Why don’t Rappers Smile on Their Album Covers?

If you’re a hip hop head you know exactly what I’m talking about when I say, “Why don’t rappers smile on their album covers”. Whenever I used to shop for new hip hop music I couldn’t help but wonder, if you got signed to a record label to make and sell your own music  for a living, let the people see you  smile once in awhile.

If a rapper gets a million a dollar signing bonus he should be smiling on his album like he just won an NBA championship; although if your a gangster rapper, smiling wouldn’t fit the profile.

If a rapper or MC smiled on an album cover back in the day he would be perceived as weak, it wouldn’t matter how nice he was in the mic.

Imagine if the great lyricist Rakim smiled on the front cover of the Paid in Full album; it would have been a joke on the top of his hit single “I Ain’t No Joke.”

Hip hop has a way of bringing out the aggression of a rapper.  If you were an MC back in the day and couldn’t channel your aggression you were considered whack.

It took a Philly DJ and rapper by the name of Fresh Prince to change the look and sound of hip hop. Will Smith came on scene smiling, joking and telling the world, ”Parents Just Don’t Understand.”

The look of hip hop is a serious look for the most part; record execs believe the scarier you look the better you sell.

What ever happened to looking how you feel? I know it’s a business, but does every rapper have to look angry on every album cover?

Any rapper that makes it big is a success, and when they win an award they thank God for the blessing, so why not smile everyday for the small blessing.

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