the blindingly bad artwork of rap albums
The artwork that graces an album will always be an opportunity for the recording artist to express visibly the feeling, theme, or stylistic stance of the music within. In the past we've seen fine artists use record sleeves as canvases, from Andy Warhol to H.R. Giger, and we've been exposed to the work of countless relatively unknown designers and artists who bear the task of creating an image that will not only represent out favorite musicians, but serve as a permanent stamp that will forever be associated with that collection of songs in the listeners' collective consciousness.
When browsing the gallery of hip-hop cover art, a viewer will no doubt be struck by the brightness of the images, the sparkling streamlined texts, and the unflinching hardness expressed by the posing rappers. We may stop to question the aesthetic and compositional decisions made in these pieces, or we might just laugh, but one question will no doubt plague the viewer as they inspect every bling-tastic work: seriously, what is wrong with these guys?
A classic. Note how everything is shiny, and that Snoop apparently lives in Chateau de Chenonceau.
This one seems to tell a story, and I assume that by listening to the record you find out who the dork walking around in the "SNITCH" t-shirt is.
This one's just cute, obviously a group of small-timers wanting to look like the big-timers. But what a weird choice for a title.
Pretty homo-erotic, and judging from the rappers' faces, quite uncomfortable also. What the hell is he cooking for Raekwon?
I had to throw in the above Dr. Dooom cover, because Kool Keith seems to be the only one who gets the joke of the baffling, throw-everything-you-can-think-of-into-the-frame cliche. (Note the baboon watching from the roof.) Although I should point out that, as far as representing the depth, artistry and quality of the music within, ridiculous rap covers usually do their job perfectly.
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