3 album covers in our archive
Jay-Z is featured in Behind the Covers' archive with 3 album covers spanning the 2000s and 1990s. Released across Roc-A-Fella Records / Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records labels, the artwork sits in the hip-hop tradition. Each cover is documented in our archive with design notes covering photography, minimalist, portrait, iconic, controversial, portrait photography. Below you'll find the full story behind each Jay-Z cover — designers, photographers, label history, and the visual choices that defined the release.
The photograph hiding behind Jay-Z's iconic Black Album cover was actually taken two years earlier for The Blueprint, showing the rapper in a New York Jets jersey before being heavily edited into the ghostly, fading-to-black image that became one of hip-hop's most recognizable covers.
Jonathan Mannion's stark black-and-white portrait of a young Jay-Z became hip-hop's most iconic debut cover, shot in a single session that would define rap album photography for decades to come.
Jay-Z's Blueprint cover features a minimalist architectural drawing that became one of hip-hop's most iconic designs. The stark blue-on-white technical diagram perfectly matched the album's title while establishing a new standard for sophisticated rap album artwork.
