What it’s like to create album art for the world's greatest hip-hop artists

Pulling out the inserts — You might not know his name, but you'll know his work. Vlad Sepetov is the young visual artist designing some of the most notorious album covers in music.

Album art creates a portal through which we can experience a musician’s art and message in a completely different medium. These works add depth to the sounds that permeate through our ears, the music that leaves a lasting impression forever linked to these powerful aesthetics.

Whether it was shifting through your parents’ 12-inches or buying your first CD and poring over the inlay on long car trips, we all have a fond memory of an album where the visuals helped turn a collection of songs into a fully realised world.

Everyone remembers their favourite album differently: the memories of who you were with, what you were doing and what was important to you back then.

Vic Mensa artwork

Vic Mensa artwork by Vlad Sepetov

Now a new project is letting some the most prolific visual artists in the industry recreate their most treasured album covers, past and present. The Fantasy 12 exhibition poses the same question to 17 visual artists: “If you could re-imagine the album cover for any iconic record (past or present), what would it look like?”. One of those involved in Vlad Sepetov.

Vlad Sepetov is responsible for creating several visual masterpieces cherished by the current generation of music lovers, graphic designers and visual artists.

Donal Thornton's re-imagining of John Coltrane's Love Supreme.

Donal Thornton’s re-imagining of John Coltrane’s Love Supreme.


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