Newly signed to Def Jam, Common looks to strike while the iron is hot with his upcoming album, Nobody’s Smiling. With his single, “Kingdom,” featuring Vince Staples, brewing, the wordsmith returns today to unveil the official artwork.
Common is positioning Nobody’s Smiling to be a movement that’s much larger than the music. One that will bring awareness to the socioeconomic factors causing the violence in his hometown of Chicago, and hopefully, an end to the strife. To do so, Com’ Sense created a sense of community among the city’s bubbling rappers and himself by asking the likes King Louie, Lil Bibby, Lil Herb, Dreezy, Count (formerly of LEP Bogus Boys), and more to represent the new Windy City on alternate covers.
Common himself appears on the main cover. Each are simple, featuring just a photo of the artist’s face backed by black background. It’s actually quite chilling.
Nobody’s Smiling hits retailers on July 22. See a visual of Common explaining his idea for the cover below. See what the packaging looks like on the following pages, as well as some promo materials to give you an idea of what his fellow Chicagoans look like on the front.
