Pacifying and quotidian a game as it may seem, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is actually very complex. Yes, it’s a relaxing escape from the sads of our surreal day-to-day; it’s the kind of boredom-buster that allows you to wile away hours upon hours before realizing you’ve spent an entire day earning bells, visiting other islands, building and decorating your house, constructing pathways and bridges, shopping for clothes and so forth. The Nintendo game can help you stay virtually connected with friends, and make new ones, too—an especially mood-boosting feature in these times of self-isolation.
Most unexpectedly, though, it’s also a creative outlet for artists: There are tons of opportunities to customize items, plus hashtag challenges that go beyond the game and into actual life. (Well, social media.)
The #kkslideralbumchallenge is pretty straightforward: Convert album covers into K.K. Slider versions.
For those unfamiliar with Animal Crossing, K.K. Slider is a character famous for his acoustic guitar playing. At the Nook Stop’s Nook Shopping store, you can buy his albums as home decor or actually play them on a record player, if you’ve purchased one. And once unlocked, you can see K.K. Slider perform in concert any given Saturday.
What’s interesting in browsing the hashtag on Instagram is how many Latinx and Spanish-language albums have been redesigned—and a lot of these are expertly, beautifully rendered. Everyone from Bad Bunny to Kali Uchis to José Feliciano got a K.K. Slider adaptation; our faves are below.
Bad Bunny - “Estamos Bien” single
Bad Bunny - 'YHLQMDLG'
This Puerto Rican artist notes that she spent 16 hours creating this “Bad Slider” cover.