Fans and spectators were left somewhat puzzled after Young Thug released the controversial cover art for his upcoming Tha Carter VI album two days ago (April 7).
To gain a better understanding of the thought process behind the cover, Complex spoke with photographer Sandy Kim to get her take on how the concept for the cover came about.
During the conversation, Kim revealed that Young Thug was somewhat hesitant to get naked at first, but after she too went nude, they began the shoot.
“Young Thug had an idea for the concept and he also wanted someone young and new to shoot his cover,” Sandy Kim says. “His team reached out to me and I said of course. I’m a huge fan of his music and he’s definitely pushing boundaries in rap musically and aesthetically. I wouldn’t have done it if our visions didn’t line up and he wasn’t down for the type of aesthetic I normally bring to my work. When I got to the set he and his team had ideas, I brought some of my own ideas to the table. I asked him if he would be down to get naked and he was like ‘Fuck no, I’m not getting naked, you get naked!’ Artists should totally be down to commit to the vision they’re asking for, so I got naked and then we shot it. The experience was great, his team was shooting dice on set.’
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Confirming that Young Thug was indeed nude on the cover, Kim said: “Yeah, mostly.”
When asked about people reading phallic imagery into the way the Tha Carter VI lettering is stylized and positioned on the cover, Kim says that’s what you’re expected to deduce.
“[I] wasn’t involved that much on the graphics side but they did send everything to me to sign off on,” Kim says. “I think you are meant to [infer] phallic imagery, definitely. A lot of the concept was from Thug. If he didn’t have something like this in mind I don’t think they would’ve reached out to me. There are more images to come, but you’ll just have to wait until it drops.”
Young Thug’s Tha Carter VI is scheduled to be released on April 17.
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