Reggae Albums: UK Labels Commodifying Black Cultural Production in the 1970s, Jean-Christophe Bourgault

Introduction

It was Alex Steinweiss, from Columbia Records, who developed the first illustrated album cover (McCormick 223). Prior to Steinweiss joining the record label in 1939, there were no covers on the face of music albums (McCormick 224). Instead, albums were wrapped in “gray or tan paper” displaying no art whatsoever (Ibid). Since then, album covers have become cultural artifacts, with some even becoming collectable items (Gordon et al. 255). These material objects have become an important site of cultural discussion, the argument that music is the “most embedded material infrastructure of our daily lives” (Gordon et al. 256; Straw 227).

Although Steinweiss popularized the use of the album cover, this development did not translate into a greater recognition for graphic designers. Carissa Kowalski Dougherty notes that between 1948 and 1960, graphic designers and artists were rarely “attributed” for their work (49). In turn, album cover art carried much less symbolic intention, with artists drawing from visual skills they used in other mediums (Dougherty 49). While writing about jazz album covers, Dougherty emphasizes record labels frequently determined the image and message an album would convey (50). This practice would extend to calypso album covers, which were oftentimes produced outside of the Caribbean and were shaped by a Eurocentric cultural worldview (Gordon et al. 259).

This leads to the project’s central research question – how is reggae music visually represented in the 1970s through album cover artwork? Given Jamaica’s deep colonial ties with the United Kingdom, I began to wonder whether these relations have been sustained within the space of cultural production. Through this analysis, I have discovered consistencies between reggae album covers as well as those from other black cultural music genres. As this paper will demonstrate, many attributes will consistently emerge. Record companies are typically based in Britain and while applying visual cultural theories, one may highlight various themes linked to the commodification of reggae music culture.

Throughout this project, I will refer to four themes that are identified when analyzing certain reggae album covers from the 1970s. First, there is a reoccurring use of male gaze tropes. Women have often been positioned at the foreground of visual cultural productions – this remains the case in reggae culture. Second, there’s an identifiable use of bodies with light skin tones. Despite reggae being recognized globally as black cultural music, record companies sought to illustrate this music through white bodies. Third, there is a framing of tropicalization employed throughout many albums to highlight Jamaica’s natural beauty. This method will be tied to historical colonialist implementation when engaging with Jamaica’s visual culture. And fourth, African symbolism is repeatedly reproduced and represented throughout album covers. In these instances, the illustrations align with the commodification of black culture by applying recognizable features for the white dominant consumer base.

This analysis intends to adopt a critical lens and highlight issues that are identified within reggae album covers. Generally, as this paper discusses, these identified themes have led to a greater exploitation of black cultural production, sustaining the music industry’s capitalistic structural grip.

Historical context

Jamaica’s reggae music emerged from the island’s sound system culture, which developed in the 1950s (Bradley 4). Originally conceived as a form of “mobile disco” (Bradley 4), sound systems brought people together from different communities to listen to recorded music – typically American R&B and jazz (Bradley 4). These sound systems surpassed the popularity of the live band in Jamaica and became increasingly sophisticated through sonic manipulation by skilled experts (Barrow et al. 11). As American genres gradually lost their momentum on the island, Jamaican musicians began developing their own styles, beginning with ska (Rudeboy 6:27-9:27). By the late 1950s and early 1960s, sound system operators quickly began supporting local musicians through radio airplay (Bradley 91). Eventually, as Barrow et al. note, the emergence of rocksteady led to the arrival of Jamaica’s most internationally recognized genre of popular music- reggae (93).

To understand the development of reggae album covers, it is significant to consider the diasporic implications of Jamaican culture. In 1962, Jamaica gained its independence by the United Kingdom (Barrow et al. 3). This contributed to the arrival of increased Jamaican migrants moving from the Caribbean island to Britain (Rudeboy 11:06-12:16). As Ed Gillet notes in his book Party Lines, Jamaican sound system culture continued to thrive musically in the UK despite their significant social challenges. During the 1970s, many black communities in Britain faced physical violence, and their dancehalls and sound systems were frequently raided by authorities (Gillet 18-20).

Nonetheless, the 1970s were also marked by a high point for reggae music, as many of its contemporary releases reached the UK popular charts (Stratton 194). This success was facilitated by UK based record labels like Trojan Records, Doctor Bird, Pyramid, Bamboo and Attack records (Bradley 239-240). These labels would typically record with Jamaican musicians on the island and market their music back to British audiences (Bradley 246). Among them, none were more prominent than Trojan Records, asserting itself within the mainstream of popular culture (Bradley 240). Trojan’s executives tailored records to “fit” British audiences, instead of having them discover them independently (Bradley 241). One executive in particular, Lee Gopthal, who actively sought to please the British consumers with his label’s releases (Bradley 240-241). Gopthal, alongside other music executives, recognized the significance of the British and North American markets.

Another group that consumed reggae music, enabling its growing popularity in the UK was the reggae skinheads – young white consumers of fast tempo reggae music (Barrow et al. 103). Most of this style of music was recorded in London but employed Jamaican musicians (Bradley 243). Despite this indicating a sense of racial “harmony”, both reggae scenes did not necessarily listen to one another (Bradley 253). As Lloyd Bradley states, much of the music that was being played in the sound system – both in the UK and Jamaica – differed significantly from the styles the skinheads were into (253). This distinction signifies that reggae music executives were not solely interested in selling reggae to Jamaicans and the broader diaspora. Instead, they increasingly sought to produce a commodified form of reggae music unlocking a wider consumer base. I argue, sonically was not the only method executives tried tapping into – but visually as well.

The historical context of reggae music provides a framework for understanding Jamaican music culture in this period. This section has highlighted tensions, racial injustice and moments of transformation within the music industry. By the 1960s-1970s; album artwork had become a normalized form of music consumption; sound system culture was twenty years old; and reggae had become a fully emerged genre. Politically and socially, Jamaica was finally independent; Britain was experiencing deep social and racial tensions; and the rest of Europe and North America were opening their markets to Jamaican cultural production.

Methodology

The methodology employed for this research consists of a visual analysis of seven reggae album covers from the 1970s. The selection process began by locating magazine articles which discussed the very topic of reggae culture and its album covers. These sources provided an initial list of album covers to begin with, issues to expand on and a broader cultural understanding of which artists and releases have been positioned as significant relevance with reggae visual history.

From this initial stage, I conducted further research using Discogs, a community-driven music database and marketplace. Discogs offer information commonly identified on liner notes, such as song credits, record labels, manufacturers and other contributors involved. By using this resource, I’ve searched through musicians’ and record labels’ discographies to identify relevant album covers. In other instances, I’ve searched through records by simply applying a filter through their ”Explore Discography” section, specifically selecting “Reggae” and “1970” as parameters.

A limitation to this approach lies in Discogs’community-driven nature, thus some information can be submitted by users and therefore subject to informational inconsistency and potential gaps. Additionally, not all album covers credit the photography and artwork. In these instances, I’ve conducted secondary research if it is available. Unfortunately, as indicated above – not all photographers and artists are easily identifiable for these records, presenting further limitations.

Theoretical Approach

As Stuart Hall approaches Afro-Caribbean diasporic identities, he argues that they are “multiple” and fundamentally not fixed (207). This conceptualization is also applicable to the 1970s era of reggae album covers. Although the music is created in Jamaica, its circulation as a cultural product has interacted with many parts of the world. As in the case with individuals who negotiate identity in relation to what they call “home”, their “West-Indianness”, as well as their “black British[ness]” (Hall 207), reggae album covers negotiate and consider similar faculties.

Although album covers are created as a representation of Jamaican sound and identity, they are simultaneously commodifiable objects due to the interests of transnational markets. They share visual attributes that enable the album cover to have such a fluid identity. What gives album covers their fluidity is music’s ability to move, arguably more than other cultural forms (Straw 231). Music’s mobility is what ensures such a fluid identity. Music can be circulated with ease, enabling various cultures and markets to interact with it sonically, socially and visually. As the premise of the paper suggests, this was in fact, the case for reggae music from a visual representation.

For this reason, this paper examines four themes: first, the intersection of the male gaze, gender; second, the application of white bodies within black cultural music; third, the notion of a touristic and colonialist gaze; and fourth, the deployment of Pan-African visual symbolism within the reggae album covers. In this section, I provide a brief introduction to each theme as well as the theoretical framework.

The first element emerges through the interaction of the male gaze, gender and race. This analysis draws on Laura Mulvey’s understanding of the male gaze and bell hooks’ analysis of this gaze in regards to black women. Mulvey’s research describes the male gaze through women being “looked at and displayed” with their role to serve the male fantasy (62). While Mulvey is concerned with the cinema, the music industry has consistently used female bodies with economic intentions, through a male-dominant scope (Messelink 59). In a contemporary study, Andrea Elizabeth Shaw has demonstrated the continued presence of the male gaze within reggae CD artwork, suggesting the persistence of this cultural issue.

On the other hand, bell hooks’ work is applied when engaging with the issue of race within these album covers. As discussed, the albums chose black women for their cover arts while visually offering their bodies for the consumer’s pleasure. Therefore, bell hooks is applied to identify how and why black bodies have been exploited.

While addressing the use of lighter skin tones on album covers, I have applied Nicholas Mirzoeff’s concept of visuality. Visuality, according to Mirzoeff, seeks to present authority as “self-evident” (3). Here, a discussion of how visuality maintained a sense of authority for the dominant group – the music industry moguls – was conveyed by presenting lighter skin tones. Specifically, this process reflects record labels’s use of dominant aesthetic norms to reinforce authority and to regulate the use of blackness by making these albums more marketable to North America and Europe.

I will later draw on the theory of tropicalization by Krista A. Thomspon. This discussion will illuminate how the touristic gaze and colonialism interacts while discussing reggae album covers. Caribbean album cover art has historically depicted the area as a place of “desire” and conveying an ideal holiday destination (Gordon et al. 252). This extends to other images produced to illustrate Jamaica and the Caribbean as a whole into forms that are idealized in the minds of European and North American audiences (Shaw 33). Additionally, I will  rely on Nikesia Gordon et al.’s research surrounding earlier Calypso album cover art to emphasize the colonialist implication on this topic.

The fourth approach to be introduced is the representation of African symbolism. Prior literature has emphasized the use of “African folk topographies” and various African symbols with the space of calypso and jazz album covers (Gordon et al. 258; Dougherty; Haywood). In these instances, the Afrocentric artwork is used to tell the potential buyer about “the place” that made this product (Gordon et. al. 258). The pan-African appeal interacts with the concept of using visuals to give the music “primordial” qualities (Gordon et al. 258). I argue that this continues within reggae album cover art. Although there may be imagery of pride and power, I apply bell hooks’ oppositional gaze and Stuart Hall’s theoretical work on representation of the non-Western, while interacting with such imagery. Instead, their perspectives may share a different opinion towards such representations, one that contributes to white-dominated capitalist interests through the commodification of these pieces.

Discussion

Male gaze and gender

The first observation made when analyzing reggae album covers from the 1970s is the portrayal of women. This isn’t a new concept in terms of Caribbean album artwork. In their paper, Gordon et al. note how the islands of the Caribbean have often been portrayed through album artwork as a place that will lead to inevitable “sexual pleasure” (263). This idealization has contributed to album covers illustrations of Caribbean black women as  sexually available (Gordon et al. 263).

While reviewing Tighten Up compilation albums from Trojan Records, I’ve identified similar tropes. As seen in Tighten Up Volume 6 (figure 1), the woman in the artwork is found entirely naked, with only a snake wrapped around her body. She is lying on a stack of leaves, seemingly on top of a tree. This woman is looking directly into the camera, thus portraying eye-contact with the consumer.

Figure 1 Tighten Up Volume 6 Compilation Album, Trojan Records, 1972. Retrieved from: https://www.discogs.com/release/2298380-Various-Tighten-Up-Volume-6?srsltid=AfmBOooSBR4x020VWHis-m-y5pqJaurFYRi9gHo7xg-Get5Ly3qjpGNr

In Tighten Up Volume 4 (figure 2), a similar story is portrayed. We find another woman fully naked in a tub of candy or bubble gum that is covering her private parts. What is notable about both records is that they were produced by the UK-based label, Trojan Records. The graphic designers, according to Discogs, were a British-based firm; C.C.S Advertising Associates. This illuminates who these labels were likely marketing to, as well as sharing an understanding of the British and European markets.

Figure 2 Tighten Up Volume 4, Compilation Album, Trojan Records, 1971. Retrieved from: https://www.discogs.com/master/343783-Various-Tighten-Up-Volume-4

These albums draw on Laura Mulvey’s point surrounding women’s “traditional exhibitionist role” (Mulvey 346). Both women are depicted as either being interested in their male consumer or being sexually available, waiting for their onlooker, similarly to how bell hooks draws on a “white European fascination with” black female bodies (63). Historically, black women’s naked bodies have continuously been used within popular culture as a form of exploitation (hooks 65). Although the albums are produced by black musicians, hooks asserts that the exploitation of black female bodies is also conducted within black cultural production (65). The black woman’s body is understood as being expendable, enabling cultural producers to “reap the benefits of it” (hooks 65).

Laura Mulvey’s work surrounding the “scopophilic instinct” presented within the film industry is evidently demonstrated within reggae album covers as well. Through the concrete physical material object of the artwork, the woman’s image is just as passive as one identified within a movie (Mulvey 68). Adding another layer to the male gaze in this project is the issue of race. In both cases, we are presented with a black woman. Thus, not only are there issues of male eroticism within the artwork, but there are displays of exotic pleasure for the white consumer.

White bodies

The production of white bodies on reggae album covers is also employed as a form of persuading the consumer into purchasing records. I argue that these white bodies are used as a method to nullify the white listener from any “inconvenient” historical suffering (Radano 314-315). Instead, they attempt to present a visual harmony of either white people enjoying black music or mixed races sharing a moment together. As this section will present, these tactics are addressed using Nicholas Mirzoeff’s concept of visuality.

Figure 3 Reggay Fever, Byron Lee and Dragonnaires 1973, Dynamic Sounds. Retrieved from: https://www.discogs.com/master/400126-Byron-Lee-And-The-Dragonaires-Reggay-Fever

This is evident on Reggay Fever by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (figure 3). Byron Lee, a mixed-race reggae artist, is seen here performing for a crowd of mostly white bodies and light-skinned individuals. According to Discogs, the label that produced the record, Dynamic Sounds identify as a British Jamaican label.

Figure 4 Heptones & Friends Volume 2, Compilation Album, 1973, Attack Records. Retrieved from https://www.discogs.com/master/1883352-Various-Heptones-Friends-Vol-2.

Moreover, Heptones & Friends Volume 2 compilation album (figure 4) depicts the use of white bodies on album covers. In this case, a white, blonde woman is portrayed on a beach surrounded by black men and women. In the background, one notices two seemingly white-skinned individuals walking in the background.  This album was produced by Attack records, based in the UK. According to Discogs, the album was printed by E.J. Day Group – also located in England.

What figures 3 and 4 represent is an assertion of power by the dominant groups or as Nicholas Mirzoeff terms, visuality. Mirzoeff suggests that visuality can be understood as a “series of operations” that can be categorized, separated and aestheticized (3).

According to Mirzoeff, the operation of the categorization takes the visualization and organizes those composed within it (3). In the case of album covers, they are categorized as entertainers and consumers. In figure 3, it’s made evident that the white people are the consumers, and black or mixed-race folks are the entertainers. This extends Mirzoeff’s notion of “training minds” (5), which is utilized by the record label executives and artists involved. To be precise, marketers are attempting to demonstrate to the white consumer that they, too, can enjoy reggae music just as the individuals on the cover. They exemplify that a black product can be enjoyed by the white customer.

The visuality of separation is on display in figure 4 as the white, blonde woman and people of colour are dressed in completely different attire. As Mirzoeff states, the separation of visuality intends to “separate and segregate” those who  are visualized to “prevent them from cohering as political subjects” (3). In figure 4, the black women are dressed in “native costumes” (Gordon et al. 265) sporting headdresses, while the white woman is wearing a standard bikini universally recognized in Europe and North America. Once again, this exhibits a racial harmony but also divides who is the white consumer and black entertainer. As noticed in the figure 4, the people of colour within the artwork seem to be entertaining the white woman with a game. Once again, segregating through their use of clothing and surroundings to remind the consumer of the social organization while consuming these records.

Mirzoeff’s aesthetic component of visuality is utilized on these album covers through making the visual seem “right” (3). In both, figure 3 and 4, I’ve discussed the use of social harmony, but also the theme of people having a “good time”. This party in figure 3, seems normal for a group of white people to enjoy reggae music and figure 4 portrays a positive experience for the white woman. I argue that presenting reggae album covers in this light suggests the genre as being made for white people to enjoy and possibly a shared white cultural practice.

Thus, the use of white bodies on reggae album covers illustrates Nicholas Mirzoeff’s notion of visuality. Through this section, I argue that these methods were presented by European and North American record label executives to market these albums specifically for white audiences. Since the production and distribution of these albums were conducted by British individuals, their attention was not solely on Jamaican culture. Just as Mirzoeff states, “heroic leadership, which visualizes history to sustain autocratic authority” (3). In the case of these album covers, the record label executives are the authority, and they maintain their status by marketing to white consumers and not those from the Caribbean. Thus, an organized colonial mechanism ensured the music could be sold at a greater pace outside of the island.

Tropicalization

Another common trope evident in reggae album artwork concerns representational portrayals of the island itself. Particularly, this includes depictions of Jamaica’s natural landscapes and inhabitants. Historically, the marketing of the Caribbeans to North American and European audiences heavily relied on such visual strategies. Since the 1880s, American and British tourism promoters employed photographers to create visual representations of the islands as idealized destinations (Thompson 4–5). This practice contributed to the maintenance of what Krista A. Thompson discusses as an “‘imperial picturesque’ aesthetic” (Thompson 37). These images were generated to create a set of “core representations” that non-local audiences came to expect while engaging with the pictures of Jamaica (Thomspon 5). As Gordon et al. suggest, such images were extended beyond postcards and promotional tools and were later applied to album cover designs. These visualities created a preset anticipation for consumers and tourists – a reality they expected to encounter (253). Thus, by paying close attention to the artwork, consumers can immediately recognize and interpret these expectations (Gordon et al. 263).

This framework aligns with Thompson’s concept, tropicalization. While addressing the visual cultural history of the Caribbean – specifically, Jamaica and the Bahamas – tropicalization describes the set of core representations – or as Rob Shields terms, “place-image” and how they emerge 60). Within the Caribbean imagery, tropicalization was exhibited to illustrate an idealized location with ‘‘‘picturesque natives’, black and Indian (in the case of Jamaica) inhabitants who seemed loyal, disciplined, and clean British colonial subjects” (Thompson 6). These attributes pulled from Thompson’s tropicalization provide a deeper meaning and understanding regarding tropes that are employed.

This section implements Thompson’s conception of tropicalization toward reggae album covers. Here, I will demonstrate how the efforts of British and North American nineteenth-century elites attempted to reshape the island’s image as a “New Jamaica” (Thompson 29) sustained its presence that was felt within the reggae music industry of the mid twentieth century.

Figure 5 Screaming Target, Big Youth, 1978, Trojan Records. Retrieved from: https://www.discogs.com/release/6599854-Big-Youth-Screaming-Target

The first image under analysis is found in Screaming Target by Big Youth (figure 5). As Thompson argues, tourist promoters attempted to utilize the island’s natural landscapes to display images of “charm” (30). Images of those living on the island typically depicted tamed “disciplined ‘natives’” (Thompson 7). Figure 4 reflects both narratives that Thomspon suggests, the white woman is centrally positioned, surrounded by potential ‘natives’ having a positive experience. The image thus conveys a group of “loyal, disciplined and clean” inhabitants of the island (Thompson 6). This image constructs features portraying a paradise, “awaiting tourists when they encounter a natural, unspoiled landscape” (Gordon et al. 253). It encourages the consumer to engage with the album, reminding them of a potential experience they may have had, or an idealization of a touristic moment. It shares a blend of the tourist enjoying the natural landscape while participating in the local cultural productions with the “civilized natives” (Thompson 40).

The second album artwork to discuss is Big Youth’s, Screaming Target (Figure 5). This album represents a black woman holding a Big Youth album within the frame. The woman is dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans and is posing on a beach with the sun setting in the background.

According to Discogs, Screaming Target was released on Trojan Records, suggesting that the album was manufactured and designed in the UK. Sonically, Trojan Records executives have invested in promoting an aesthetic that displays an exotic feeling through their music (Bradley 243). This falls within the visual apparatus of tropicalization. As previously noted, Trojan Records executive Lee Gopthal was explicitly focused on marketing and selling the music to European and North American audiences. Although born in Jamaica, Gopthal later moved to the UK (‘Lee Gopthal Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More…’). The artwork extends Thompson’s analysis through emphasis on the beautiful natural landscape surrounding the woman. Furthermore, Thompson highlights the importance of sustaining a visual cleanliness when depicting the local inhabitants (70). This is evidently illustrated in the image as the woman is wearing simple and clean clothing, generally worn in Western societies at the time of the release. While her attire may not fall under the traditional representation generally shared within Thompson’s notion of tropicalization, it does reflect “colonial instilled mores” (70). The record executives involved would have likely attempted to portray this representation at the time of the release.

As with postcards and other promotional imagery of Jamaica, this album cover depicts a place-image that communicates a similar message circulated by island promoters. Gopthal’s diasporic background may have likely contributed to this understanding of the cultural representation of Jamaica from the outside world. As Thompson notes, representation illuminated through place-images, not only posed significant visual expectations for the tourists, but topicalization also “shaped how local communities learned to see themselves in their environments” (Thompson 12). As I’ve suggested above, Hall’s assertion that diasporic identities are multiple, this is seemingly the case for Gopthal (207). Not only would his cultural identity suggest not being “singular or unambiguous”, but his identity has shaped an understanding of more than one cultural framework (207). Although it is unclear how involved Gopthal may have been regarding the illustration process of the album, his marketing approach was certainly influential.

In sum, the application of visual tropes commonly identified in tourist promotional illustrations was also depicted in certain reggae album covers. This section argued that visual attributes portrayed on such artwork represented a place-image that was shaped by British, European and North American promoters and was sustained within the reggae music industry. This application was implemented to sell a product to a certain group of consumers – typically white and British – while using a shared set of representation to portray Jamaican culture.

African imagery

The final theme to discuss relates to the consistent use of African imagery on reggae album covers. On the surface, pan-African representation may be linked to black pride. However, as bell hooks notes, “Often what is thought to be good is merely a reaction against representations created by white people that were blatantly stereotypical” (hooks 12). This emerges from her applications and use of the oppositional gaze. According to hooks, the oppositional gaze is a way of looking that critically examines structures of power (116). This gaze is useful when considering Dougherty’s analysis of jazz album covers, when imagery of black pride can be traced back to the commodification of these representations (47). Through the use of symbols, representations and motifs, record labels exploited black culture for capital gain (Dougherty 47). Importantly, black graphic designers and black musicians rarely worked collaboratively on a project for an album cover (Dougherty 47-48).  Although Dougherty’s work focuses on jazz album covers which encompasses vast cultural identities unaligned directly with Jamaica; this notion extends towards Caribbean inspired music.

As Gordon et al. assert in their analysis of Calypso album covers, the artwork often includes pan-African artifacts and symbols including, drums, headdresses, vibrant colours and Afrocentric artwork (257-258). This representation continued with the emergence of Jamaican popular music genres such as reggae. In this section, I draw on bell hooks and Stuart Hall to expand on this analysis regarding the use of African cultural motifs and representations on reggae album covers.

Figure 6 Bob Marley and The Wailers EP, 1978, Island Records. Retrieved from: https://www.discogs.com/master/168602-Bob-Marley-The-Wailers-Satisfy-My-Soul-Smile-Jamaica.

The initial album cover to be discussed is Bob Marley and The Wailers’ EP featuring the tracks, “Satisfy My Soul” and “Smile Jamaica” (figure 6). The album cover depicts a drawing of a lion standing on top of a cliff overlooking the jungle and red sky above. The lion faces the consumer directly. The release was produced by Island Records in 1978. According to their Discogs profile, Island Records was originally founded in Jamaica in the late 1950s but eventually relocated to the UK in the 1960s. The graphic designer according to the credits is Adrian Day, a British born artist who has also produced images for Jim Capaldi (Adrian Day Illustration). Beyond this, there is very limited information about the artist.

In this instance, clear tropes of Pan-Africanism displayed through the drawing of a lion and bright colours the artwork depicts. Despite having a track on the album called “Smile Jamaica” the artwork prominently features a lion – a mammal that is not native to Jamaica. The use of such imagery attempts to mobilize the consumer to believe it shares “African derived folk sensibilities” (Gordon et al. 258). The portrayal of the album through this lens, associates the island to “Africa and the Orient”, while also framing it as “primitive and exotic” (Shaw 35).

I draw this utilization of the represented imagery from Stuart Hall’s chapter The West and the Rest. Hall argues that the term West functions as a representational set of images and “condenses a number of different characteristics into one picture” (143). While Jamaica sits on the Western hemisphere, it does not necessarily fall within the construct of the “West” which is a historical concept (Hall 142). Hall further illuminates the construction of these images through a historical lens where the “New World reworked – re-presented – within European aesthetic conventions” (164). Thus, in respect to their social structures – early explorers who interacted with the New World conveyed a consistent imagery that would be applied to various civilizations (Hall 167).

Therefore, in the case of figure 6, the use of African imagery depicts a non-Western aesthetic from a European perspective. This can be traced back to the label’s history — being British based — and their intended audience for the album—white ‘Westerners’. I argue this logic was applied to our album artwork in figure 6. It uses common tropes tying African culture to Jamaica’s. Of course, there is no understating their lineage, however the use of such imagery sells to the consumer Jamaican reggae culture can be re-presented through African motifs. It sends a message to the consumer that these two cultures are the same. Instead of sharing with the audience the individual structure of Jamaica, it is based on Western frameworks.

Figure 7 No Place to Run, Babatunde Tony Ellis, 1979, MNW. Retrieved from https://www.discogs.com/master/367598-Babatunde-Tony-Ellis-No-Place-To-Run

The final album cover discussed is Babatunde Tony Ellis’, No Place to Run (figure 7). The artwork includes an image of a musician surrounded by black tribal warriors. In front of them we find a lion and lioness laying down. Beneath these figures are illustrations of Adolf Hitler, next to other world leaders, presumably dictators. The image is set in a jungle environment — and although I am no expert — it seems to be surrounded by acacia trees.

While the artist is Jamaican, the record label who released the record, MNW, is a Swedish company. Unfortunately, there is no available information regarding the designer of the album cover.

Although the album conveys elements of black pride and power, it also reproduces familiar tropes that are associated with non-Western imagery; as with use of the lion and the specific tree shapes common symbolism associated with Africa. Additionally, the black figures rely on stereotypical representations of the “uncivilized”, including a lack of clothing and the use of spears. This illustration conceives much of bell hooks’ thought from a white supremacist capitalistic perspective, in that there is a desire to maintain the “primitive” side Other (34). She adds that this sustains the white dominant class’s power over the marginalized (Ibid). In figure 7, the artwork conveys the common tropes hooks would argue against, as it simply extends this commodification of Otherness.

This section builds on bell hooks’ concept of the “commodification of Otherness” (33). Hooks further explains that being deemed Other, “can be seduced by the emphasis on Otherness, by its commodification”, as it ensures recognition from the dominant class (37-38). In turn, according to hooks the marginalized have become subdued to this past that is only sustained through the dominant classes’ “consumer culture” that defines the representation of the “primitive” (38).

Overall, the image may communicate themes of black power through the warriors being positioned surrounding the dictators who represent results of colonialism. However, while applying bell hooks’ oppositional gaze, I argue that No Place to Run does extend the commodification of the primitive representation that has been depicted by Western cultural production. The idea of commodification through cultural production can be tied to Stuart Hall’s perspective on the imagery that is produced through the word, non-Western.

In short, while applying bell hooks’ oppositional gaze I’ve demonstrated that the use of certain traditional African representations on album covers in reggae music may have been more harmful than good. Additionally, I’ve tied bell hooks to Stuart Hall’s non-Western imagery which has contributed to the use of such a design.  Although there are certain attachments to pride and strength that can be made, most of its representation can be traced to white European-led record labels who are likely more interested in commodifying the record than producing action-driven pieces of art.

Conclusion

In sum, record labels in the 1970s represented reggae album covers through varied imagery with the intent of commodifying black cultural production. Certain strategies can be understood through central visual culture frameworks identified by key scholars. Within the scope of this paper, these include the male gaze, visuality through the use of white bodies, tropicalization and the deployment of African symbolism. I’ve asserted how these methods were applied largely by white European label executives with the primary intent to sell to white consumers.

Throughout this paper, I have demonstrated that these practices are not exclusively conveyed in reggae music but parallel have been highlighted in other forms of black cultural productions such as jazz and calypso music. A visual cultural analysis of today’s album covers in other black cultural productions such as Hip Hop and R&B would be a compelling topic to further dissect. As Dougherty notes, there have been significant changes in the record industry because of the evolution of streaming-based consuming practices. As a result, individuals no longer engage with album artwork as they did in decades prior (Dougherty 59). Nonetheless, reggae music album covers from this period exemplify significant critical issues relating to the visual aesthetic of music consumption.

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