The 50 Greatest Rap Logos
From Dipset's eagle to the Wu-Tang "W," Chairman Mao counts down the most iconic brand stamps in hip-hop history.
Image via Complex Original
NEWLEADRAP
The great rap logos from the history of hip hop acted as cultural co-signs, and for every great rapper and label there is a memorable stamp of approval. A lot of the great ones were designed in the art departments of the labels by a few notable designers, who at the time probably didn’t know that they were penning what would become cultural iconography. Sometimes, the logos went beyond the group or the label itself, marks like the Wu-Tang “W” and Tommy Boy logo had moments where the image itself stood on its own. We had hip hop historian (and ego trip editor) Chairman Mao count down the greatest rap logos of all time, click on to see what made the cut.
Rawkus
#50. Rawkus Records
Rawkus marketed and promoted itself so incredibly well in the late-’90s that its razorblade logo became a ubiquitous presence. Ingenious for assigning itself a literally edgy symbol, catalyzing then-swelling purist hip-hop populism.
Dead Prez
#49. Dead Prez
This politically charged duo’s logo merges visuals from wholly disparate sources for maximum revolutionary effect. The classic typewriter font in which the group’s name appears suggests old school institutional oppression, the sort of typeface you imagine COINTELPRO reports being filed in. The shih hexagram symbol of the I-Ching sandwiched in between represents “army” and the need for perseverance. Yup, way bigger than hip-hop.
Octopus Breaks
#48. Octopus Breaks
The precursor to the Ultimate Breaks and Beats series, the Octopus Breaks break-beat compilations featured one of the greatest logos in original school history: a mix-master squid ripping it up on two turntables, its tentacles simultaneously cueing, cutting, and catching wreck. The Octopus’ garden has never been the same since.
Diplomats
#47. Diplomats
Granted the Dipset logo is essentially a derivative of a derivative, being conspicuously similar to the co-opted presidential seal of All-American punk pioneers The Ramones (as a 2006 Reason-designed t-shirt fusing both memorably demonstrated). Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Marky may be forever. But for a whole generation of young’uns Cam, Jimmy, Juelz, and Freaky own this imagery.
Ice Cube
#46. Ice Cube
Debuting on Cube’s Death Certificate LP cover, this black and white logo cleverly modeled its design after the hospital ICU machine used to monitor a patient’s vital signs. Dead serious.
Ruthless
#45. Ruthless Records
Eazy-E’s pioneering West Coast indie label brandished a logo worthy of its iconoclastic gangsta ways. Grimy, mismatched letters incongruously grafted onto a staff, you won’t find any of these notes in traditional sheet music, only shit-starting music.
Hypnotize Minds
#44. Hypnotize Minds
Great logos sometimes adhere to their own special internal logic. Case in point, Three 6 Mafia’s label’s art – which doesn’t just feature the ominous specter of the Grim Reaper, but the Grim Reaper hypnotizing you with a pocket watch dangling on a chain (time shown: past midnight – party’s over). On the one hand, seems like kind of an inefficient use of the Reaper’s energy, no? In theory he could drag you to Hell and possess your soul for eternity just on GP, yet here is trying parlor tricks to try to get you to sleepwalk there. On the other hand…how cool does that shit look!
DILATEDNEW
#43. Dilated Peoples
Created by Brent Rollins for Dilated Peoples’ scrapped early ’90s Sony/Immortal debut LP, this illustrated stick figure (later dubbed the “Expanding Man”) is an instantly recognizable representation of the L.A. trio’s hip-hop ethos: simple and back to basics yet with a literal eye towards elevation.
SOUL
#42. S.O.U.L.
When it was announced in 1990 that the Bomb Squad’s Hank Shocklee and Def Jam’s Bill Stephney were forming their own imprint in partnership with MCA called S.O.U.L., a/k/a Sound of Urban Listeners, it felt like the start of great things. The label may not have made the impact industry watchers anticipated, but its classily-designed logo remains one of the coolest hip-hop has ever seen. It was a visual encapsulation of S.O.U.L.’s ambition to be as urbane as it was urban.
FEVERNEW
#41. Fever
Stuff like this makes it hard not to romanticize the old school aesthetics. Everything here works: the thermometer as the letter “F” in “Fever,” the heat ripples coming off the logo, the clever catch phrase “… Catch It!” All cures for the graphic blahs.
PETEROCK
#40. Pete Rock/Soul Brother Records
Circa 1996 Pete Rock imagined the insignia for his Soul Brother Records (then riding with Elektra) as a photo of his face (a la James Brown during his Polydor tenure). What memorably wound up becoming the logo for both the label and “The Soul Brother’s” solo recordings is the cool afro-ed dude with the afro-pick now omnipresent with all things Rock-related. Unlike so many “funky” and “retro” designs that degenerate into camp, this one stays classy.
BEATNUTS
#39. Beatnuts
Musically, the Beatnuts put their dusty-fingered crate-digging skills to great use – creating finely crafted tracks from jazz and soul samples… and kicking wickedly witty rhymes about raising hell over them. The group’s logo actually follows a similar model. It’s an arrow swipe visually sampled from jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley’s 1965 Blue Note LP The Turnaround, altered just enough to resemble a pitch-forked devil’s tail. Follow as it points you in the proper direction to fuck, drink beer and smoke some shit.
NERVOUSWRECK
#38. Nervous Wreck
You’d be a wreck too if you saw someone bucking at you with Nervous Records’ rap division logo: a hip-hop head (literally) as an uzi sending hot slugs every which way out its turned back cap. One of the best and most violent of violent ’90s hip-hop logos.
SICKWIDIT
#37. Sick Wid It
Nothing says “I Love the Dough” like the image of a pig nuzzling its snout in a bushel full of dollar bills. If there’s a cure for this swine flu E-40’s longtime label’s logo doesn’t want it.
DUCKDOWN
#36. Duck Down
Not as obviously gun happy as the Nervous Wreck label design that adorned Black Moon and Smif-N-Wessun’s early releases, Duck Down nonetheless perversely features a little dude hot-stepping it out the way of a looming crosshair scope. Let’s hope it’s just a friendly game of paintball.
NWANEW
#35. N.W.A.
N.W.A.’s logo is a font (Mistral) and maybe not even the most unique one on its own. But put any three initials together using it, and it’s automatically evocative of the World’s Most Dangerous Group.
STRONGCITYNEW
#34. Strong City
Jazzy Jay’s late ’80s indie imprint sported a logo (created by Eric Orr) that’s as Golden Era as it gets: a dude with a high-top fade rocking shades flexing his exaggerated bicep with one arm and gripping a boom-box with his free hand. Wholly evocative of its time.
FRESH
#33. Fresh
The more openly hip-hop affiliate of Sleeping Bag Records, Fresh sported a stupendously self-descriptive logo that partially utilized shades in opposition of one another to create an x-ray like negative-image effect. Another almost sci-fi component: the hand print image brandishing catalog number info, and/or “X” and “Y” per vinyl side (as opposed to “A” and “B”). Fresh was the word indeed.
FONDLEEM
#32. Fondle ’Em
Rawkus may have been the best self-marketed of ’90s New York independent underground labels. But Bobbito Garcia’s Fondle ’Em didn’t try nearly as hard (if it tried at all), and thus wound up being way cooler. For proof of FE’s hilariously laid-back steez look no further than its original classic logo: a hand suggestively cradling the heads of two mics strategically laid to resemble a balls sack. They must be nuts.
BADBOY
#31. Bad Boy Records
Bad Boy Records’ logo is bad-great. Not in the traditional bad-meaning-good way, or even the so-bad-it’s-good-way, but the bad-meaning-bad-but-hip-hop-good way: a bratty tyke with his cap turned sideways pumps his fist as he appears poised to Timbaland-up your ass. Obnoxious, aggressive, and undeniably classic.
LUKE
#30. Luke Skyywalker/Luke Records
2 live to be subject to gravity, the Luke Skyywalker Records logo featured a pair of legs cloud climbing like they’re intoxicated off the altitude. Bass was the place. Unfortunately, brand-wise the sky wasn’t the limit for Luther Campbell and company when George Lucas filed suit to have the label cease use of “Skyywalker” as part of its name. In their next chapter repping Luke Records, thankfully, the legs stayed intact.
DeathRow
#29. Death Row Records
Predictably morbid but effectively so, the Death Row logo is an illustration of an undisclosed figure at its execution by electric chair – usually in Blood red. The kind of logo that basically screams, NOT TO BE FUCKED WIT’.
zulunation
#28. Zulu Nation
Afrika Bambaataa’s Zulu Nation was founded on the tenets of peace, unity, love and having fun. Its face logo – beautifully simple and circular – evokes the international organization’s original Pan African inspiration while remaining universally inviting. What’s the name of this nation? Zulu.
BDPNEW
#27. BDP
Just three upper case letters encased in an oval, the BDP logo was low-key enough to not offend humanist goodie-too-shoes types interested in stopping the violence, and cryptically official-looking enough to get the adrenalin pumping in case you needed to spontaneously throw a rather large pop rapper off of a club stage for no good reason.
Outkast
#26. OutKast
From the outset, OutKast’s name proudly presented the group as purveyors of an atypical hip-hop aesthetic. But Dre and Big Boi’s bold, crowned insignia also prophetically proclaimed the duo the new Kings (capital ‘K’) of the South. Regal, flashy, classic.
JUMPPUNMAN
#25. Big Pun
Big Pun is weightless as he scales the sky in his logo’s homage to Michael Jordan’s Nike Air silhouette. Worth its girth in laughs.
Mantronix
#24. Mantronix
It’s simply a font (Computer, created in 1970). But this duo’s original logo perfectly captures the frenetic tape edit futurism and 808-end theories of Kurtis Mantronik’s production style, on whose rhythmic back memorable episodes of Hacienda-era acid house, and virtually all of NOLA bounce music would eventually be built.
ColdChillin
#23. Cold Chillin’ Records
Classic curved cursive letters and red, white n’ blue color combo. Perfectly exudes Golden Era cool. Created by Eric Haze. His name is all over this list.
Naughty by Nature
#22. Naughty By Nature
The best Naughty songs sounded like celebratory, catchy fun for the whole family even if the trio’s subject matter was decidedly grown-up. Treach, Vin Rock and Kay Gee’s hand-drawn style logo represents that dichotomy pretty accurately: sidewalk chalk-ish lower-case lettering punctuated by a baseball bat primed for either the playground, or assaulting an unguarded grill.
CYPRESSHILLNEW
#21. Cypress Hill
Cypress were hugely important in crossing over hip-hop not to a pop audience so much as the flannel rocking, outdoor rock festival-attending set. No surprise then that the trio’s groundbreaking skull and arrowhead logo was probably more head banger than “Head Banger.”
LENCHMOBNEW
#20. Lench Mob Records
The logo for Ice Cube’s Lench Mob Records – a faceless, angry crowd wielding various pieces of weaponry – turned the tables on the concept of mob rule in the glory days of the gangsta rap era. “Lynching any sucker in a minute” - no longer just a pastime for prejudiced white folks.
House of Pain
#19. House of Pain
Irish eyes were smiling on HoP’s Danny Boy and Rick Klotz (of streetwear line Freshjive) when they created House of Pain’s clever clover emblazoned logo. Official as a national seal, it celebrates the Emerald Isle in its colors and playfully references hard hip-hop living via its slogan (“Fine Malt Lyrics”).
Beastie Boys
#18. Beastie Boys
The Beasties have enjoyed several great logos over the years. But the group’s first is still its finest and most recognizable: a Haze-created harmonious convergence of differing heights, widths and fonts that can’t help but stray outside the box (much like the group itself for much of its career).
NEWKMD
#17. KMD
With an emphasis on quirky production and playful song concepts KMD were the least overtly militant members of hip-hop’s early ’90s Five Percent rap pack. Even the group’s classic anti-Sambo symbol came off less like a confrontational political statement than a lampoon of antiquated prejudices. Ironic then that the crew’s career would be derailed by an art controversy: the cover to 1994’s cynical sophomore LP Black Bastards featured an illustration by crew leader Zev Love X of the same Sambo character being lynched, imagery apparently touchy enough to eventually cause KMD to lose its deal with Elektra Records. Years later Zev would merge art and life more explicitly under his new identity, the masked “Super Villain” M.F. Doom.
GangStarr
#16. Gang Starr
Guru and Premier’s chain-and-star symbol is like the union label of hip-hop: a sign of quality, durability, and blue-collar pride and craftsmanship.
emm
#15. Eminem
Never has one backwards “E” so surreptitiously represented so much – the tip off that all is not right in Marshall Mathers’ rap world.
Nas
#14. Nas
By Illmatic, you could argue Nas had already largely matured past the “I went to Hell for snuffin’ Jesus”/“I’m waving automatic guns and nuns” Christian-baiting compulsions of his Nasty early appearances. Nonetheless, his rep as a lyrical hellion remains – as is evidenced by the heavy metal-style “Nas” that’s on virtually every one of his releases. Lyrically, he’s God’s son. Graphically, Goth’s son.
SUGARHILLNEW
#13. Sugar Hill
32 years after “Rapper’s Delight”, the Sugar Hill striped candy cane remains one of the most recognizable label logos in all of hip-hop history: Festive, celebratory, and proudly city-centric.
No Limit
#12. No Limit Records
The No Limit tank – blinding in its bling-ified form – is the embodiment of ignant rap excess. It’s everything everyone criticizes rap for being – loud, ugly, materialistic, violent – conveniently condensed into one logo. Naturally, it’s one of the greatest of all time.
Delicious
#11. Delicious Vinyl
Early on, this L.A.-based label cornered the market on catchy rap singles – enjoying smashes by Tone-Loc and Young MC that weren’t outright popcorn, but undeniably pop savvy and addictive. Eric Haze’s classic logo for Delicious Vinyl – a happy camper cheerily chomping on a piece of wax – is completely in line with that playful creative spirit. Yum.
Jeezy
#10. Young Jeezy
The most twisted rap artist logo in history? Young Jeezy’s menacing snowman was the essential (and most rampantly booted) hip-hop t-shirt design of fall 2005 – the traditional winter wonderland mascot repurposed to rep an entirely different type of white out condition. The lesson: forget selling drugs; marketing is the most amoral profession of all.
Tommy Boy
#9. Tommy Boy Records
Another classic Eric Haze design: a trio of b-boy silhouettes in various stages of up-rocking/head-spinning, with the label name placed above. Fun and timeless. Though already famed from the ’80s, the insignia blew up even more circa 1990 when a shrewd cross-promotional campaign placed a limited edition of Tommy Boy logo-embroidered Carhartt coats on the backs of tastemakers and other highly visible VIPs.
Onyx
#8. Onyx
This hostile hip-hop takeover of the traditional happy face is pure genius. Not only does it capture Onyx’s musical aggression in all its cartoon-ish glory, it conveniently approximates the quartet’s crazy baldhead look (leading one to wonder which came first – the insignia or the image). It also proved versatile enough to be a grimy replacement for a heart in the group’s 1995 “I (Onyx screwface) NY” promo sticker campaign. Word up, raise it up.
TribeCalledQuest
#7. A Tribe Called Quest
One time Beastie Boys sidekick, the late Dave Scilken designed A Tribe Called Quest’s enduring stick figure logo while an assistant art director at Jive Records. Brilliantly sums up the group’s M.O. as people on a path with a purpose.
Hieroglyphics
#6. Hieroglyphics
You can drop all the third eye lyrical science you want. At the end of the day this Oaktown crew’s unforgettably simple triple optic visionary symbol – created by Del tha Funkee Homosapien – trumps all verbiage (kind of ironic given Hiero members’ rep for freestyling). The ubiquitous face has appeared everywhere from fan tattoos to Kevin Smith’s indie film favorite Clerks.
EPMD
#5. EPMD
From the beginning, “Erick and Parrish Making Dollars” seemed less an aspirational acronym than an inevitable outcome. Besides, of course, the duo’s icy cool on the mic and beats, E Double and Mic Doc enjoyed an insignia built for success in Eric Haze’s iconic block lettered logo. All businessmen should possess such instant brand name recognition.
RUN DMC
#4. Run-DMC
You can self proclaim your royalty – like, say, OutKast did with its crowned logo – or you can just rule by virtue of the weight your name carries. Run-DMC were such burgeoning superstars by the time they were ready to drop Raising Hell in 1986 that the group’s then new, now definitive logo needed exactly zero extra bells and whistles to properly announce its status – just those large white letters on black background and red lines to under/over-score the point. No wonder t-shirt knock-offs touting everyone from Mos Def to a newly elected POTUS Barack Obama in 2008 have revisited its design in the years since.
Def Jam
#3. Def Jam Records
The interlocking “D” and “J” logo was created by Def Jam Records founder Rick Rubin and initially appeared on the self-released EP for his early ’80s rock band Hose. Rubin added the tone arm design to the cover art of T La Rock’s 1984 “It’s Yours” 12” single – and thus an iconic logo was born. Or should we say, “The Logo,” as it’s been famously referred to in the years since (largely by Def Jam employees who’ve pledged their allegiance to it and have been known to go to great lengths to preserve its health and well being). During the label’s ground-breaking ’80s run, nothing symbolized hip-hop’s burgeoning creative and commercial explosion like the Def Jam logo, whether in its early silver-on-maroon incarnation or Golden Era Raiders-like silver on black. It was so cool that Run-DMC were actually occasionally photographed rocking Def Jam jackets back in the day despite the fact that the group recorded for Profile. Back then, to paraphrase Chuck D, Def Jam didn’t just tell you who you were, it told you who and where you wanted to be.
Wu Tang
#2. Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang “W” isn’t just the most iconic hip-hop artist logo of the past twenty-years it’s also proven to be the most alphabetically versatile. Depending on the Wu swordsman for whom it requires use, we’ve seen the W take turns as a “G” for GZA, an “M” for Method Man, an “M” and “K” for Masta Killa, an admittedly rather awkward “INS” and “E” for Inspectah Deck, even a “U” for U-God. Yes, even U-God gets his own specialized version of the Wu-Tang symbol. If that’s not what you call a logo that goes above and beyond the call of duty we don’t know what is.
Public Enemy
#1. Public Enemy
Created by Public Enemy front man Chuck D – who graduated Strong Island’s Adelphi University with a degree in graphic design – the P.E. logo is one of the most powerful images not just in hip-hop but in all of popular music history. Its b-boy caught in crosshairs an indelible symbol of America’s continued combat on Black youth. What some fans may not realize is that the silhouetted figure under fire is an actual person – former LL Cool J sidekick Damien Earl “E-Love” Matthias, apparently based on a photo from a magazine. As a visual representation of P.E.’s raison d’etre Mistachuck’s design still weighs a ton. Nothing before or since can match its impact, making Public Enemy still #1.