Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star

Mos Def and Talib Kweli named their duo after the Black Star Line, the shipping company Marcus Garvey founded to connect Black people across the Atlantic. The cover looks like a vintage poster or label from that era: an ornate frame of red, gold and green, stars and banners, with the two rappers' portraits at its centre and the name Black Star in bold script.

It was designed by Brent Rollins, the designer behind the Boyz n the Hood logo and covers for Blackalicious and Freeway. The art direction is credited to Black Star themselves, and the photography credits include the British photographer Eddie Otchere.

The album was released on 29 September 1998 on the independent Rawkus label, and songs like "Definition" and "Respiration" made it the cornerstone of the conscious rap scene of the late 1990s. Rollins's design tied that scene's ideas about Black history and pride to an image that looked like it came from Garvey's own time.