Still, that doesn’t mean the rap album cover is from a bygone era. You know that saying – “don’t judge a book by its cover” – well I totally judge a hip hop album by its cover. 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. Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day There were high hopes for the debut album from Kanye West protege Kid Cudi before it dropped in September, 2009. Now over a decade later the record is regarded as a new-school classic. The album’s cover is an artistic rendition of the rapper’s face interwoven with the moon. Memorable, unique and absolutely one of the best rap album covers of all time. DMX – Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My BloodĭMX’s second album dropped less than a year after his debut. The record’s title and cover continued the Biblical theme of It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot. 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. Run the Jewels is the product of rapper-producer El-P and OutKast homie, emcee Killer Mike. The duo launched in 2013 with their self-titled debut album. 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 cover of Eminem’s debut full length release mirrors the violent fantasies of the rapper’s alter ego for whom the record is named. #KANYE WEST MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY POSTER FULL# 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. 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 album’s cover was simply the plain image of a CD in a jewel case. 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. #KANYE WEST MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY POSTER FULL#.

Kanye west dark fantasy cover