Artist Call: Album Art for June Appal Hip-Hop Compilation

June Appal Recordings will soon release a new compilation highlighting hip-hop in Appalachia, in conjunction with Dr. Ted Olson, professor of Appalachian Studies and Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies at East Tennessee State University, and Dr. William Turner, retired sociologist and author of The Harlan Renaissance: Stories of Black Life in Appalachian Coal Towns. This project was funded by Appalshop’s Appal Seed funding. 

The album will serve as the first sustained effort to document the evolution of hip-hop as a genre within central Appalachia. It will feature new recordings by a divergent and eclectic group of rap/hip-hop artists from Southern West Virginia, Southeast Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, and beyond. The compilation aims to highlight the convergences and divergences of deejaying, emceeing, and dancing in this distinct region of the US as compared to the areas of the country where hip-hop and rap originated. 

We are looking to hire a designer with a connection to some of the themes present in this project to conceptualize an album design, including front, back, text treatment, and a 16-page booklet of liner notes. 

Our payment range is $600 to $1200, commensurate with experience and strength of proposal.

If you are an artist interested in this paid opportunity, please send the following to [email protected]:

• Art portfolio

• Website

• 300-word paragraph on what hip-hop in Appalachia means to you

The deadline to submit is Monday, September 11. 

Thank you, and good luck!

The June Appal Team