Cover Art Something Visceral Vol.4

Figured I hadn't done one of these posts in a long time, and my internet is slow as shit, so prepare to be serenaded with some ill album covers..

Diamond D-Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop
I don't know that rolling dice with neurotics (particularly kleptomaniacs) is profitable or provides adequate opportunity cost for affording stunts or blunts, but I won't question Diamond D. The real reason I love this album cover is because D owns a green jacket, that's just ill as fuck.

Al Tariq-God Connections
Is Al Tariq armless? Not that it matters either way, but I've seen pictures of dukes with both arms intact, so shit is somewhat paradoxical. Classic '90's album cover, but the sideways shot and the etching of his name just makes this cover look even doper.

Boot Camp Clik-The Chosen Few
Only for #2's hand placement.

Z-Ro:Crack
Because major retailers wouldn't allow Z-Ro to sell this version, and also because Z-Ro is coming out of the flame.

Special Ed-Youngest In Charge
Only because Special Ed was channeling the Souls of Mischief before they even existed.

There's more, click here.

Cover Art Something Visceral Vol.3

You may have already caught one of the two previous posts. If not, simply prepare yourself for some of the illest cover artwork released in the hip-hop spectrum.

Edan-Beauty And The Beat
For once anyway, you can judge a book by it's cover. Beauty And The Beat is apt to cause musical dyslexia, yet it still flows together in a beautifully esoteric way. One of those Pitchfork albums for intellecutals, nahmean? Fuck that low-brow bullshit, nothing stimulates the mind like an cover engulfed with dozens of cutouts of random black men.

Aim-Means Of Production
Aim often chooses oft-kilter images as his artwork, that bear only a small relation to the title of his opuses. It's dope to think that dukes probably found this image in some oft-forgotten place, and now it adorns Means Of Production.

Gravediggaz-Six Feet Deep
This is that gully album cover that the Wu always lacked. Six Feet Deep just screams 'fuck ya moms'.

Theory Hazit-Lord Fire
I can't say I'm too big a fan of Theory Hazit's, but his Ohmega Watts commissioned album art is remarkably good. Words can't speak for the illness above.

EPMD-Strictly Business
There ain't shit to criticize on this cover. Erick & Parrish sittin' in the studio, about to make some dollars, what's fuckin' with that?

There's more, click here.

Cover Art Something Visceral Vol.2

In case you somehow missed Vol.1, you can check that shit here. Otherwise, you should already know what the business is.

Although I'm not really a fan of this group even in the most casual sense, I'll gladly admit that this cover is real dope. Maybe it's the purposeful disarray of objects that is well-represented on Nia, or perhaps it's the overall abstract value, but this is cover art to be appreciated.

You can always expect a little something extra from El-P's creative vision and the cover for Fantastic Damage illustrates just that. Graffiti elements combined with pseudo expressionism. What's fuckin' with that?

This one depends more on graphic design than anything else, but it still looks dope and tells the story of what to expect from Scars & Memories. The wing shape of his 'scars and memories' holds infinite symbolism.

Best hip hop cover of all time.

I don't know what to say about this cover, but I still consider it ill as fuck.

This is one of those covers, where you can make of it what you will. The despair is obvious, but the overall message can lead you to think on it for hours.

There's more, click here.

Cover Art Something Visceral Vol.1

For me, it was The Low End Theory. I listened to it front to back and over again countless times. And then I saw the cover. Although it provides minimal description of the music inside, there's an blatant Native Tongue vibe that can be picked up instantly. But beneath the surface, there's so much to pick up on if you look closer. The representation of ATCQ as green with wavy letters provides an wealth of context. Meaning, that if the group name and album name were left out of the image, the image would be left open to interpretation and quite probably deconstructed with darker symbolism.
With this series, I'm not trying to be an art professor by any means, just trying to shed some light and open some eyes on some of the iller and more slept-on album covers.

Zion I- The Takeover
Maybe it was the effect of growing up on comic books that renders this illustration dope to me, or maybe it's the cinematic qualities that leap through the image and plant themselves in your imagination.


Wu Tang Clan- Iron Flag
The sheer concept of planting the Wu flag can be taken so many ways. Historically, the Clan has placed their mark on every imaginable facet of dope hip hop. The photographic qualities of the image add an immeasurable amount of illness to the image.



Kazi and Madlib-Down For The Kaz
This may quite possibly be my favorite album cover of all time. It draws from so many of the classic indie hip hop inspirations: graffiti, comic books, and individualism. You feel like you know the character of Kazi before you hear one loop or one rhyme. That's what a good cover can convey.


Sweatshop Union- Local 604
The haunting cityscape has such an lasting impression on me. In fact, every time I look at this cover it sends chills through my body. It doesn't even register as an album cover, as much as it does an genuine piece of art.


Think Twice-With A Loop And Some Swing
The sheer abstract qualities of this cover make it so great. Nothing I could put into words, but visually it says so much.

There's more, click here.