Ever wondered what that unusual looking statue was on the cover of Quincy Jones’s album, The Dude? Well I saw his explanation on Facebook and, since this kinda stuff could easily get lost or deleted (fuck Meta), I thought I’d put it here purely for archival purposes.
One day, Henry Mancini and I went to an art gallery and saw this statue on the display, and man…I’m tellin’ ya…it kept saying, “my brother take me home!” So I bought it right then and there. It had an attitude like I’d never seen before…I mean, just look at that puffed out lip, arched back, and cane!! ((:0)) And that’s what inspired my album, “The Dude” in 1980…It might sound crazy, but this dude spiritually spoke to me and I’m glad it did or else that album would’ve never been made!
via Quincy Jones’s Facebook page
It actually came from a farm in South Africa…The farm wasn’t making any profits, so the owner had a sculpting teacher named Fanizani Akuda (a member of the sculptural movement called “Shona Sculpture”) come and teach his workers how to sculpt, so that they could make a living…The Dude is one of the sculptures that Fanizani made at the farm and I’ve had him ever since!!