Behind the Covers

Kendrick Lamar

5 album covers in our archive

Kendrick Lamar is featured in Behind the Covers' archive with 5 album covers spanning the 2020s and 2010s. Released across PGLang/Interscope Records, Top Dawg Entertainment and Top Dawg Entertainment / Aftermath Entertainment / Interscope Records labels, the artwork sits in the hip-hop, jazz, funk, rock tradition. Each cover is documented in our archive with design notes covering photography, minimalist, portrait, iconic, polaroid, intimate. Below you'll find the full story behind each Kendrick Lamar cover — designers, photographers, label history, and the visual choices that defined the release.

GNX by Kendrick Lamar — album cover art

GNX (2024)

Photographed by Dave Free with lighting direction by Eduardo Silva, the stark black-and-white cover shows Kendrick posed with his 1987 Buick Grand National Experimental. The minimalist composition reflects pgLang's creative direction, connecting Lamar's birth year to automotive legacy.

Label
PGLang/Interscope Records
Photographer
Dave Free with lighting direction by Eduardo Silva, the stark black-and-white cover shows Kendrick posed with his 1987 Buick Grand National Experimental
Genre
Hip-Hop
Decade
2020s
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DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar — album cover art

DAMN. (2017)

Shot in a single afternoon in Compton, this deceptively simple Polaroid-style cover became one of hip-hop's most powerful statements on Black masculinity and vulnerability. The raw intimacy of Kendrick's expression contrasts sharply with typical rap album imagery.

Label
Top Dawg Entertainment
Designer
Dave Free
Photographer
Vlad Sepetov
Genre
Hip-Hop
Decade
2010s
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To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar — album cover art

To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)

A black-and-white house party erupts on the White House lawn, dollar bills fanned in fists, a baby cradled in the crowd, and a dead judge sprawled at everyone's feet. Kendrick Lamar's 2015 photograph turned the seat of American power into a stage for the kids he grew up with in Compton.

Label
Top Dawg Entertainment / Aftermath Entertainment / Interscope Records
Designer
Vlad Sepetov
Photographer
Denis Rouvre
Genre
Hip-Hop, Jazz, Funk
Decade
2010s
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