{"id":83307,"date":"2025-07-03T15:56:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T20:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=83307"},"modified":"2025-07-03T15:56:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T20:56:21","slug":"algorithms-vs-artistry-generative-ai-in-album-artwork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2025\/07\/03\/algorithms-vs-artistry-generative-ai-in-album-artwork\/","title":{"rendered":"Algorithms vs Artistry: Generative AI in Album Artwork"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Content Director Cameron Castaldi<\/em><\/p>\n

As generative AI continues to advance, it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate human creativity from computer algorithms. In the past, I had chosen not to participate in discussions about artificial intelligence because I find them incredibly frustrating and unproductive, as they clearly will never die. However, as it begins to seep into the depths of the music industry, conversations about generative AI have become inevitable and now directly impact the music that I choose to listen to.<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 20th, Hip Hop producer The Alchemist and Neo-Soul artist Erykah Badu released their newest single titled \u201cNext to You,\u201d a first glimpse into their upcoming collaborations. Featuring monotonous and overly distorted vocals on an even more monotonous beat, the song itself is an incredibly dull introduction to their upcoming album, a rare critique for two musicians whose works have completely revolutionized the industry. However, a majority of the song\u2019s overwhelmingly negative reviews come not from the music itself, but from its corresponding artwork.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NextImmediately after its release, fans began to notice something \u201coff\u201d about the album cover. The music note is backwards, the buttons on the boombox are completely warped, and each hand seems to have a different number of fingers. The quality of the music video is even worse, with zero stylistic consistency between scenes and warped perspectives that make some scenes completely incomprehensible.<\/span><\/p>\n