Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day From the raw, real-world imagery of N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton to the surreal cartoon universe of MF DOOM’s Mm.Food, and the minimalist allure of A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, a lot of these album artworks are usually as iconic and memorable as the music itself.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. These covers capture a moment, reflect an artist’s persona, or amplify the socio-political messages within the tracks. The visual aesthetic of a rap album is often as crucial as the sonic experience it encapsulates. Still, that doesn’t mean the rap album cover is from a bygone era. Pro football prospect turned hulking enforcer, Marion Knight, Jr., nicknamed Suge for the sweet sugar bear he was as a child, had a reputation for intimidation that was the stuff of industry myth: punching a guy through a closed door and dangling Vanilla Ice off a balcony.What’s the value of a rap 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. He’d been hanging around Ruthless as the D.O.C.’s bodyguard and had grown close to Dre during his conflict with the label. With an eye on becoming a music mogul, Suge saw Dre as his meal ticket. Dre was already done mastering the final N.W.A. album, 1991’s Niggaz4Life, and he wanted out so he could finish work on his solo material. All that was standing in his and Suge’s way was Eazy. On April 23, 1991, Eazy-E went up to the studios at Solar Records where he was greeted by Suge and a small entourage of men with pipes and Louisville sluggers. Suge delivered contract releases for several Ruthless artists and planned to squeeze Eazy into signing them so he could poach the artists for the fledgling label he was starting. He told Eazy he had N.W.A.’s manager Jerry Heller tied up in a van before offering a final warning: “We know where your mother lives.” With that, Eazy signed. The documents weren’t deemed legally binding, but the wheels were in motion.

Eventually, Suge got his way: Dre was no longer a Ruthless artist, and Death Row Records was born. Dre was the biggest producer in hip-hop music, a pioneer drawing comparisons to Quincy Jones and Phil Spector he was also its most unemployable one. Plagued by legal battles and beset with a number of open court cases, nobody would touch him. Five of the eight albums Dre produced for Ruthless from 1987 to 1991 went platinum, but he was a volatile figure prone to violence. He was accused of a savage, public assault by journalist Dee Barnes and another assault on a police officer during a 50-person brawl he allegedly started.

Dr dre the chronic album cover maker