Behind the Covers

censored

4 cover stories in our archive

Behind the Covers' archive includes 4 album covers documented under the "censored" design theme, spanning the 1970s, 2010s, 2020s. These covers sit within the country, r&b, electronic, alternative, rock, hip-hop, pop tradition and feature work by Morgan Wallen, The Weeknd, Pink Floyd, Kanye West. Each entry below includes the cover artwork, the designers and photographers behind it, and a short story about the visual choices that defined the release.

I'm the Problem by Morgan Wallen — album cover art

I'm the Problem by Morgan Wallen (2025)

Sitting in his lawyer's office on the way to court, Morgan Wallen glanced at the old courtroom sketches on the wall and something clicked. The cover of I'm the Problem turns that legal chapter into art: a profile drawn in the very style that captures defendants, not pop stars.

Label
Big Loud / Republic / Mercury
Genre
Country
Decade
2020s
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After Hours by The Weeknd — album cover art

After Hours by The Weeknd (2020)

A bloodied, grinning face tilts toward the light on the cover of The Weeknd's After Hours. Shot by Anton Tammi against a sickly red glow, it borrows its title from a 1985 film and its menace from cinema. What looks like a portrait is really a confession.

Label
XO and Republic Records
Photographer
Anton Tammi
Genre
R&B, Electronic, Alternative
Decade
2020s
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Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd — album cover art

Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd (1975)

Two businessmen shake hands on a sun-baked studio backlot, and one of them is on fire. Pink Floyd asked Storm Thorgerson how to picture people who hide their true feelings, and he answered: 'Set a man on fire.' A real stuntman, fifteen takes, and a singed moustache later, here's the result.

Label
Harvest Records (UK) / Columbia Records (US)
Designer
Storm Thorgerson
Photographer
Aubrey Powell
Genre
Rock
Decade
1970s
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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West — album cover art

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West (2010)

A blazing red square hides a secret behind a wall of pixels: George Condo's phoenix painting, deliberately built by Kanye West to get banned. The story of how a nude monster with a polka-dot tail and no arms sparked a retail war and a Nirvana comparison.

Label
Def Jam Recordings / Roc-A-Fella Records
Designer
George Condo
Genre
Hip-Hop, Pop
Decade
2010s
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