The Most Ridiculous Album Covers In Hip Hop History
It used to be that designing the cover to a hip hop album was the easy part -a cool photo, a big font, and you're done and off to the club. Classic hip hop album covers such as Dre Dre's The Chronic and Nas Illmatic went for the simple look while others such as Kanye West's College Dropout and Tribe Called Quest's Low End Theory went for something more artistic.
But, like many simple tasks in life, when album cover design goes wrong, it can go wrong big time. A well meaning concept poorly executed can render an album DOA before it ever hits headphones. Here are some of the most ridiculous album covers in hip hop history.
- Photo: Dead Game Records1295 VOTES
Criminal Elament "Hit 'Em Where It Hurt"
This Houston hip hop group's problems began when they decided to spell element incorrectly in their name. The cover to their 1994 album Hit 'Em Where It Hurt only made matters worse. What do a dog/train hybrid animal machine, a race horse and convertible Chevy Impala have to do with each other or with hitting ‘em where it hurt? Why are the members of the group floating menacingly over the dog train? To the group’s credit, the cover to their 2nd album, Underground Railroad was slightly less ridiculous, even if it did keep with the train motif.
- 2262 VOTES
Rhymester "Manifesto"
Apparently bad album covers are not just relegated to American hip-hop artists. Take Rhymester and the O.G. Japanese group’s 2010 album Manifesto featuring the trio as centaurs holding swords that attract lighting. Hip hop is a universal language but whatever this means has been lost in translation. Rhymester has had a few great moments in their nearly 30-year career, this cover is not one of them.
- Photo: Tru Game3301 VOTES
Big Bear "Doin Thangs"
If Omaha rapper Big Bear had used a typical cover for Doin Thangs, his 1998 album would have come and gone with little fanfare. But thanks to this cover created by Houston graphic design group Pen & Pixel, Big Bear has gone down in hip hop history for having one of, if not the most atrocious album cover ever. Flanked by grizzly bears wearing smoking jackets, smoking cigars and drinking out of goblets, Big Bear update the old dogs playing poker painting for a generation of hip hop fans to laugh at.
- Photo: RBC Records4238 VOTES
Bishop Lamont "Pope Mobile"
Bishop Lamont is a Los Angeles based rapper with a penchant for great lyrics, years of working with Dr. Dre to his name and a reputation for allegedly beating people up. With a name that includes Bishop, it probably seemed like a no brainer to pull together a pope themed album cover for his 2007 album Pope Mobile but the result was a hip hop exorcism. If the Photoshop job was not so bad, and Bishop didn’t look so serious, this might have been a winner. God forgive whoever designed this.
- Photo: Atlantic Records5217 VOTES
Lil Cease “The Wonderful World of Cease a Leo”
The late great Notorious B.I.G. brought Cease into the music business as a member of Junior Mafia. With such a heavy cosign, fans were anxious for Cease to drop his 1999 solo album The Wonderful World Of Cease A Leo. What they were not expecting was a grinning and slightly pudgy Cease to appear completely naked on the cover, with two women’s hands extending to cover up his private parts. Perhaps inspired by this unflattering photo, Cease has since gone on to produce fitness videos.
- Photo: Daupe6241 VOTES
Conway the Machine "Reject on Steroids"
Buffalo rapper Conway the Machine used the cover of his 2017 album Reject On Steroids to flex on the hip hop industry in the weirdest way possible. To break it down: the bodybuilder is supposed to symbolize how hard body Conway’s songs are, and we assume the mask symbolizes the reject portion of the title. Conway, who's backstory about being shot in the head and neck and raw, old school hip hop delivery would have been better served by a classic hip hop album cover and not this nightmare collage. Let’s hope that Buffalo rapper’s future projects with Eminem’s Shady Records feature better—and less ridiculous art.
- Photo: Sony7260 VOTES
Lil' Flip "The Leprechaun”
Houston rapper Lil Flip’s debut independent album The Leprechaun sold over 200,000 copies when it was released in 2000 and cemented him on the underground southern rap scene. It is an amazing feat that he accomplished so much with an album cover depicting him in a Leprechaun outfit in front of a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal. But there is a logic to this artwork, sort of: Flip hails from a Southeast Houston neighborhood called Cloverland, hence his affinity for leprechauns. Lucky for all of us he traded in the green suit and hat for oversized throwback jerseys soon after this album was released.
- 8230 VOTES
Baby "Birdman"
Cash Money Records head honcho Bryan Williams goes by many names including Baby, B-32 and Birdman. While the Birdman nickname has absolutely nothing to do with actual birds (it’s a euphemism for kilograms of cocaine) that didn’t stop him from transforming himself into a bird on cover of this 2003 album. What’s surprising is Baby’s MC skills on the project, were actually worse than the album cover.
- Photo: Jive9204 VOTES
Pooh-Man "Funky As I Wanna Be"
The artist formerly known as MC Pooh is an Oakland rapper who was once affiliated with Too $hort’s Dangerous Crew. This cover for his 1992 album Funky As I Wanna Be might not be so ridiculous if the photography had anything to do with the title. A quick listen to anything from Poohman’s discography and it's apparent that he has a fondness for sex, which explains why he is sitting between a woman’s open legs. We don’t have an explanation for the sunglasses.
- Photo: Koch Records10212 VOTES
Hell Rell "For The Hell Of It"
The cover of Hell Rell's debut album is hard to swallow. The Dipset affiliate is a hard-nosed rapper from Harlem who, over a decade long career, has released several mixtapes and independent albums. But none stand out as much as his 2007 debut album cover featuring the MC with bullets instead of teeth. If there's a threat here, we aren't sure what it is supposed to be. Rell raps about gunplay a lot, so perhaps the image is a metaphor for having deadly lyrics, or maybe there's a bite the bullet joke in here somewhere. Either way, this cover was a misfire.
- Photo: Atlantic11200 VOTES
Trina, the self-proclaimed "Baddest B**ch” has been one of the most consistent women rappers in the business. The Miami native has released several solid albums and album covers which is what makes 2000's Da Baddest B**ch so...bad. We expect Trina to know better than to release an album cover featuring her straddling a patient on a gurney, attempting to bring him back to life. Perhaps she learned her lesson: Her record label later released a cleaner alternate cover sans sexual innuendo.
- Photo: Warlock Records12192 VOTES
Khia "Gangstress"
Khia hit big with her 2002 single “My Neck, My Back” and quickly faded out of site. Despite not charting any bigger hits, the Florida rapper stayed somewhat relevant via beefs and an occasional club song. For her 2006 “comeback” album Gangstress, the Florida rapper decided to forego a proper photo shoot and instead use the wide array of mugshots documenting her 30-plus arrests between 1994 and 1999. If being a gangstress means getting caught for your crimes, Khia may be the most gangsta rapper of all time.
- Photo: Sony13195 VOTES
Cam is one of the most consistently entertaining rappers out of New York City. His 1998 debut album Confessions Of Fire arrived loaded with hits including “357” and “Horse & Carriage,” and at the time was considered one of the best debuts of the year. The cover on the other hand is pure comedy. Cam holding a sledgehammer with leather overalls while managing to keep a serious face is hilarious. We get the fire metaphor, but why did this have to look like a pin-up calendar for steel mill workers?
- Photo: Def Jam South14217 VOTES
Ludacris’ cartoon-like videos and over-the-top delivery made him one of the most popular rappers of the 2000’s. Had the art direction for his 2003 album Chicken-N-Beer stopped with Luda sitting in front of a huge platter of chicken and a few brews it would have been acceptable, but adding a human leg into the mix pushed the silly energy a bit too far. Ludacris was far from embarrassed by Chicken-n-Beer -he opened a restaurant of the same name in the Atlanta airport in 2017.
- Photo: Atlantic15195 VOTES
Big Kuntry King "My Turn To Eat"
The term eating is slang for getting money and since Big Kuntry King is a big guy, we’re assuming the Atlanta hip hop artist likes to eat literally and figuratively. Combining eating food and getting money into a double entendre of sorts is cool for a slick rap line, not an album cover. Kuntry—who’s face is out of focus on his 2008 album cover—is seen holding a hundred-dollar bill sandwich. Although money phones may have been cool for a minute on social media, money sandwiches have never been funny.
