Image via Complex Original
Last night, Drake tweeted out his new Nothing Was The Same album release date (September 24), along with two album covers done by painter, illustrator, and writer, Kadir Nelson. In the art world, Nelson's name is a familar one; he's had numerous successful exhibitions and has been commissioned by the United States House of Representatives, the U.S. Postal Service, Michael Jackson, Sports Illustrated, Coca-Cola, and Dreamworks. He's also written and illustrated a number of best-selling, award-winning books that tell the stories of iconic figures like Nelson Mandela, Joe Louis, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Similar to the work of photorealistic history painter Kehinde Wiley, Nelson's paintings reveal the strength and humanity of his subjects, who carry piercing gazes and appear triumphant in all of their poses. For Drake's covers (reminiscent of Tyler, the Creator's photorealistic illustration for Wolf by Mark Ryden from last April), Nelson paints two sides of him, both which are his profile against bright, cloudy backgrounds. The younger, child version of himself looks slightly up and to the right, while the adult version of himself looks out and to the left. His younger self is adorned only with an afro comb in his hair, and his older self has a gold chain. These two images may be glowing and full of color, but they are also serious and contemplative. They also recall iconic hip-hop album covers like Nas' Illmatic, The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die, and Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, where the rappers shared images of themselves as kids.
Whether Drake is torn between or best represented by these two chapters of his youth or not, the clear focuses are his profile, expression, and minimal adornment (i.e. not what or who he's wearing). Kadir Nelson depicts both sides of him in such a powerful way, and he's been doing it for years. Read these 10 Things You Need to Know About Kadir Nelson for an important overview of this multi-talented artist's career.
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He created the cover for Michael Jackson's posthumous Michael album in 2009.
Michael was released on December 10, 2010, but Nelson was actually asked to paint the photorealistic portrait of Michael Jackson years before, by request of Michael himself. The project wasn't started in Michael's lifetime, but in 2009, an executor of his estate finally commissioned it.
The contents of the image represent the three stages of Michael's career as two cherubs place a crown on his head. According to Nelson, "Michael wears a golden suit of armor and stares at the viewer as he is crowned by cupids. He places his hand over his heart and looks directly at the viewer, a symbol of Jackson's big heart and strong connection to his fans and music. A monarch butterfly sits on his shoulder, another symbol of Jackson's metamorphosis as a singer and entertainer, as well as a symbol of royalty. His musical history unfolds behind him."
In 2010, he was commissioned by the the U.S. Postal Service to create a pair of 44-cent U.S. postage stamps honoring Negro League baseball.
In July 2012, he was commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service again to create four stamps honoring the accomplishments of baseball players Ted Williams, Larry Doby, Willie Stargell, and Joe DiMaggio.
In an interview with ESPN about the project, he said, "I was asked to do a painting on the subject while in college during the early nineties. Upon doing a bit of research, I became hooked on the history of the leagues and wanted to learn more. After completing the painting, I was inspired to paint several more and didn't stop until about 14 years later, after having completed almost 50 paintings on the subject."
He also showed an exhibition of 47 oil paintings from his 2008 book We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball at Miami's Freedom Tower in fall 2011.
"We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball" is one of Nelson's most well-known exhibitions. Of choosing these moments in baseball history, he says, "What I found most striking was the story of the Negro Leagues, its overwhelming success despite the daunting odds against it...the spirit of independence, having made something out of nothing at all." The first painting, an image of a showdown between pitcher Leroy Satchel Paige and batter Josh Gibson, was the impetus for the 46 paintings that followed.
He's also shown original work at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Museum of Tolerance, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Yokohama Citizens' Gallery, the Tijuana Cultural Center, and many other institutions around the world.
His paintings have also decorated the sets of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "The Jamie Foxx Show."
And that's just TV shows. His work has also been on the sets of the films Friday, Set It Off and The Beauty Shop. He was also hired as a concept artist by Dreamworks for the film Amistad and did visual development for the animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.
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Most recently, one of his paintings was creatively featured in a SKYY Infusions Moscato Grape commercial, directed by Anthony Mandler.
For SKYY Vodka's "Be Part of the Art" concept, the subjects of Nelson's painting come to life in the museum to party.
His other commercial advertising and editorial work includes painting and illustration for Coca-Cola's 2002 promotional calendar and cookbook for Black History Month, Coca-Cola's Essence Music Festival poster, Babe Ruth and a mythical football game for Sports Illustrated, Tupac and Biggie for Vibe, and Barry Bonds for the 2002 MLB All-Star Game program cover.
Lil Kim, Shaquille O'Neal, and Will and Jada Smith collect his art.
And they're not the only ones. Ice Cube, Katt Williams, Kate and Steven Spielberg, Venus Williams, Denzel and Pauletta Washington, and the San Diego Padres are among some of his other collectors, as listed on his website.
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He also has art in the collections of the United States House of Representatives, the International Olympic Committee, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Of course, it doesn't stop there. His art is also in the collections of the United States Postal Service, the United States Sports Academy, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and the Muskegon Museum of Art.
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He recently wrote and illustrated a book about Nelson Mandela.
Nelson Mandela came out on January 2, 2013, following the successful 2011 release of his written/illustrated Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans title. His love for history runs deep, and in 2009, he published a book of quotations and illustrations of President Barack Obama titled Change Has Come: An Artist Celebrates Our American Spirit.
He's published illustrations in and on over 20 beloved books, including 2000's Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream by Deloris and Roslyn Jordan, 2001's Just the Two of Usby Will Smith, 2005's Please, Puppy, Please by Spike and Tonya Lee, 2007'sMichael's Golden Rules by Deloris Jordan (with an introduction by Michael Jordan), 2009's Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinsonby Sharon Robinson, and 2011's A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis by Matt De la Pena.
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He's received the Caldecott Honor Award twice, once in 2007 and again in 2008. The award honors the most distinguished American picture book for children from the previous year.
He got these for 2006's Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom and 2007's Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad, and he's won many more. His book Just the Two of Us earned him an NAACP Image Award in 2001, We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball earned him the 2008 CASEY Award for best baseball book, the 2009 Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the 2009 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, Ellington Was Not a Street earned him the Coretta Scott King Author Award in 2004 and the Museum of Tolerance's Once Upon A World Children's Book Award, and Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans earned him the Jane Addams Honor Book Award in 2011.
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He painted two album covers for Drake's Nothing Was the Same.
Neither Drake nor Kadir have commented on the commission, with the exception of Drake's tweet below, but we know that there are two images, one of a young Drake and one of Drake today, against a background of clouds.
NWTS cover by @KadirNelson
- Drizzy (@Drake) August 22, 2013