Stunning Posters Illustrate the History of Jazz and Hip-Hop

February 23, 2023

Jazz Love Blueprint: A History of Jazz Music (Dorothy | $40.18)

It’s hard to capture the history of an entire music genre, but Dorothy finds a way to do it in style. The UK-based studio creates beautifully designed posters inspired by music, fashion, and more. Although technically wall art, these pieces are also educational, offering a comprehensive view of the must-know figures and moments that contributed to the growth of these movements.

Their Inside Information: Boombox poster, for instance, centers on an image of the JVC RC-M90—also known as the “King of Boomboxes”—and features over 350 hip-hip artists. The poster—which is a three-color litho print made on thick uncoated paper—also contains numerous key moments from hip-hop history. “Scenes include DJ Koll Herc at his Back to School Jam, Grand Wizzard Theodore inventing the scratching technique, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five performing, Sylvia Robinson assembling The Sugarhill Gang, and the Bridge Wars rivalry between Boogie Down Productions and the Juice Crew and the iconic rap battle between Kool Moe Dee vs Busy Bee at Harlem World in 1981,” Dorothy explains on its website.

Dorothy is not limited to just one music genre either. The Jazz Love BluePrint: A History of Jazz Music poster traces the history of jazz on the circuit diagram of a 1950s phonograph. Produced as a metallic gold screenprint on rich blue paper, the poster celebrates over 1,000 musicians, artists, songwriters, and producers who have been “pivotal to the evolution of this ever-changing and constantly creative genre of music.” Among the many names mentioned are pioneers like Scott Joplin and Buddy Bolden, as well as well-known stars like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, and contemporary musicians including Kamasi Washington and Nubya Garcia.

Scroll down to take a closer look at the details of these striking posters.