Jay-Z – 4:44

The album art for 4:44 is the work of designer Brian Roettinger and art director Willo Perron—the duo behind the creative for 2013’s “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” which resulted in Roettinger’s second Grammy nomination. The solution here is close in spirit, but further stripped down. It lacks the photography and embellishments of MCHG and his No Age cover.

There’s an unexpected typeface: Radim Peško’s Larish Neue, an offshoot of his 2006 Plinius revival developed for the Secession art space in Vienna. And this sits on an unexpected background: a soft color between sand and peach that seems worlds away from the dour, macho palettes of most rap design.