10 Old School Rap Album Covers That’d Probably Get Banned Today

 •  Bloggers  •  by XXL Staff  •  24 Comments

Kanye West has every reason to be upset about his album cover for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy being banned because of its explicit nature. Artistic expression used to be so much easier to convey back in the day. These days with corporate sponsors, the sensitivity of special interest groups, and a plain old lack of creativity from artist, it seems like coming across iconic hip-hop album covers is hard to do. No to long ago it used to be the norm.

I know my co-workers ran through a list of controversial album covers the other day, but I was out sick (sue me) and didn’t get to add my two cents so check out 10 of my personal favorite rap album covers that would probably be banned by Walmart and stir major controversy if they were released today. —Rondell Conway

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  • Curtis75Black

    All those affiliated with Luke would’ve been banned !! Those covers were sick and crazy back then. The least would’ve been Geto Boys, Trina and Master P.

  • El Tico Loco

    If you were dong covers for 12″ singles. Public Enemy “Hazy shade of Criminal” drops jaws. google it and watch.

  • DON RICO

    LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER AND DON’T SUPPORT BLACK MUSIC. STOP FRONTIN LIKE U BUY CD’S LOL IM OVER HERE WITH TAO CRUZ, KATE PERRY TITS AND THESE MODELS. KEEP THAT GHETTO SHEEET!

  • Jhon da Analyst

    KMD had an album cover for “Black Bastards” that was so ill Elektra Records was like fuck that. Plus, it would have had the Bill O’Reilly’s really fucked up. By far one of the best covers ever!!

  • NAPTOWNNUISANCE

    I was thinkin more along the lines of ICE T’s the Iceberg from the early 90′s late 80′s. It had a picture of a dude with a gun to each side of his head and a shotgun barrel in his mouth.

  • zayzkidd

    Ice Cube’s album cover is it. TOE TAG ON UNCLE SAM? That’s REALLY gangsta.

  • Dick B.

    You guys at XXL are really stuck on the album cover thing, uh?

  • Jim

    I have one question…
    Who the fuck banned the cover?

  • Worley

    Criminal Minded

  • ff1one@yahoo.com

    Walmart should be banned honestly.

    this is music or better yet art. google some rock n roll songs some 70s albums and songs and then talk. hip hop gets to much flack.

    sad thing is that kayne album is art BUT the meaning behind his cover and the song along with the album title tell the major story.

  • El Tico Loco

    Sex and Violence, BDP

  • black jesus

    2 live crew and ice t have the best album covers of all time….ALL TIME!

  • http://suckit.com everyone who comments here is retarded

    I don’t get this. “would have been banned?” They already came out. And believe it or not, we’re a much more tolerant and open society today than we were even 20 years ago.

    Shit gets “banned” by places like Wal-Mart deeming them offensive and refusing to sell them, or by the record companies themselves, the motive in both cases being profit (see Nas’ “N-Word”)/

  • Corbin

    Go look up up Sonic Jihad – by Paris, that cover has a plane flying into the white house with a target over it. Thats whats up

  • http://www.bboycult.com Don mcCaine

    Whaddusp Commission?

    Shouts to da lurkers…

    “Diddy checks in with Flex to pitch the latest date for his long-delayed Last Train To Paris: December 14th. He also talks about Bugatti Boyz being just “for fun.. a gift…”

    ^ aka I ain’t fukking wit Ross like that…

  • King Joffy Joe

    This is bullshit. Has anybody ever seen those heavy metal album covers? They show actual pics of people getting mangled, (see Mahyem, “Dawn of The Black Hearts”) but nobody ever says anything about ‘em. Props to Cube for that “Death Certificate” cover. That one has the most direct and blatant statement i’ve ever seen.

    • King Joffy Joe

      My bad, I ment Mayhem, not Mahyem.

  • The_Truth

    **THERE ARE ERRORS ON THE YEARS OF THESE COVERS!!

    EX: Cubes Death Certificate was released in 1991, not 1989.

  • WhYes Productions

    Calling Out All MCs!

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    Check Me Out At Soundcloud.com/whyesproductions

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    WhYes Productions_ Real Hip Hop Is Still Alive

  • WhYes Productions

    Calling Out All MCs!

    Need Some Soulful Beats??

    Check Me Out At Soundcloud . com / whyesproductions

    If Your Interested Please Contact Me.

    WhYes Productions_ Real Hip Hop Is Still Alive

  • http://freshflyfuture.com he who wins

    wow… its hard to believe we had album covers like that based on todays censorship.

  • Anonymous

    just the ones with guns on em

  • DV8

    The Coup- Party Music
    Jeru da Damaja- The Sun Rises In The East

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