Well almost. Not to be such a hard critique Lupe, but I guess you had to put the small circular sticker on the upper right corner for sale reasons and your labels logo on certain places for legal issues. Sorry, just giving you a hard time Mr. Jaco. But regardless, I love the entire concept of having an entire black album from the cover to the CD and to blank black booklet. People may not think having an all black cover is anything special. But in a design aspect, sometimes less is more. Although there might not have been much physical "work" put into the design, there is a lot of thought process and meaning behind it. It brings a non judgmental mindset to the consumers and makes you wonder why all black? Also Food & Liquor II omits the idiom don't judge a book by it's cover, because if you do, your judgmental assumptions will most likely be inaccurate. And in deeper context, the all black album design represents all the lives that could have been as Lupe mourns for the fallen Men and Women with his all black stage presence. If you peeped the interview a few months ago with Sway, Lupe breaks down in tears after watching an archive interview in the beginning of his career. He explains how Chicago still stands as the number 1 murder capital in the world and some people in the video have past. And watching Derrick Rose break down in his press release of the D. Rose 3s, I felt much sympathy for the struggles Fiasco and Rose have overcome and how humble and fortunate they feel to have made it out. To me, the all black cover is not just a blank cover to attract more sales, but it represents Chicago and the lives that are cut short everyday. It represents the corruption America is experiencing and how citizens are blinded by it. I felt like it was necessary to support The Great American Rap Album. If you haven't yet, take time to consciously listen to this album. Although most of the production isn't up to par as Food & Liquor, I think it was more important to Lupe to digest his words. Trust me, you might learn something.
