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The Space Age Artwork Behind Logic’s New Album, ‘The Incredible True Story’

To see more of Logic’s photos and Sam’s artwork, check out @logic301 and @samspratt on Instagram. For more music stories, head to @music.

For the cover of his second record, The Incredible True Story, Logic (@logic301) had a specific image in mind. So he recruited Sam Spratt (@samspratt), who he collaborated with on his debut album, to help bring it to life.

“Sam will give me exactly what I want, but sometimes make it better,” says Logic. “I just rap. This dude is the artist.”

The 25-year-old emcee was looking for an image that a) encompassed the record’s futuristic plotline and b) was inspired by a still from Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou — a wide shot of the film’s main characters sitting front and center in a submarine. Logic had come across the photo by accident after opening a book dedicated to the director.

“I swear to God, I took a book and I opened it — and it opened to that picture,” he says. “I was like, wow, this is amazing.”

After relaying the information to Sam, the artist got to work, creating something that felt true to Logic and the album’s storyline, which takes place in 2065 after Earth has been deserted and what’s left of humanity lives in a space station.

“A lot of it was just creating a still from a movie because the album itself is a cinematic experience,” says Sam, “and the art needed to reflect that.”

The final piece, which takes place inside a ship, has 12 characters, with the rapper sitting in the middle, along with members of his team and characters in the record’s story positioned next to him. (If you look closely, you’ll be able to see Sam himself peeking out from behind the shadows.)

“He was able to create a ship where, not everybody but damn near everybody that made this album what it was, was part of the cover,” says Logic. “And yet, because of the color of the flight suit, it draws the eye straight to me, straight to the middle, straight to what the consumer is looking for.”

Now, the finished cover isn’t just on the album, it’s been slapped on the side of a giant tour bus that Logic has been traveling across the country in, surprising his fans and playing them a few cuts from the new record.

“I’ve noticed every single place I go, the music is a big part of it, but the biggest part is the message and the actual lyrics. It’s an era where everybody is talking about the beat and the melody. So to know that they love the beat and the melody, but they [also] love the message, that is what drives them to listen to it, is insane. That’s why I’m excited.”

—Instagram @music

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