On the last day of tweaking his sixth fifth album, Kanye posted the original artwork that’s been banned in the US. He also stated that he’ll be adding the voice samples (used in his VMA performance) to the album version of Runaway. Dope.
PREVIOUS: Kanye West – Take One For The Team f. Pusha T, CyHi Da Prynce & Keri Hilson | La Roux – In For The Kill (rmx) f. Kanye West [Dirty]
this nigga here….
good news for runaway
and this cover is good i like it
Doing too damn much!
fuckin dope
kanye swag too much gat damn
This gonna be the album cover on my ipod regardless lol
If anyone says this is a good cover for ANYTHING, they’re just huge fanatics of this man Kanye. This wouldn’t even be good for a pilot on Adult Swim.
i want that album cover shits SICKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
LOL wtf??? Kanye is one strange dude.
what the
LMAO
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA dude is going off the deep end
that is horrible..not art, just shock value…
get of Ye’s nuts
I dont mind him pushing the envelope, the art is just ugly
I’m a HUGE Kanye fan but this is horrible
lol. man, there’s a fine line between artistic and down right ridiculous. The only reason people are giving this a pass or saying that it’s SICK, AMAZING, DOPE and any other adjective you can think of is because it has Kanye’s stamp of approval on it. If ANY other artist were to use this for an album cover NOBODY would approve of it or compliment their choice.
By the way I’m labeling the album “Good Ass Job” in my iTunes.
The ban was a blessing cause that shit looks ridiculous. This album is becoming something I’m less interested in everyday. I hope there’s more Devil in a New Dress type joints and less Christian Dior Flow type shit.
co-sign Lex
I’m not checking for this album anymore..
Wow clowns..look at the title of the album, the artwork fits the title perfecttly. Stop suckin him, what else do you expect?
Lasers!!! March 8th!!!!
Cosign… Look at the name of the album then look at the cover…smh
Ok my girl been trying to convince me that Kanye’s a weirdo..I’ve been defending him but this shit right here ???? *face-palm*
I wonder what it is gonna look like now
thats not art? stfu nigga… smh.. anyway #teamwhitegirls WOOP!
hahaha this had me dyin!
I don’t get it!
terrible
this shit’s pretty funny but i don’t believe this was meant to be the real artwork
Ugly shit!
shock value is shock value, anything can be translated into the context of “Dark Twisted Fantasy”..wtf..this shit is hideous, Kanye aint paying yall, no need to defend
this shit is hideous. he’s tryin a lil too hard.
Uhh Ye..theres a difference between nudity and animals having sex on a cover lmao like i get the phoenix theme hes been having and how the media viewed him as a monster but that shit right there is disgusting lmfao. If hes gonna have artistic nudity at least have it look cooler or some shit lol. Plus if i bought this CD with this cover and my momma saw it shed kick my ass outt lmao
i saw this on twitter lmao kanye is crazy..he’s giving white people something to talk about smh..they already dislike dude for the swift incident
not really feeling the album title or this artwork.
at least 1/2 was banned lol.
love the music though.
Great album cover, great concept, once again transcending hip hop’s limited barriers. It doesn’t surprise me for one second that America’s bloated corporate cancer has denied something it cannot easily market to the ignorant masses who would much rather see a 17 year old whore such as Miley Cyrus sex herself up live on stage to a nation of millions than a simple semi nude painting being stocked on a shelf.
Either way I’m sure what album cover is chosen in the the end will be a spectacular creation, despite how conformist it may have to be. They say true creativity comes from the truly confined after all.
kanye is not an artist at this point. hes just a fucking dumbass going for shock value. This cover is fucking awful. The album name is fucking awful. Kanye is a little fairy boy faggot I cant believe he still has so many dick riders. please someone just kill him so I don’t have to read about him on 2DB anymore
I thinks its strange…..
But dope.
come on yall dont remember the nirvana cd cover where tha naked baby is drowning in a pool chasin a dollar bill on a fishing line? this aint shit..its just symbolism
If Kanye would put a big black penis surrounded by small asian dicks you fags would call it art. Kanye needs to stick to making dope music and quit this artistic bullshit.
raise your hands those who have been to an art gallery and actually looked at the art.
i dont think i see any.
museums are full of artwork like this, and usually its not as easy as it looks.
ANYWAY,
the man IS crazy, but hes also not a RAP/HIP Hop SQUARE as much as every other mainstream rapper is. Hes just doing what hasen’t been done (in hip hop).
white people have been putting out stupid shocking covers for years (nirvana anyone)
get the fuck over it, rappers arent just sex god drug dealing super heros anymore.
hahaha this is horrible
This is something the Kanye West from South Park would try and do… not the real Kanye, or so I thought.
I personally think Kanye was joking…
I personally think Kanye was joking…
doclvly, please don’t try and defend this travesty that’s being labeled as “art” by saying white people do it. Is your ass sore yet from riding Ye’s dick?
point is, this is shit, no matter who made it, or who its for..
I can see how people would consider this “art” but it’s still not very appealing to the eyes.
LOL. Kanye is so fucked up.
Lol at the people defending this non-sense..I’m a Kanye fan too but c’mon son..this nigga got a crazy fetish for white girls too lol
im glad that wont be the cover, and the fact hes adding samples to runaway and that its longer can maybe make the song a lot better.
Cover is wack. Could be better….waayyyy better.
“Everything has been so commercialized now” Bahahahaha… YEA KANYE, INCLUDING THE GARBAGE YOU PASS OFF AS MUSIC!
This is a joke right… right?
it’s his beautiful dark twisted fantasy. quit complaining.
and besides that little bit about white people (Im black and I sure as shit know black artists), I agree with Dovlvly. This is stuff you would see in museums. Not saying it’s a Mona Lisa or anything.
would you fuckers rather it be his face looking off into Chicago?
If this is to flex his artistic freedom, which in turn makes awesome music, I’m down for it.
KANYE STANs
lmfao this cover owns. and i aint no kanye dickrider.
his swag too much for these fools, dope ass cover haha
the dude looks like a hairy monkey. what is this cover trying to depict?
*1st impression: Black people are apes that fuck ugly white women while drinking 40s.
this cover aint that ill. its pretty wack real tack. where da dropout bear at yo? havent seen him since graduation
co-sign 10dopeboyz i miss the college bear he was dope.i aint trippin off the album cover its the music i care about
The smile on these two characters is killing me hahahahahahaha
While the art itself isn’t too incredibly technical, it does have a layer of commentary few artist today would dare touch. It reflects on historical American stereotypes racists whites would act upon to spread fear and hate concerning their black brothers. It’s a reflection of today and Kanye saying “Fuck you!” It’s actually quite moving, intelligent, and beautiful from a slightly twisted perspective. One might be able to conclude Kanye feels American is quite racist
I mean the style of the art work is cool but its just the fact that the characters on the cover look like lil demons is what turns me off. Kanye is a devil worshiper foreal man.
Fail
Ain’t shit dope about this album artwork, smh watch kanye go rogue again. I blame the people around him for givin him the Julius Caesar treatment.
@James and @doclvly said it the best!
weird cover im guessing this album is gonna be darker i kinda miss when kanye was happy choppin them soulful tracks this album is gonna be interesting cant wait
The reason you closed-minded homos hate this shit is because you don’t know shit about art.
Look at Francisco Goya’s painting “Saturn Devours His Son” probably one of the best paintings ever created. Or Pablo Picasso’s painting’s that sell for millions.
Fugg it, kanye clearly has a theme for the album and when you think about it the cover ain’t so bad.
shit still sucks though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
^^ lol!
this nigga kanye lost it
Some of you just don’t get it! It’s sad how some of our best hip hop artists are clearly speaking to the fans who followed them from the beginning but the pop fans cant listen to the story the lyracist tells…on and off wax. Notice the choice of words.
What’s up Shake and Meka? This message is for you. I have sent you guys emails time and time again, and I’m sure you guys get tons of them so I understand. This is just to let you guys know that you should really check out Dom P music and listen to what Uptown NY really has to offer. REAL MUSIC. Not only hip hop, but much more. I won’t spam by posting sites, but I hope you guys can check him out. My email and website are linked here anyway so I wont need to post that stuff. Thanks for reading and thank you for this amazing site!
lyracist??
Don’t compare legitimate art to this stupid shit.
Dj Boy. shut up. i’ve seen your comment on like 4 different posts. STOP
he also said Runaway is 6mins
¯\_(ツ)_/¯<—–LMAO
@nick
Why? Is not some of the worlds most popular paintings also “stupid shit”?
Look at some of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s paintings and come back and tell me I can’t compare Kanye’s album cover with legitimate art.
mannn smh, dat nigga kanye lost in the world
he should use the artwork for Power. shit was awesome
@Dj Boy
I checked it out, I see yall bruh.
SOME SUBLINAL SATANIC RITUAL DESIGN FOR ALL THE IGNORANT STANS
°SUBLIMINAL
MemoryLane and the rest of his hippie friends aren’t welcomed at the dopehouse anymore
this is gonna be the cover on my itunes. eff y’all. seriously though, i believe this might be for shock factor..i don’t think this’d be legit..right?
artwork that belongs in the trash!
fuck the album cover….im concerned about the music….
kanye on some other shit. id take an artbyshake cover over that. if i want some abstract art, ill go um.. look at some abstract art. you a rapper kanye! okay okay.. a musician. but your last song was about taking the ugly girl so your friend can fuck the fine one. dont get too into yourself.
the fact his last song was about the ugly girl is proof he’s not to into himself.
That nigga crazy, i told you…
hahaha, kanye’s one strange mothafucka man…album should be hot tho
Forreal, the cover to Power was the best.
wow this art is retarted, and if you are a guy and are buying an album called my beautiful dark twisted fantasy you are a fag. good bye old kanye
He should have put taylor swift on the cover, that’s one cute dame
and here people go wit that iluminati bullshit… he is fuckin with yall head, ye is an asshole and i feel him, and a fyi this is art assholes, tastful art at its best, i mean go to a gallery showing, u will see shyt so called uglier than this, but i think it is beautiful…
Ye is the king of marketing… he knew damn well that album cover would stir up controversy.
To all the people saying Kanye’s a devil worshipper, remember thatthe nigga made Jesus Walks. And this is some art gallery shit. I ain’t trippin, I lmao’d at it, but the album will be fire.
What does the fact that an album cover or an album title enrages people say about the state of hip-hop?
Let me be clear about the art and album title: WHO GIVES A FUCK!!!!!!!!!!?
What does the art/title have to do with the tracks? Nothing. Are the songs going to be effected by the art. No.
By the way this post sounds, if Illmatic would have been named My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy the music would have been irreconcilable, and the CD’s would be used as coasters. That’s complete bullshit. Judge the album by the content, not the trivial art and possibly stupid title.
ROFL!!!
I don’t hate it, but at the same time I don’t think this would’ve done right as his album cover. I’m assuming that his album will be dark and dreamy (no homo), hence the title to his album. This cover, though??? Funny as hell. Hahaha!!! There isn’t nothing deep about this cover to me. You ‘Ye defenders can say all the philosophical bullsh** meaning behind the cover all you want, but you need to recognize that all people perceive art differently as well. This was purely comical to me. What is ‘Ye trying to say, that his “dark twisted fantasy” is f***ing with white devils (no racist)? Damn, try again Kanye, because sometimes you try too damn hard. LOL!!!!
What does the art/title have to do with the tracks? Nothing. Are the songs going to be effected by the art. No.
Hopfully A Voice of Reason said this on October 18th, 2010 at 1:14 am
^^^ Cover art in MUSIC period have everything to do with the tracks. There were numerous albums where people remember the cover art just as well as the music contained on the album. From Illmatic to ATLiens, a lot of album’s art also told the fan/consumer what to expect, theme-wise, content-wise, whatever. So *shrugs*…
talk about everything “being so commercial”….for real kanye right?
what happened to the bear?
Censored, not “commercialized” kanye. Smh
Don’t see the big deal. Was it REALLY banned?
lol its so kanye, swag album cover….in the end he decides so no one should hate. niga drop a cd this say something.
good shit just waiting for the tunes to drop.
ITS A FREAKIN ALBUM COVER.. BECAUSE ITS NOT THE USUALLY NORM YALL KNOCK IT?!! GET OVER IT YOU FAGGETS. SINCE WHEN HAS KANYE WEST EVER DONE ANYTHIN TO PLEASE THE CROWD. THE CROWD FOLLOWS YE BECAUSE OF THIS.
KANYE WEST IS A MUSICAL GENIUS (THATS A FACT)
kanye was definitely traumatized and i hate to make fun of someone thats disturbed its like making fun of rainman SMH
that “art” is second grade caliber.
“i mean this shit is… fucking ridiculus”
Classic!!!!!!!!! I am loving the ART!!!!
IT’S CALLED “MY DARK TWISTED FANTASY”!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??????
the U.S. sucks dick.
I know he’s tryna be all unique and outside the box…but that shit is just ugly lol.
Lol right! It’s called marketing. This cover was not remotely close to being a cover this his next cd.
Someone tell Kanye to stop making them kids draw his photos.
fuck ya’ll mothafuckaz. the cover is classic. back to history then u can find something like this.
lol at Kanye complaining about commercialization.
Shit sucks, and he looks like a crazy ass monkey on Eisenberg meth. Kid Cudi’s cover is killing this shit.
Mos Def The Ecstatic album cover is an example of art/thinking outside the box. I’m sure Kanye will find the right cover to express himself.
bear defaced to a great ape? lolz fuck the dumb
all of you niggas are idiots.. the cover is an visual manifestation of the title.. he is having a fantasy with a beautiful woman, but you see that she is also has wings and a tail which makes it twisted.. he is also drunk because there is a fucking bottle is his hand, you dumb fucks..
yeah these faggots
I’m kinda lost… this album was supposed to conclude the Dropout Bear story, and I was psyched for that. But now… this shit is about as far as you can get from that. I’m gettin kinda nervous… I’m sure the album will be dope, but I’m also sure the content matter will be more 808′s than anything else. I hope he proves me wrong tho…
actually who cares about a fuckin cover, album concept’s more important
IDK, its kinda cool IMO… def goes with the album title… but when he says “everything has been so commercialized now”, now shit man… so how do we change that???
Lol @ all these “deep thinkers” that regularly hit up art galleries over-analyzing the cover. I’ve been in art all my life and I am an alumni from SF academy of art and been to countless galleries and guess what? Most of the ‘art’ in there fucking sucks. People try to be too deep, and half the time its the gallery owners giving their starving artist friends a favor by displaying their shit. Art in galleries in no way connect to this cover. I’ve seen an 8-foot canvas completely unpainted with just an orange dot on it that artsy people hopped up on wine and crackers went gaga over. Its a fucking dot, stfu. Point being, this is a marketing move and a horrible cover all together. Also found it funny how you outside-the-box thinkers missed how the girl has fangs (bloodsucker) and a dalmation tail (she’s a dog) so the cover could also be seen as sexist, along with racist. But cause it ‘fits’ the title its good art? Smdh
^^^
This.
“OH I GET IT, YE’s TWISTED FANTASY IS TO GET DRUNK AND SLEEP WITH GOLD-DIGGING WHITE BITCHES! AND THE GIRL ON HIS LAP REPRESENTS AMERICA! HE’S FUCKING OVER AMERICA AND LAUGHING AT US! ZoMg IT’S GENIUS!”
Ummm, how about no? God I hate that shit. Cover is trash.
DOPE.
Yeah they had nude covers in the 70′s, but I don’t recall one have a black guy painted to look like the devil fucking a white woman.
Don’t think that would go over well back then, and probably not with today’s Walmart crowd.
But hey, he showed us, we saw it and are talking about it, and the words ‘Kanye’ are on our tounges once again today leading up to the release date. Mission accomplished – it’s all viral marketing folks.
If anything Kanye’s insulting his fans by trying to come off as being deep. “Banned” ?There are many rock albums with nudity out today, dicks, tits … all the above. Psych, Punk and Grunge bands have tons of nudity on covers released in 2009 or 2010. The difference is they’re not pop stars like Kanye, and they don’t need Walmart to pad their pockets. Nothing wrong with that mind you, but trying to play it off like he’s been “banned” is comedy. He’s only been banned from giant retailers, not by the US government!!
This is worse this his so-called arthouse film where he insults anyone who’s ever watched a movie you can’t find in Blockbuster. Minaj speaking in a British accent with French sub’s? LMFAO
You have to love hiphop. The only place where this could be considered Art.
Kanye’s ignorant ass also forgets to mention the countless 70′s bands who faced distribution and marketing problems due to their covers. The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd had banned album covers, and they sold 100 albums to every album he has. He’s acting like that shit was welcomed with open arms. I’m not surprised with Kanye however, he’s musically insight is about as deep as Soulseek…lmfao
Oh ya… The Beatles “Butcher” cover = Banned
Hey Kanye you ignorant fuck, THE BEATLES GOT BANNED AND YOU’LL NEVER SEE THE BEATLES ON ANY LEVEL
@eBagatron. stfu plz, u just tryin to show that ure deep but ure not
I’ll just use this for GOOD Friday “Album” if this is the case
The only reason they’re banning the album cover is because Kanye will sell a million plus and don’t want nudity all over the place. If this were the cover of a lesser known artist no one would give a shit. That said I think the album cover sucks, it’s not that I don’t understand it but because it’s just not visually appealing. I wonder how much he paid and to whom to make it considering most traditional artists with intermediate painting skills could make the same piece in a couple hours.
gtfo, i’d buy that shit.
@LMFAO, youre fucking lame.
“I’ve seen an 8-foot canvas completely unpainted with just an orange dot on it that artsy people hopped up on wine and crackers went gaga over.”
@eBagatron I saw that too lol smh. It seems like the more people realize that art is subjective the less they seem to care about technical execution and more about “the experience” forgetting that skillful execution is an art in itself.
From the LA times:
West was strongly urged to use alternate art, the source conceded, but added that West “was told if he wanted to do it, the label would stand behind him.”
At issue, said the high-placed industry source, was whether or not mass-market retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart would carry an album featuring venomous nudes, and one that would no doubt inspire controversy. Though sales at mass merchants have been declining in recent years, data from Nielsen SoundScan for the last two years still had the likes of Best Buy and Wal-Mart accounting for at least 10% or more of physical CD sales.
A potential boycott from a major retailer would no doubt have a massive impact on West’s album sales, especially during the holiday season.
So in other words:
Label: Hey Kanye, you’ll make more money if you do a safer cover
Kanye: OK
later, Kanye Twitter: “POOR ME, BLAH BLAH BLAH, AMERICA AIN’T READY FOR ME, ETC”
typical
@Joe right over your head. My whole post was about how people need to quit trying to be deep, over-analytical thinkers. And in your case, maybe people should think a little harder.
@YaBoyRamps so damn true. Technical artistic skills seems to play the backburner to controversy, hype, and what will get people talking. Sad, but true.
Lastly, co-sign @jd. This situation in lament’s terms. Well put.
what happened to the ‘teddy bear on album cover kanye’ :(
^ u blind? hes right there..
the cover is symbolism at its finest only lames are catching feelings over this shyt
Uhhh….I dnt wanna get too into this as much of you guys already have, but I dnt care if this looks like art in a gallery somewhere else it looks very unappealing or ugly to say the least. I mean I know it could probably be interpreted into to a way where it makes sense, but I thought the main purpose was to Appeal to the viewers. Basicall the argument is like this: The album cover is a lion eating a zebra. Supporters go see he has to eat the zebra because he needs food for energy and Opposers are like the lion was very barbaric and violent. Im just saying that I know he wants to be abstract and make art but there are other ways to do that because this is just hideous no matter how much it does or doesn’t make sense. Also whoever said that the cover art and Title dont mean anything is just plain stupid, so you meant to tell me when you see 808s and heartbreaks you think to yourself this may be about Drug Dealing, Making it Rain, & Chevys??!? No you didnt cover art and title mean alot and thats why theres a ruckus. And people are going what do you want? I would prefer he change the title to Good Ass Job and have the Dropout Bear in a business suit and have on reg. glasses with a tie and maybe running late or trying to catch a cab. Even though I know thats not gonna happen its something to think about. Im kinda worried wear Kanye’s heading man cause like someone said he used to be so uplifting making fun music but now theres this deeper darker connotations in his songs. But as long as his lyrical ability doesnt take any hits I’ll always be a fan, so for now Im out
Honestly, I don’t think its what is depicted, that is so much the problem. If it was painted more beautifully, it would be more acceptable, but its simply ugly… I think that is it’s biggest problem. People will look at a picture of a beautiful naked woman with no problem, no one wants to see ugly nudity… no one.
Samples!
This is fuckin wicked!
is it wrong that i like the ugliness of it???
yea, this of course this aint no masterpiece paintin, but its a cool album cover nonetheless (IMO)… a “dark twisted fantasy” sounds ugly n this cover clearly is, which is why i said it goes with the title… shwateva…
yall argue too much n some of yall make nonsense connections…
Same niggas who like this is the same type of niggas that like Lil B’s wack ass shit and give his retard ass a pass
This artwork is shit. Period.
I can kinda understand the angle Ye *might* be coming from- if it’s his beautiful dark twisted fantasy, the theme of him having a white girl is something he’s referred to from early days (cue Gold Digger as an obvious example). Sure old album covers had full nudity on them, sure he’s going for shock value, sure he’s trying to be ‘artistic’.
But DAYUMN YE, that album cover SUCKS DEAD DONKEY’S SCROTUM. that’s even worse than sucking ass imo. I’m glad they banned it, even for the misguided reasons they did. IMO it doesn’t say anything meaningful, it’s just vaguely vulgar. Ye can do much better than that.