Any avid Cruel Santino fan would attest that the visual imagery surrounding his music is just as important as the fluid, genre-defying sounds he has put out over the course of his career. A tongue-twisting rapper and singer who also moonlights as a filmmaker, Cruel Santino’s visuals have long been central to his artistic appeal. From his highly referential music videos to the elaborate artwork accompanying his projects, the visual language of his work adds another dimension to the worlds he creates, making the Santino experience as much a feast for the eyes as it is for the ears.

While the Alté pioneer’s artwork has been striking since his early days as Ozzy B, his creative partnership with reclusive visual artist Opeyemi “Upson” Arogunmati has taken his visual world to another level. Upson first came into the picture during the ‘Mandy & The Jungle’ era, contributing artwork and poster designs that helped shape the project’s visual identity. 

Since then, the pair have continued to collaborate on other projects, including ‘Subaru Boys: FINAL HEAVEN’ and the Flowers of Orcad manga. Their latest outing, ‘Kings of the Bounce – The Bomberman Chronicles,’ presented another ambitious undertaking, with Upson spending six months translating Santino’s vision into a Renaissance-inspired artwork. We caught up with the designer to discuss his creative journey, his longstanding relationship with Cruel Santino, and the ideas behind the new album cover.

This interview has been edited for clarity. 

How did you get started in design, and what initially drew you to visual art?

I’ve always been into art, to be honest. I’ve been drawing since I was a kid. I was into comics, cartoons, anime, all that stuff, and I’ve always wanted to create my own versions of those things. I think I got into the art world properly in my second year at university. I couldn’t get into art or design school at the time, but I kept challenging myself to study and create art, even though I was studying economics. I started teaching myself Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and other design tools through YouTube. Eventually, I began bringing my ideas to life and sharing them online. That’s how I really got started.

When you started learning on your own, did you have people who influenced your work at the time?

I was heavily influenced by Kidmograph and Jamie Hewlett, the artist behind the Gorillaz animation. Those guys were really influential to me. I also watched a lot of anime, like Dragon Ball Z and Bleach, and studied their animation styles.

How did you first connect with Cruel Santino, and what about his music or wider creative universe resonated with you?

Santi and I went to the same primary school. That’s how we initially met, but we went our separate ways after school. I didn’t really hear from him again until I was in college, when I randomly came across one of his songs. I didn’t even realise it was the same guy from my school because he went by Ozzy B at the time. I listened to his music on SoundCloud and tried putting people onto it without knowing who was behind it. Then one day, I randomly saw a picture of him and thought, ‘Wait, I know this guy.’

I also went to school with Zamir, and we remained friends even when I was away. He was close to Santi, so when I moved back to Nigeria, I linked up with him, and he introduced me to Santi. I showed Santi some of my work, and after a while, he reached out about working on something. That’s how we started collaborating.

What was the first thing you guys worked on together?

I can’t remember the name now, but it was a song with Burna Boy and GMK. The song never came out, but that was the first thing we worked on together. After that came the “Raw Dinner” artwork, followed by a lot of poster designs for the ‘Mandy & The Jungle’ era.

What was your initial reaction when you first heard ‘Kings of the Bounce-The Bomberman Chronicles’, and what was the first visual idea that came to mind?

By the time I heard the album, I wasn’t really trying to make covers and artworks anymore. I was focusing on building my studio and developing my personal work, so artwork wasn’t a priority. But when I listened to the music, I was like, “Oh shit, I need to do this cover.” If anyone had to do it, it had to be me, so I took on the challenge.

When I’m working with people, I also like to hear them out. Cruel Santino is quite clear about what he wants. For this cover, he wanted a Renaissance art feel: something vintage that called back to the works of people like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It had to be detailed and masterful. He was adamant about that direction, and I wasn’t particularly familiar with the style at the time, so I had to go away and learn a lot.

How long did it take you to make the artwork?

It took about six months.

Since you also designed the previous album cover, ‘Subaru Boys: FINAL HEAVEN,’ did you approach ‘Kings of the Bounce -The Bomberman Chronicles’ differently, either conceptually or in terms of execution?

Because Santi wanted this cover to have a Renaissance art feel, I naturally had to approach it a little differently. But one major element I carried over from the previous cover was its symmetrical composition. With ‘FINAL HEAVEN,’ we had the characters stacked on top of one another, and we decided to retain that arrangement for this cover as well. So there’s a sense of continuity between the two, even though they’re different in their overall look and feel.

What was the thinking behind the final cover? Could you walk me through some of the key visual elements and what they represent?

The Subaru world that Santi introduced on his previous album was set underwater. This new album, however, is set 3,000 years before that period. So the ‘Kings of the Bounce’ artwork depicts the ancestors of that world, its founding fathers, really. That’s why the artwork has an ancient feel to it, with all the armour, swords, and cloaks. We also wanted to incorporate a modern sensibility so that, despite its historical references, the artwork would still feel contemporary and look cool today. If you look closely, the ‘FINAL HEAVEN’ cover also had a cathedral in the background. We wanted to carry that same element into this artwork.

You’ve worked with Santi on multiple projects now, from the FINAL HEAVEN artwork and Flowers of Orcad to K.O.T.B. How do you think your creative relationship with him has evolved over the years?

I guess we work a little faster and better together now. He trusts me more, and we’ve developed a system. As long as everyone is tapped in, we’re good to go.

Listen to ‘Kings of the Bounce – The Bomberman Chronicles’ here.