Outkast 'Aquemini' Album Cover Artist Says André 3000 Played Him Music To Spark His Vision

March 03, 2022

Columbus, Ohio native Gregory Hawkins is the artistic genius behind the cover of Outkast’s third studio album Aquemini. Released in 1998, the project produced the singles “Rosa Parks,” “Skew It on the Bar-B” featuring Raekwon, “Synthesizer” with George Clinton and “Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1).” To get the right aesthetic, Hawkins had to transport himself into another era. With the help of André 3000, he was able to do just that.

“André came over and played some tunes for me, and I kind of got the feel of it,” Hawkins explained to Columbus Alive in a recent interview. “They were trying to have a ’70s vibe on it. They even had George Clinton on it … and I’m a big Parliament-Funkadelic fan. So, when I did the album cover, I tried to give it a ’70s feel with them guys in the bellbottoms and the pimp gear.”

So how did Hawkins even get to André 3000 and Big Boi? It was a simple case of knowing the right people — and having the talent. After a brief stint at Columbus College of Art & Design, Hawkins was hired as an artist through his friend Maurice Alfred, who connected Hawkins with Pablo & Associates founder William “Pablo” Davis, a Columbus music promoter, producer and manager of bands such as Midnight Star and The Deele, the latter which featured Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds.

“You wouldn’t believe the groups and artists that I came in contact with,” Hawkins said. “I did logos for Midnight Star. I did T-shirt designs for Babyface and L.A. Reid.”



When Hawkins landed the Aquemini job, he had to brush up on his Southern styles of rap and every song on Aquemini — quickly.

“I’m an African American,” he said. “I’m from the hood. I grew up in Milo. But when I came down here, it was like they were talking a different language to me. I didn’t understand a lot of the things they were saying. … I had to get familiar with Southern crunk. “That’s a big thing if you’re doing an album cover. I mean, any artist who’s going to do an album cover, the first thing you do is listen to the music.”

Aquemini was released on September 29, 1988 and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The project was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) just two months after its release and went 2x-platinum eight months later. Revisit the Outkast classic above.

View Original Source