You might recognize the influences behind some of these albums and EPs, such as Young Thug's Slime Season 3, Rihanna's Unapologetic, Tupac's All Eyez on Me, or even Black Sabbath's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Recently, emerging underground artists like OsamaSon, Yung Pams, 1300SAINT, and Nine Vicious have drawn inspiration from these classic album covers in their new releases. Undoubtedly, these artists are paying homage to the legendary artists who have shaped their sound and paved the way for them, but it’s important not to overlook the role of nostalgia marketing in their approach. By drawing inspiration from iconic album covers, these artists are able to create a sense of familiarity that resonates with both their current audience and potential new listeners, which influences and excites them to listen to their music. This works especially well when listeners have a strong connection to the era of the iconic album being referenced. Underground music fans love it when artists take this type of approach with their music and create different content that steps away from what mainstream artists are doing.

However, as impressive as all this artwork may appear, it must be executed correctly. The artist must have quality sound and a clear connection with what they are referencing. A perfect example of this is 1300SAINT referencing Young Thug's Slime Season 3 in its album cover, as it just makes sense and feels natural. While underground fans liked these nostalgic album covers, artists have to be ready for the criticism and backlash that will come from other music listeners. While OsamaSon was praised for his unique spin on Black Sabbath's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath cover art, Yung Pams, 1300SAINT, and Nine Vicious were not as lucky when it came to announcing their official cover arts for their releases. The Internet was quick to hate and call them out for being unoriginal. But there’s no underground without controversy.