Worst By Design
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water by Limp Bizkit - The most hated album cover of 2000 wasn't a mistake. It was all part of the plan.
Category
Hip Hop
Hip-hop album art up close - vinyl-era graffiti, glossy 2000s bling and the sleeves that turned rap into a visual movement.
Stories
In Orbit
Food & Liquor by Lupe Fiasco - A young man floating in space, surrounded by objects from his world. A boombox. A Nintendo DS. A Banksy postcard. The story behind one of hip hop's most visually remarkable debut album covers.
The Mannequin
The Slim Shady LP by Eminem - A visual monument to the American Dream gone wrong. A dark pier, a borrowed daughter, and a moral compass that functioned like a high-end toaster in a bathtub.
Da Inner Sound, Y'all
3 Feet High and Rising by De La Soul - I came to this album backwards. Through De La Soul Is Dead, back to the beginning. I didn't know any of the songs. And then I pressed play. Here's the story behind the cover that changed hip hop.
Nothing
Yeezus by Kanye West - A clear plastic case. A piece of red tape. Nothing else. I looked at it and moved on. I was wrong.
The Lawn They Built
To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar - I heard King Kunta on Triple J and bought the album for the music. I never really looked at the cover. I should have.
The Phoenix, The Harpy, The Pixels
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West - I thought it was just Kanye being Kanye. It was.
Hold It Up To A Mirror
Licensed to Ill by Beastie Boys - I thought it was their private jet. Three lads flying somewhere loud and probably illegal.