Marlon Craft is a Hip Hop artist based in Hell’s Kitchen, NYC. Marlon is known to many for his viral “Craftstyle” videos in which he soulfully freestyles in his bedroom over renowned hip hop instrumentals. Since the release of that first Youtube video, Marlon has amassed millions of plays across a myriad of platforms, including five studio albums—some released by major labels and some self published. Today Marlon boasts 1.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone. I’ve had the pleasure of being Marlon’s go-to visual designer since the lead up to his sophomore release, “How We Intended”.
My Role:
Art Direction
Visual Design
Marlon Craft
South for the Winter
My very first engagement with Marlon was for a poster promoting his upcoming tour of the southern United States. As a fan of Marlon’s, I reached out to him on Instagram with praises of his work and an offer to lend my services. He was in immediate need, as his second full length album was already in the works.
How We Intended
The theme of this new project was intention. Marlon believes in taking initiative in life, and wanted that to shine through in the art for this album. I talked in depth with Marlon and his team, and the visual motif that we decided on was that of a patent-style drawing depicting an intricate crossword puzzle. The concept brought together the themes of meticulous wordplay, and the execution of a well laid plan. Listen here.
Mom’s Whiskey
Before dropping the album, Marlon had plans on releasing a single to generate buzz. The song he chose for the album’s first single was titled “Moms Whiskey”. A song, on it’s surface, about sneaking sips from your parents liquor collection, but on a deeper level about Marlons relationship with his mother.
In conjunction with the single release, Marlon partnered with New York Distilling to create a limited run of Whiskey, for which I designed the label. The whiskey was a smash hit and sold out in minutes.
Back Label
Stuck
“Stuck” was a surprise two-track release signifying Marlon’s return to independence after a run of big label releases. He wanted the art to depict how the two songs were interdependent, but have the overall look reflect a somewhat weathered DIY aesthetic. The Happy. Reason to Believe.
“How you gon’ speak on behalf of this but couldn’t be half of this? How you gon’ tell me when I mastered this? But without the money, I made it cool to be passionate.”
Marlon Craft, Pension
Crowd Work
Various show posters.
A New York state of mind
Ball is Life
Marlon is a lifelong hoops fan, so naturally we were drawn to iconic and impactful sports media artifacts. I recreated a handful of recognizable newspaper covers, magazine covers, video game covers and more for Marlon over the years.
Homecourt Advantage Vol.1 Homecourt Advantage Vol.2
