Section.80

The cover of Section.80 is a dim, cluttered scene from the Compton of Kendrick Lamar's youth. Among the objects in the frame are a Bible, a gun clip, pills and money, the furniture of a life lived between temptation and faith. It was photographed by Dave Free, Kendrick's childhood friend and later his creative partner at pgLang, and designed by Hassana Lynne. Top Dawg Entertainment unveiled the artwork on 29 June 2011, three days before the album's release.

Kendrick explained the image to iTunes in 2012 as a picture of the "taboos of the world." The objects work like a still life with a moral: scripture next to ammunition, medicine next to cash, the choices a young person in the city is offered every day. The album's title refers to Section 8 housing and to the generation born in the 1980s, the children of the crack era, and the cover gives that generation's surroundings a physical form. It is a home-made image in the best sense, shot by a friend who knew the world it showed.

Section.80 was released independently and sold mainly through iTunes, yet it put Kendrick on the path to Good Kid, M.A.A.D City a year later. The partnership with Dave Free continued through every major release that followed. Section.80 was released on 2 July 2011.