Voices of East Harlem is a typographic homage rooted directly in music history.
The lettering isn’t custom, reinterpreted, or reinvented—it’s a straight pull from an original album cover by Voices of East Harlem, simply refactored into a new colorway. Same bones, new skin. The goal here wasn’t to “improve” anything—just to isolate a moment and let it shine on its own. It's so good!
A little backstory on who/what this is from:
The Voices of East Harlem were an African-American vocal ensemble formed in 1969 as a community initiative in New York City. The group was made up of young singers—some as young as 12—who went on to record four albums in the early-to-mid 1970s and collaborate with major soul, funk, and R&B musicians of the era. Their sound sat at the intersection of gospel, street-level soul, and political consciousness—joyful, urgent, and unmistakably of its time.
The typography from their album artwork carries that same energy. Rounded, expressive, confident without being slick. It feels like the era. It's communal. Human. Slightly unruly like Harlem itself. This piece strips the lettering down to its essentials and lets it stand alone, celebrating the graphic language of 1970s Black music culture without adding commentary or narrative.
Printed as an archival giclée, this work is less about authorship and more about preservation—a small act of respect for a group whose influence quietly threads through modern soul, gospel, and funk. It’s a piece for music lovers, design heads, and anyone who understands that sometimes the best move is knowing when to step back and let history speak for itself.
Also, less war. Am I right?