Slick Rick – The Great Adventures of Slick Rick The album’s cover features a simple yet impossible to ignore headshot of the rapper. Loaded with jazz grooves and a socially conscious beat poet vibe, the album was a bold artistic statement. Mos Def dropped his debut Black on Both Sides in 1999 and immediately established himself as the poet laureate of hip-hop. Consistent with the record’s title, the cover features the two dressed in matching black and white stripes and gold chains, stern faced and ready to get to work in the studio. The duo’s debut is a classic of the highest order. In 1988 Erick and Parrish were making dollars and creating some of the most definitive East Coast Hip-hop ever. The album cover illustrates both the reality and irony of its title, featuring Nas seated in opulence with his ex-wife Kelis’ dress draped over his knee. The contemplative record found the artist older and wiser. Upon its release in 2012, Life is Good was the eleventh studio album from the legendary Queensbridge rapper. The cover features the rapper buried up to his neck, a reference Funkadelic’s 1971 release Maggot Brain. When Hit Squad alum Redman released his second solo studio album he included some stylistic shout-outs to the godfather of Funk, George Clinton and his influential P-Funk. What the cover lacked in actual design merit, it more than made up for its artistic vision, making it one of the best rap album covers of all time. Later West explained that the picture was intended as, “an open casket for the CD.” The format had all but died by the time the album dropped in 2013. The album’s cover was simply the plain image of a CD in a jewel case. Kanye West – YeezusĪlways willing to push the boundaries of art, Kanye West dropped his sixth studio album Yeezus with little promotion beyond a provocative title. The artwork depicts Slim looking contemplatively across the water as he prepares to dispose of a body whose feet are protruding from the trunk of his car. The cover of Eminem’s debut full length release mirrors the violent fantasies of the rapper’s alter ego for whom the record is named. The cover introduced the group’s signature ‘pistol and fist’ artwork and the ‘Tag the Jewels’ campaign in which the group encouraged graffiti artists to recreate the cover. The duo launched in 2013 with their self-titled debut album. Run the Jewels is the product of rapper-producer El-P and OutKast homie, emcee Killer Mike. The graphical portrayal of the shirtless rapper covered in blood was a striking image that suggested a rock and metal influence that DMX would later cater to in his recoding career. The record’s title and cover continued the Biblical theme of It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot. DMX – Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My BloodĭMX’s second album dropped less than a year after his debut. Memorable, unique and absolutely one of the best rap album covers of all time. The album’s cover is an artistic rendition of the rapper’s face interwoven with the moon. Now over a decade later the record is regarded as a new-school classic. There were high hopes for the debut album from Kanye West protege Kid Cudi before it dropped in September, 2009. Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day There have been times when I’ve stumbled across an artist I’ve never heard of before and I’ve listened to their album off the strength of their artwork – a recent example would be Daniel Son’s album, Son Tzu & The Wav.God.įrom GZA’s comic book renders on Liquid Swords to the fantasyland of Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde to the hugely influential Illmatic artwork, here are the 50 best rap album covers of all time. You know that saying – “don’t judge a book by its cover” – well I totally judge a hip hop album by its cover. Still, that doesn’t mean the rap album cover is from a bygone era. What’s the value of an album cover in the streaming era? It’s not like back in the day when vinyl records featured the space large enough to accommodate thoughtful artwork – nowadays, you’re most likely staring at the cover on a mobile device.
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