That word isn’t easy to say when "suck it up" seems to be the only reverb that echoes with the feeling as a black man in both African and American culture. I wept to God for every night I didn’t feel like being here and that kept me sustained for the time being, but some actual matter would’ve been nice too. That first time I cried in front of you, in San Francisco, I wanted to tell you the truth about me, but my heart was paralyzed.
Instead of asking what was wrong, you wiped the tears off my eyes and told me I was "special” while we laid in bed, nose to nose. Everything about you was good and bad for me and I knew I had to care for myself before I could care for you. I’m still pacing, but the finish line to optimism seems to be getting closer.
Here's a rundown of every article and author, with a few excerpts:
"TIME" - Aminé's Mom
"Time doesn’t stay still, it goes by so fast without anyone realizing it. Growing up as a child in Ethiopia made me realize how relaxed our lifestyle was compared to children in the US. You wake up and the whole day feels longer and relaxed. Maybe the concept of time does not exist for children as it does adults."
"SUNDAYS" - Demitrius Rhodes
"CONFIDENCE" - Mikey Alfred
"ROMANCE" - Justin Lehmann & Jessica Kane
"BANANA BREAD" - Stacey Kane
"FRIENDS" - Taco
"When was the last time you made a new friend not through someone else? No mutual friends, just a random human. I’m not talking social media either, strictly physical meeting. DOES NO ONE MAKE FRIENDS ANYMORE WTF?"
"SUPERNOVAS" - Spacemami (aka Dominique Butler)
GROWING UP BLACK AND SKATING - Aramis Hudson
"WHY KOBE IS THE GOAT" - Jonathan Ressom
"THE FOUR-STEPS TO GET SWOL N*GGA" - Yosief Berhe
"TATTOOS" - Steve Lacy
"All of my tattoos have some connection to me in some way, however, not all of my tats have a deep meaning. I just like the feeling of a new piece of art on my body. It's like buying a painting that makes you feel something and putting it on your wall and just being like "ahhh what a beautiful addition to my plain ass wall."
"KEYS TO NEW YORK CITY" - Madison Stewart
"WAKIN' N' BAKIN'" - Marc Leverett
"KARS" - Arthur Kar
"THE WORST UBER EVER" - Madeintyo
"EVERYBODY'S A HEADASS" - Brian Kinnes
"SIBLINGS" - Michael Uzowuru
"BOOTY EATING GUIDELINES" - Jahaan Sweet
BANANA COMIC - Ryder McLaughlin
WORDSEARCH - Lauren Ogard
"A ROSES BLACK SPECS" - Marche Black
"BIG CITY DREAMS" - Akiva Hillman
"THE BEST LOWKEY FOOD IN MY CITY" - Adam Aminé Daniel
You'll be able to pick up a copy of The Good For You Post at one of the pop ups in NYC or LA.
first come first serve
the blue toilet + newspaper will be there. for you. pic.twitter.com/L3dpXCD7lR
The Good For You Post
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