43. Camp Lo, Uptown Saturday Night
Why do people still love the Camp Lo album cover, Uptown Saturday Night, almost 25 years after its initial release? It is because that cool duo from Harlem was able to transport a very specific generation of Hip-Hop back to the 70s and 80s, a time before rap music was the most prominent genre of music in the world. The cover art made you think of Ernie Barnes’ piece ‘Sugar Shack’ that we were all introduced to via JJ from the hit TV show, Good Times. The dancers in the painting have exchanged their funky soul drip for the contemporary Kangol hat, jeans, and classic Uptowns aka Air Force Ones.
It also pts those who not only listened to the music but check out the cover in a groovy mood, invoking Marvin Gaye. If you did not see it as an homage to the Evans family, you recognized the riff on the Motown artist’s legendary album I Want You … an LP that also featured Barnes’ Shack on its cover.