Green Label Lists Greatest Hip-Hop Album Art of All Time: Nas, Kanye West and A Tribe Called Quest Rule

Green Label has issued its ruling of the Top 14 hip-hop album covers of all time, and we don't envy the process. Hip-hop, like alternative rock, is full of incredibly artistic pieces. Just in case you were wondering, the publisher is a site that covers music and other cultural activities, with special emphasis on the artistic side of things. So to begin, here's Green Label's list:

14. Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City by Kendrick Lamar

13. Graduation by Kanye West

12. ATLiens by Outkast

11. Liquid Swords by GZA

10. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West

09. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill

08. De La Soul Is Dead by De La Soul

07. Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood by DMX

06. The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest

05. Reasonable Doubt by Jay Z

04. Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers by Wu-Tang Clan

03. Ready to Die by Notorious B.I.G.

02. Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest

01. Illmatic by Nas

So, what did we think?

TOTAL AGREEMENT: Illmatic and Ready to Die (tie)

Nas and Biggie released their respective classics with similar themes in mind. Maybe B.I.G. emphasized his hustler side a tad more, but both had the big picture in mind. Both covers tell the same story: The ghetto can be a dark place, and although we're the ones rapping about it, it's the most tragic when it hits the youth. The respective covers show a childhood photo (in Nas's case) and a child meant to resemble Biggie, both indicating how the world represented in their respective raps has molded them. It's haunting in both cases, especially considering the Notorious B.I.G's early death.

BIGGEST DISAGREEMENT: Reasonable Doubt

Let's get this point out of the way quickly: The photo of the young Jay Z, dressed like a Gambino and smoking a cigar, is indeed great. It's what the artists did next that cancelled all the talent of the photographer. The designer presumably didn't have actual experience with graphic arts, or they probably would've gotten sick of looking at the typeface after less than five minutes. It's a severe serif, made 3D like early Microsoft Word text art. And we don't want to deny the performer responsibility: Why does "Jay" feature an umlaut? It's a mistake that was wiped clean before Jay's second, and better album cover, for In My Lifetime came out.

Tags

Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Outkast, GZA, Lauryn Hill, De La Soul, DMX, A Tribe Called Quest, Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan, Notorious B.I.G., Nas