Everyone is talking about the “The Purple Tape“, but who’s talking about “The Purple Album” ?

No one.

Why?

Because it doesn’t really exist. There is not one particular album that could be donned “The Purple Album” (however Rae’s OB4CL1 + OB4CL2 have been released on purple vinyl). However, there are many that come to mind that have rocked out in amethyst album artwork. Let’s explore.

Throughout history, Hip Hop has embraced color phases. We had the red, black, and green era of Public Enemy and X-Clan in the late 80s/early 90s. Some years later Cam’ron had “all of New York wearing Pink.”

Today Hip Hop  is completely fascinated by the color purple (no Oprah).  From purple drank to purple weed, rap culture is a completely frenzied with the lavender lifestyle. So with purple on the brain, let’s take a list of the ten best purple-tinted album covers in Hip Hop.

 

Run DMC  - Raising Hell
Year: 1986
Label: Profile/Arista
Purple Pedigree: One of the classics of the first-second generation old school. This album merged Rap and Rock & Roll back when no one would’ve thought to attempt it. Thanks Russell and Rick. The purple and green colorway was a bold statement at the time of it’s release and still would put any instagram filter to shame.

 

Big Daddy Kane – Long Live The Kane
Year: 1988
Label: Cold Chillin’/Warner Bros.
Purple Pedigree:  The debut album by everyone’s favorite mack. Kane’s style, whether hard of soft, smooth and rough, set the standard on how to balance the act of murdering emcees and pleasing the ladies.  Purple, a sign commonly used to symbolized royalty, is draped in the background of the Kane’s thrown. Long Live The Kane!

 

Funkdoobiest – Which Doobie U B?
Year: 1993
Label: Immortal/SME Records/Epic
Purple Pedigree:  If Hip Hop had a porn-core posterchild, this album cover would be it. Illustrated by Detroit’s Glenn Bar, the Funkdoobs were easily one of the first group to combine sex, funk, and rugged rhymes. This album mainly produced by DJ Muggs gave them their signature west coast sound and set a defining line between them and Cypress Hill.

 

Digable Planets – Blowout Comb
Year: 1994
Label: Pendulum/EMI
Purple Pedigree: In many aspects this album pioneered the shift in focus towards an era of smooth jazz infused hip hop. All the production was handled by Butterfly himself. The album’s featured track, ‘Rebirth of Slick’ showed everyone how to be “cool like that”, and what’s cooler than the album cover’s lavender color-scheme?

 

Company Flow –  Funcrusher Plus
Year: 1997
Label: Rawkus
Purple Pedigree: Co Flow had a knack for choosing sounds and effects that normally wouldn’t go together and making them work in harmony. Their debut full length, “Funcrusher” , as some people call it, was, and still is an underground classic. One of the earliest full lengths on Rawkus, El-P and Big Jus’ subject matter touched on everything from weak rappers, buffed subway trains, and even the time/space continium. The artwork for the album was designed by artist, Matt Doo (R.I.P.)

 

Outkast – Aquemini
Year: 1998
Label: LaFace/Arista
Purple Pedigree: The album’s title, Aquemini, derives from a mixture  of Big Boi (Aquarius) and Andre’s (Gemini) zodiac signs. The third studio album from the duo out of East Point, Georgia, features one of my favorite joints from their catalog, “Da Art Of Storytellin’ feat. Slick Rick. If you threw, Iron Butterfly, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Sly and The Family Stone and The Jungle Brothers in a blender and pulsed it on smoothie mode for an hour, this is what you would get.

 

Eminem – Slim Shady LP
Year: 1999
Label: Aftermath/Interscope
Purple Pedigree: This was music industry’s version of The Great White Hype. This LP gave all the angry whiteboys across America a reason to live. With the guidence and some production from Dr. Dre, this was easily a game changer. Focusing more on lyrics and conceptual ideas The Slim Shady introduced us the who the ‘real’ slim shady was way before he even recorded that song.

Kanye West- Graduation
Year: 2007
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Purple Pedigree: As Kanye gained popularity within mainstream rap, he took every opportunity on this album to take a look in the mirror and reflect on his life and newfound fame. The result was 51 minutes of music that even 50 Cent couldn’t front on at the time. Defeating 50 in the “07 Soundscan Wars” looking back this was the record that could’ve caused Curtis to hang it up. The album’s artwork, designed by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, portrayed an anime version of Kanye’s  mascot and trademark, Dropout Bear.

 

Raekwon OB4CL2
Year: 2009
Label: Ice H20/EMI Records
Purple Pedigree: This list wouldn’t be complete without include Rae’s follow up to OB4CL. Understanding the power of the purple, Rae tinted the cover of sequel with that lavish, lavender filter.  The second segment in the Cuban Linx series was well received by all the hip hop media outlets. Although it wasn’t as good as the original, OB4CL2 was close enough, and didn’t miss the mark when we talk about real hip hop.

 

 

Currensy – Pilot Talk 2
Year: 2010
Label: Roc-a-Fella/DD172/Def Jam
Purple Pedigree: Currensy has gained momentium in these past few years hopping on a variety of different projects. Spitta’s fourth studio
album (second on a major) helped Dame Dash and Def Jam capture sales from consumers that normally wouldnt be interested. He knows how to pick beats and what to put over them. I’m sure we will be seeing more great collaborations to come.

++

(EDITOR’S NOTE: C’mon @UpNorthTrips – How could you leave off the greatest “Purple” album in the last 10 years:

sorry, had to do it! - editor)