By: Symphony Webb
A University of North Texas student may have released one of the best graduation photo shoots to date. Mark Phillips decided the best way to pay homage to some of his favorite artists was to recreate their album covers. Talk about going out with a bang!
“I wanted to be creative with these graduation pictures while also thanking a few of my favorite artists. (S/o to Aff for taking these @cleanuniform)So I recreated their album covers with me graduating on them ??. These artists kept me focused and inspired to stay on the right path while accomplishing the goals I set for myself through their music and words. Thanks for all the inspiration and creativity…”
Among the photos were three of J. Cole’s album covers, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, Born Sinner and 4 Your Eyez Only, along with Kendrick Lamar’s, Damn. Phillips even threw back to the 90’s music era with Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
He told Complex, “I felt like these artists and their music were a strong part in keeping me motivated to graduate. Not only that, but my job as a video creator has been hard to balance with being a full time student. So their music really has kept me inspired to keep pushing towards my goals.”
The photos only took him a week to complete, but in order for him to execute this perfectly, he had help from his friend and RDCworld1 team member Affiong Harris. Together they edited the photos to recreate the covers.
Phillips also told Complex, “I didn’t tell my mom about these pictures at first,” Phillips said. “I knew she’d be happy, but secretly she would want some regular ones to send to my family. So I took some regular ones for my family and these for my creative side/for the artists, for lack of a better term.”
Later this month, Philips will receive his bachelor’s degree in integrative studies.
