Brent Rollins' 10 Favorite Rap Album Covers of the '90s

This is part of a daily, week-long feature series where we asked legendary designers about their favorite rap album covers from the '90s.

Yup, our own Brent Rollins rounds out this Mt. Rushmore of design O.G.s. Rollins is always mentioned in the same breath as greatness, from art directing the arrogant voice of musical truth known as ego trip magazine to some of the sharpest logos you've seen, including a few generations of the Complex Media logo. Some of his album artwork for artists like Blackalicious and Black Star are not just some of the best album covers of all time, but they are also revered by his peers. Rollins also created the package designs for Freeway & Jake One's The Stimulus Package and Gang Starr's Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr, as well as the billboard design for Undefeated LA. Check out the stories behind some of the best albums in the last few decades with Brent Rollins' 10 Favorite Rap Album Covers of the '90s.

RELATED: Greg Burke's 10 Favorite Rap Album Covers of the '90s

RELATED: Cey Adams' 10 Favorite Rap Album Covers of the '90s

RELATED: Bill McMullen's 10 Favorite Rap Album Covers of the '90s

RELATED: Kenny Gravillis' 10 Favorite Rap Album Covers of the '90s

Year: 1995
Art direction: Alli Truch
Design: Brett Kilroe

"What I love about this album cover is not just that it's 'clever,' but that it's so simple and doesn't need a logo or any huge type to be memorable. It's just a photo of a public assistance ID card. Wow. It's kind of deep, really."

Year: 1994
Art direction: Jo DiDonato
Design: Aimee Macauley
Photography: Danny Clinch

"This is incredibly iconic and simple. I think it's actually inspired by Howard Hanger Trio's 1974 album A Child Is Born, but does that really matter? This cover means so much to so many people."

Year: 1996
Art direction: Brian "B+" Cross
Photography: Brian "B+" Cross

"If the Beastie's Paul's Boutique was released in the '90s, that album would be on my list for the same reason: the photo communicates a vibe about what the record is about, and that's all you need. Fuck a logo. Fuck text. Just look at the photo, and soak it up. That's super confident on the part of the art direction. It was produced as a gatefold jacket that nicely showcased the panorama photo. The fact that it's shot by my homie Brian 'B+' Cross is a plus."

Year: 1991
Art direction: Jean Kelly for ZombaArt

"This is super distinctive and sexy in that Ohio Players kind of way. Even better was that they went this artsy-fartsy route for their breakout sophomore effort. The music and visuals put them in another league."

Year: 1993
Art direction: Pawn Shop Press
Design: Dante Ariola, Jay Papke
Photography:Anthony Artiaga

"This is one of the great efforts by LA design shop Pawnshop Press. Cypress Hill's second album cover looked like no other rap album ever. For a hip-hop recording, this was pretty groundbreaking. It's got more of a rock album aesthetic, which really impressed me at the time. It still looks great to me."

Year: 1993
Art direction: Kimberly Holt
Illustration: Darryl "Joe Cool" Daniel

"I know a lot of art directors who would quickly argue that this album cover is hot garbage. And at one point, I was in that camp too. But what it lacks in artistic sophistication, it hella makes up for in personality and character. You can't tell me that illustrator Joe Cool doesn't have style. Ok, maybe you don't like his style, but it's got a level of honesty and authenticity to it. It's true to the culture that Snoop came out of, and that's something that no studied art director can really convey, in the same way that Schooly-D's self-illustrated covers are just raw and real. That's what this cover is, and I'm down with it."

Year: 1996
Photography: Ben Drury, Will Bankhead

"I've never seen any rap-related album cover look like this. The domestic version of this album, with the cover art by Pushead, was in an alt/skater-zone that made it cool to the underground heads but approachable. This UK version was just straight up weird. I don't even know if I like it, but it left an impression on me. The severed monkey paw just freaked me out. And the Dr. logo shaped into an octagon was just so obvious but really ill."

Year: 1998
Photography: Danny Clinch

"This is not my favorite Das Efx album, but I love the execution of this cover. I'm a sucker for actual, real logos that are built and photographed as opposed to slapping some vector file on the corner somewhere (like the Nas Illmatic cover). There was real consideration taken in creating this image."

Year: 1998
Art direction: David Calderley and RZA
Photography: Michael Lavine
Illustration:Bill Sienkiewicz

"Bill Sienkiewicz is easily one of my favorite comic book illustrators. He's a master. The riffing of classic 1970s style Blaxploitation film posters for this album came at just the right time for my generation."

Year: 1994
Art direction: Maria DeGrassi-Colosimo
Artwork: Matt Reid

"Rest In Peace to my friend Matt Reid, a.k.a. 'Matt Doo.' This was his most remembered masterwork—a mix of oil and collage, and it's a visual banger. I'll never forget this dude."