• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
    • SOKO MRKT
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
    • Essence Holiday Gift Guide 2023
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
    • SOKO MRKT
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
    • Essence Holiday Gift Guide 2023
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home • Hair

The 2016 Album Covers That Made Us Love Our Hair

Some of the biggest releases included equally stunning hair stances and in short: made us even prouder to rock our natural textures.
The 2016 Album Covers That Made Us Love Our Hair
Best Album Covers
By Nikki Brown · Updated October 26, 2020

Gone are the days when we’d stand in line to buy a physical copy of the newest LP. Despite that particular sting of nostalgia, album covers remain a topic of discussion in 2016.

With the heyday of music videos also in our rearview, the snapshot for a body of work is even more important, as it is a visual representation of the music they’ve created. We’re not sure what was in the air this year, but black hair is the unspoken MVP of music. Some of the biggest releases included equally stunning hair stances and in short: made us even prouder to rock our natural textures.

The conversation certainly begins with Beyoncé. Her most critically acclaimed album to date (LEMONADE) solidified its legendary status with this stoic shot of the Queen Bey, who hides her face, but flaunts a set of straight back cornrrows.

The Grammy Award winner (and 2017 nominee) also used her “Formation World Tour” to try a revolving door of hairstyles that checked many boxes; braids, twists and ponytails, to name a few.

Her sister Solange made an equally powerful splash with the highly anticipated A Seat At The Table LP. The album cover, which put duckbill clips back on the map, served as a prequel to plenty of black-centric styles, spotted both in her music videos and on the Saturday Night Live stage; all epic moments. 

And we can’t forget Alicia Keys’ makeup free movement, which shows no signs of slowing down. Her “naked” red carpet appearances culminated into the breathtaking cover for HERE. 

Newcomer Nao’s debut album For All We Know put the Brit’s wild mane front row center and against a neon green backdrop. The singer has always worn her hair this way, but seeing it on her album cover spoke volumes to us. 

Lion Babe’s Jillian Hervey went in the same direction for BEGIN, which hit retailers in February 2016. 

Finally, British songstress Corinne Bailey Rae made a triumphant return to the music scene with her curly coils in tact. The cover for her album The Heart Speaks In Whispers is simply breathtaking. 

What’s your favorite 2016 album cover? 

 

5188826245001

 

 

TOPICS:  Alicia Keys Beyonce Knowles Celebrity Hairstyles Solange Knowles
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now