The 25 Most Ridiculous Pen & Pixel Album Covers of All Time

Check out these hilariously awful covers.

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Image via Complex Original
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With the Internet as hip-hop's most influential medium and the rise of blogging and social media spearheading growing interest in photography and graphic design, an artist's album cover today looks vastly different than it did back when Pen & Pixel was designing nearly every Southern rap album in sight.

What’s Pen & Pixel? It's a Houston-based company that rose to fame in the world of Southern Rap in the ‘90s after designing an endless number of covers for No Limit, Cash Money, and other

If you noticed continuity in the styles of your favorite southern rap covers of the mid-to-late-90's, it's because Pen & Pixel designed the cover graphics for everything from Juvenile's 400 Degreez to Three 6 Mafia's Live By Yo Rep. Looking back, more than a handful of these projects were...conceptually challenged.

Everything from images of burning buildings to Brown Bears dressed in Versace garb graced these deplorable covers. To refresh your memory, we've put together The 25 Most Ridiculous Pen & Pixel Album Covers Of All Time. Walk with us as we marvel at how some of these horrible ideas ever made it onto record-store shelves.

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25. T-Mac, Shinin' & Bigtymin (1999)

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25. T-Mac, Shinin' & Bigtymin (1999)

How much do you wanna bet that T-Mac took a pic holding his lethal-ass pet panther, mansion, and white Rolls, and P&P just Photoshopped an orange Hummer in there? Yeah, us either.

24. Bukshot, They Still Don't Love Me (2002)

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24. Bukshot, They Still Don't Love Me (2002)

Dear Bukshot: We'd probably love you more if you didn't fantasize about burning our cities down.

23. Big Ren, Tha Streets Won't Let Me Go (2002)

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23. Big Ren, Tha Streets Won't Let Me Go (2002)

Conceptually, this is actually fairly creative, especially compared to some other covers on here. Too bad it looks worse than the streets that apparently won't let him go.

22. 2-Def, Str-8 Doin Tha Fool (1997)

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22. 2-Def, Str-8 Doin Tha Fool (1997)

Not only does 2-Def tower over his girl in a God-like fashion as she lives in a shoebox, dressed in a thong, but he only feeds her the tiniest sip from his (relatively) mega-Nebuchadnezzar of champagne. Tiny hoes be thirsty too, T-Def! TINY HOES BE THIRSTY TOOOOOOOO!

21. Mercedes, Rear End (1999)

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21. Mercedes, Rear End (1999)

One word: Classy.

20. Magnolia Shorty, Monkey on tha D$ck (1997)

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20. Magnolia Shorty, Monkey on tha D$ck (1997)

We're just glad this cover didn't feature an actual monkey dick. And no, we wouldn't put that past P&P.

19. Indo G, Angel Dust (1998)

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19. Indo G, Angel Dust (1998)

Obviously, when Indo smokes angel dust he thinks he can blow up the White House and give Uncle Sam orders. When Smokey got on angel dust in Friday he ran through the streets in his boxers. Basically it's a bad idea.

18. PLUTO, Players Like Us Takin' Over (1995)

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18. PLUTO, Players Like Us Takin' Over (1995)

"Skills? Where we're going, we don't need skills!"

17. B.G., Chopper City (1996)

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17. B.G., Chopper City (1996)

It's raining penises! No, lipstick! No, bullets! Bullets, right? Whew.

16. Solo Slim, Sew'd It Up (2001)

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16. Solo Slim, Sew'd It Up (2001)

So let's get this straight. Some kind of disaster occurred, and in the aftermath Solo Slim offered to sew the world back together? Really? Knitting is hot in the streets?

15. Lil Flip, Leprechaun (2000)

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15. Lil Flip, Leprechaun (2000)

Remember how badly T.I. destroyed Flip? Dude went from the cereal box to the milk carton soon as he started fucking with the King, and a lot of it had to do with this IV drip of self-ether. A shiny green suit and an "oh HAAAAAYYYY" lower-lip bite? No wonder he made a song called "Game Over."

14. B.P. Hanz'M, The 5th Ward's Main Man (1998)

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14. B.P. Hanz'M, The 5th Ward's Main Man (1998)

This is kinda like the Southern version of Cam'Ron's fail of an album cover for Confessions On Fire, but not as sensuous. Pause.

13. Three 6 Mafia, Live By Yo Rep (1995)

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13. Three 6 Mafia, Live By Yo Rep (1995)

We always knew Triple 6 was into some freaky shit, but we never knew they hung out with The Gimp from Pulp Fiction.

12. Po' White Trash and The Trailer Park Symphony, Po' Like Dis (2001)

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12. Po' White Trash and The Trailer Park Symphony, Po' Like Dis (2001)

Fuck a whitebread hip-hop, this is inbred hip-hop. Nice unexplained garbage can!

11. Trinity Garden Cartel, The Ghetto My Hood (1992)

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11. Trinity Garden Cartel, The Ghetto My Hood (1992)

And the award for Worst Use of Aspect Ratio goes to...

10. Sexx Fiends, Let's Get Butt Naked (1994)

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10. Sexx Fiends, Let's Get Butt Naked (1994)

1) Is that Greg Nice? 2) LOLTACOMEATZ 3) Is that a padded ass insert, or just a studded leather bra? 4) Does it matter? Does it really matter? We just died. Somebody alert the authorities.

9. Criminal Elament, Hit 'Em Where It Hurt (1994)

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9. Criminal Elament, Hit 'Em Where It Hurt (1994)

You may have noticed that P&P loves being literal, so we'd totally expect a dude getting kicked in the nutsack on the cover of an album called Hit 'Em Where It Hurt. We certainly didn't expect a demon dog riding a train while a racehorse flies out of its ass. Though, to be fair, that probably hurts too.

8. Da Crime Family, Da Crime Family Compilation (1998)

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8. Da Crime Family, Da Crime Family Compilation (1998)

Raekwon once claimed he'd put our nuts on the dresser and bang them shits with a spiked bat, but Da Crime Family has higher aspirations. They plan to use a spiked bat to club a whole bunch of little people. While they're dressed as butlers. And while...wait for it...BUILDINGS EXPLODE.

7. M.C. Spud, Gettin Blowed (1997)

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7. M.C. Spud, Gettin Blowed (1997)

Two lessons to be learned here. One, don't take a picture of you sitting next to your mans and call it "Gettin Blowed." Two, never schedule a photoshoot on a giant's face during the filming of a razor commercial. ...what? Oh, those are JOINTS.

6. E.S.G., Sailin' da South (1995)

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6. E.S.G., Sailin' da South (1995)

A supposedly fun thing we'll never do: Take our drop-top Cadillac on a Caribbean cruise.

5. Murder Inc., Playin For Keeps (1995)

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5. Murder Inc., Playin For Keeps (1995)

In case you were wondering, this is what Halloween props from K-Mart look like.

4. Smoked Outt, Bussen Heads & Gettin' Paid (1999)

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4. Smoked Outt, Bussen Heads & Gettin' Paid (1999)

Or, as you may know it, "the poster for the movie The Devil Wears Weightlifting Gloves."

3. Born 2wice, U Have the Right 2 Remain Violent (1993)

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3. Born 2wice, U Have the Right 2 Remain Violent (1993)

Can't a brother make a rap album without catching a beatdown by a random thug, a dude pointing really hard, the police, and the KKK while on the surface of Mars?

2. CMP, Da' Game (1998)

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2. CMP, Da' Game (1998)

Why did CMP choose to replace their heads with heads of dogs on the cover of their album? Probably to distract you from the white dude dressed as a maid in the background. Pause to infinity.

1. Big Bear, Doin Thangs (1998)

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1. Big Bear, Doin Thangs (1998)

P&P flawlessly integrates their aesthetic with an ursine theme. The shrewd subversion of conventional wealth signifiers in favor of nuts and berries—a bear's precious resources—provides a stunning undercurrent of neo-Marxist subtext that calls into question the very nature of truth itself. Is this Pen & Pixel's best cover? Do bears shit in the woods rock shades and smoke cigars? Hell motherfucking yes!

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