4 album covers in our archive
OutKast is featured in Behind the Covers' archive with 4 album covers spanning the 2000s and 1990s. Released across LaFace Records, the artwork sits in the hip-hop, r&b, funk tradition. Each cover is documented in our archive with design notes covering split design, dual concept, fashion photography, hip hop culture, color contrast, digital manipulation. Below you'll find the full story behind each OutKast cover — designers, photographers, label history, and the visual choices that defined the release.
Cover evolution
OutKast's double album featured a revolutionary split cover design that literally divided the CD booklet in half, with Big Boi's gritty street aesthetic on one side and Andre 3000's colorful, eccentric fashion-forward imagery on the other, perfectly visualizing their artistic divergence.
OutKast's Stankonia cover transforms Big Boi and André 3000 into otherworldly beings through extreme digital manipulation, creating one of hip-hop's most surreal and futuristic album covers that perfectly matched their genre-defying musical experimentation.
A phone call relayed André 3000's request to a Columbus painter, who got two or three days to turn OutKast's music into a 1970s funk fantasy. The result, with its hovering mothership and gold Egyptian medallion, reached millions and became one of the most celebrated Black album covers in hip hop.
OutKast's groundbreaking sophomore album cover transformed the duo into literal aliens landing in Atlanta's skyline, visualizing their concept of being outsiders in both hip-hop and their hometown. The stark sci-fi imagery marked a bold departure from typical rap album covers of the era.
