For many music lovers, the quilt artwork is the visible gateway to their sonic sojourn. Earlier than the primary beat drops or phrase is uttered, that first impression is commonly the packaging for the album or cassette. Album artwork in itself typically tells a narrative and units the tone for the auditory journey. Whereas the quilt artwork’s impression has been diminished a tad within the digital instances, within the analog period of tapes and vinyl, music followers would spend as a lot time dissecting the quilt as they did the music. And in Hip-Hop specifically, crate diggers have elevated cowl artwork to close mythic standing.
So, in celebration of HipHop’s fiftieth Anniversary, HipHopDX and HipHopWired have collaborated to current the 50 Biggest Hip Hop Album Covers OfAll Time. There are some surefire fan favorites on the record, in addition to some more moderen installments they could stir some convo, but it surely’s all for the love of the style we maintain pricey and to acknowledge the efforts of artwork administrators, photographers, artists and the musicians who encourage them.
Further phrases by Alvin Blanco
A Tribe Known as Quest – The Low Finish Idea (1991)
Designer/Photographer: Nick Gamma, Jean Kelly & Dave Skillken aka ZombArt
The legend goes that Q-Tip wished a painted lady, akin to one thing you’d discover on an Ohio Gamers album cowl. The dwell photographs, taken by Joe Grant, have been only a begin and the correct art work was created by Jean Kelly aka ZombArt JK whereas Nick Gamma aka ZombArt NG dealt with the lettering. Together with Dave Skillken all of them labored within the artwork division of Tribe’s file label Jive’s father or mother firm Zomba Recordings. Since Jive was on 4080-mode when it got here to getting credit score, they have been often known as the Zombart collective as a compromise. Whereas the music spoke for itself, the basic cowl with its afrocentric pallet of colours made the cipher full. -AB
ODB, Return to the 36 Chambers: The Soiled Model (1995)
Artwork Route: Alli True
Pictures: Danny Clinch
ODB draped himself in fact like a North Face Denali Fleece. “I got here out my momma pussy, I’m on welfare. Twenty-six years previous–nonetheless on welfare,” he growls on the quixotic confessional “Uncooked Cover” from his 1995 debut. So it’s no shock that Soiled would use his personal meals stamp card to adorn mentioned launch, creating probably the most iconic Hip Hop album covers of all time.
“That album cowl was fully his concept…he actually got here to my workplace together with his welfare card,” A&R Dante Ross confirms in an interview. Because of a shade Xerox machine (an costly favor within the pre-scanner days), the top of the artwork division, a Wu-Tang fan, was capable of mock up a ten×12 cowl lengthy earlier than the album was even completed. “He was like ‘I’m the realest…I grew up in poverty and I’m not ashamed of who I’m’…he was making a acutely aware resolution to be the polar reverse of the shiny fits and to do it in a approach that was humorous.” – JLB
Nas – Illmatic (1994)
Designer/Photographer: Aimée Macauley
Illmatic’s cowl was designed by Aimée Macauley and a includes a well-worn {photograph} of a 7-year-old Nas that was taken by his father, Jazz musician Olu Dara. The town picture younger Nasty Nas’ face is superimposed over was taken by Danny Clinch. The legend goes that Nas initially supposed for the album cowl to be an image of him holding Jesus Christ in a headlock. Whereas the nod to his Stay on the BBQ verse the place rapped “After I was 12, I went to hell for snuffing Jesus” would have been welcomed by Hip-Hop diehards, the chosen cowl choice was for the very best. -AB
Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998)
Album package deal photographer: Eric Johnson
Artwork Director, Sony Music: Erwin Gorostiza
Sampling and remixing is at Hip-Hop’s core, so it solely is sensible that the debut album from one of many style’s most revered artists, Ms. Lauryn Hill, would take inspiration from a number of locations. The soulful middle of The Fugees had her personal visage carved right into a desk as a result of she knew she was about to highschool a complete trade.
“She already had some nice concepts that have been impressed by the album title. I don’t suppose I ever had an artist so concerned with their imagery earlier than this level. I insisted that the artwork path credit score be given to her together with myself,” Artwork Director Erwin Gorostiza, instructed Okayplayer.com.
{A photograph} of Ms Hill taken by Eric Johnson at her alma mater, Columbia Excessive Faculty in South Orange, New Jersey, was “carved” into the desk by retoucher Will Kennedy.
“In 1998, Photoshop was not wherever close to as highly effective. Retouchers made up for it with all their abilities and expertise. Will had a knack for getting the artwork to look excellent.” – JLB
The Infamous B.I.G., Prepared To Die (1994)
Designer/Photographer: Michael Lavine
Earlier than you even suppose it, Raekwon and Ghostface have admitted they went too far with their notorious “Shark Niggas (Biters)” skit the place they accused the Infamous B.I.G. of “biting off of Nas sh*t!” Additionally, the newborn with the afro was not a seed of Sean “Diddy” Combs or Christopher Wallace as an toddler however really Keithroy Yearwood, who’s now about 30-years-old. Apparently, the child was discovered throughout a casting name, and his mom caught a cool $150 for 2 hours of the kid’s cuteness to be perpetually imprinted on Hip-Hop. -AB
Outkast, Stankonia (2000)
Artwork path and design by Mike Rush.
{Photograph} by Michael Lavine.
After adorning their earlier choices, Atliens and Aquemini with illustrious illustrations, the 2 dope boys took a extra direct method for his or her fourth album, posing in a white tee and black leather-based pants towards an ebony and ivory symbiote of the American Flag.
“The flag cowl, that got here to me once I was on an airplane,” Andre 3000 tells veteran journalist Craig Seymour in an 2000 interview. “I used to be considering of a fly approach to make use of the flag…make it a black and white flag. No shade. Greater than something. Like America is a no shade state and we convey splashes of shade.” Andre composed a drawing as an alternate cowl to be a collectors merchandise, however considers this picture the “official” Stankonia cowl.
Artwork Director Mike Rush was employed by L.A. Reid to go the city music artwork squad and calls the monochromatic flag with its stars titled drunkenly in an nearly demonic salute as “probably the most iconic album photographs in hip hop historical past.” -JLB
Lil’ Kim, Hardcore (1996)
Designer/Photographer: Michael Lavine
The duvet for Lil’ Kim’s debut Hardcore album went viral earlier than doing so was ever a factor. “After I did the Onerous Core picture shoot, I used to be simply posing to do them. It wasn’t like I’m simply going to pose and squat and present my kitty cat; that was not on my thoughts in any respect. For me, it was simply being a mannequin and posing in a cute, attractive approach,” the Queen Bee instructed XXL in 2016. – AB
Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly (2015)
Picture: Denis Rouvre
Artwork Route: Kendrick Lamar, Dave Free, Vlad Sepetov
The duvet artwork to Kendrick Lamar’s third studio album encapsulates the inherent rebelliousness of merely surviving in America. Even with the achievement of getting an precise Black man within the White Home, Ok.dot and his individuals posted up on the gate relegating the President’s residence to a backdrop, taking the directive to “paint the white home black” a defiant remix.
“It’s me and my homeboys in entrance of the White Home,” Kendrick explains to Mass Attraction. “It’s actually taking individuals from round my neighborhood and taking them all over the world to see issues I’ve skilled. [the baby he’s holding] is without doubt one of the homey’s children, individuals I grew up with since elementary faculty all the way in which to date. Loads of the people I discuss on Good Child, Mad Metropolis is on this cowl. All of it spins round full circle.”
As for the decide laying on the bottom together with his eyes crossed out: “The one individual that represents their lives negatively is a decide. Solely God can decide these people.” – JLB
Tyler, The Creator – Flower Boy (2017)
Designer/Photographer: Eric Wright
Tyler, The Creator is all the time fingers on so his Flower Boy album cowl was no totally different. After peeping artist’s work in one in all his books, the rapper commissioned Eric Wright to create the quilt introduced him his personal sketches with concepts of what he wished. “I used to be actually impressed together with his drawings and particularly together with his use of shade. I feel he has a a lot better innate capability for working with shade than I do,” White, who occurred to be an Odd Future fan, instructed Complicated in 2017. The ultimate work is a jarring mixture of shade and weirdness, so it’s completely aligned with the Tyler, The Creator ethos. -AB
J. Cole, KOD (2018)
Cowl artwork: Kamau Haroon
Whether or not you go together with “Children On Medication,” “King Overdosed” or “Kill our Demons” because the that means behind J.Cole’s KOD title, there isn’t any debate that artist Kamau Haroon nailed all three interpretations together with his vibrant but haunting portrait.
Identified artistically as Sixmau, the artist was within the studio with J.C Cole watching the NBA All-Star sport when he created the quilt. Evidently, the on-screen spectacle did little to distract him because the theme captured Cole’s imaginative and prescient: a monarch within the midst of a narcotic-induced daze shepherding equally dazed youth below his royalty capes.
“It was undoubtedly a collaboration,” Kamau instructed Vibe of the creation. “It was a wedding of artwork and music. He instructed me what path he was moving into after which he gave me freedom to painting it how I wished.” -JLB
Try the remaining record of iconic album covers in Alphabetical order under:
2 Stay Crew, Nasty As They Wanna Be (1989)
2Pac – The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Idea (1996)
50 Cent, Get Wealthy Or Die Tryin (2003)
ATCQ, Midnight Marauders (1993)
Massive Sean – Detroit 2 (2020)
Boogie Down Productions, By All Means Needed (1988)
Busta Rhymes – Extinction Stage Occasion (2020)
De La Soul, De La Soul Is Useless (1991)
DMX, Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood (1998)
Dr. Dre – The Persistent (1992)
Drake, Take Care (2011)
Eminem, The Slim Shady LP (1999)
Eric B & Rakim, Paid In Full (1987)
Fugees, The Rating (1996)
Gang Starr – Every day Operation (1992)
Gucci Mane – All people Trying (2016)
JAY-Z, The Blueprint (2001)
Juvenile, 400 Degreez (1998)
Kanye West – Commencement (2007)
Kanye West – Yeezus (2013)
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Massive Steppers (2022)
Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III (2008)
LL Cool J – Larger and Deafer (1987)
Ludacris – Phrase Of Mouf (2001)
Lupe Fiasco – Meals & Liquor (2006)
Mac Miller, Faces (2014)
Missy Elliott, Supa Dupa Fly (1997)
Nipsey Hussle, Victory Lap (2018)
N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton, (1989)
Outkast – Aquemini (1998)
The Pharcyde, Weird Journey To The Pharcyde (1992)
Public Enemy, Worry of A Black Planet (1990)
Queen Latifah, All Hail The Queen (1989)
Raekwon, Solely Constructed For Cuban Linx (1995)
Redman, Dare Iz A Darkish Facet (1994)
Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle (1993)
TI – Paper Path (2008)
Tierra Whack – Whack World (2018)
Travis Scott – ASTROWORLD (2018)
Tyler the Creator – Wolf (2013)
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