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A self-proclaimed creative genius, Kanye West is considered to be one of the most controversial yet beloved artists of this generation. Interestingly enough, we can see over a decade of musical and personal evolution solely through viewing his album art.
To understand the album art, you need to understand the mind behind the album first. West is known to be one of the best producers, rappers, and songwriters in the music industry, and this praise is well-reasoned - Kanye West is no ordinary artist.
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Part one of the College Trilogy, The College Dropout (2004) features West sitting on gym bleachers dressed in a bear costume. Although the costume just happened to be in the school on the day of the shoot, it became the trilogy's icon -"The Dropout Bear." The loneliness of the bear encapsulates what West described the songs of the album to be about: "whatever you've been through the past week." Digressing from the then-popular gangster persona of rap, the album's 21 tracks surround the highlights and hardships of life and created a new standard of rap in the music industry. |
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West's sophomore album, Late Registration (2005), depicts the Dropout Bear now entering college, specifically Princeton University. Similar to The College Dropout, West wanted to touch on topics that people from all walks of life could find relatable while remaining true to himself. However, returning with a greater force than before, West continued to experiment and break more boundaries in the genre of hip-hop. The uncertainty yet curiosity emitted by the Dropout Bear reflects West's attitude toward musical creativity and the hip-hop industry. |
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With tracks inspired by indie rock bands and house music, Graduation (2007) set the foundation for West's creative evolution. Designing the cover with famous contemporary artist Tekashi Murakami, West decided to depict the Dropout Bear in bright, vivid colors being blasted off to his metropolis, Universe City. According to Murakami, 'Kanye's music scrapes sentimentality and aggressiveness together like sandpaper, and he uses his grooves to unleash this tornado that spins with the zeitgeist of the times.' |
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As shown in the visual and musical production of 808s & Heartbreak (2008), West took a significant thematic departure in his fourth studio album. Much less extravagant than the preceding work, the album art, designed by the pop artist Kaws, depicts a deflated heart-shaped balloon; this directly symoblizes the depression he experienced following the death of his mother. West digressed to a minimal electropop/R&B musical direction and continued to break industry norms by introducing emotional vulnerability and introspection in his work. |
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Two years after the release of his most somber album and a year after his self-imposed exile to Hawaii, West returned to hip-hop with an unprecedented yearning for greatness. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) incorporates themes of the self-aggrandizing ego, the highs and lows of fame, and excess consumer culture through the production of artistically dynamic and diverse tracks as well as through one of his most infamous and controversial album covers to date. West wanted to return to the industry in a musically and visually bold fashion, and with the help of artist George Condo, he created a provocative cover that was banned in multiple stores and subsequently had to be blurred or replaced with a different image. Every aspect of the artwork had the purpose of being explicit, including the brazen red border. |
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Further striving to be artistically different than other artists, West produced an album cover for Yeezus (2013) that was actually no cover at all. The physical copy of the album was simply a clear case with a piece of red tape. This minimalistic visual approach heavily contradicts the hostile and abrasive rhythmic approach to the album, but perhaps the purpose was for the listener to focus on making meaning of the music rather than being influenced by the album art. |
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For his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo (2016), West commissioned artist Peter De Potter to create a seemingly unorganized and uncoordinated album cover. Two images are printed over scattered text: a vintage photo of a family wedding and a revealing one of a woman. The album name is repeatedly printed accross the cover along with the phrase "which / one", referencing West's need to choose between the two. The choice of these images speaks to De Potter's belief that "the only thing people respond to is the emotional resonance of an image." In no way was there little thought put into the image choice or sporatic repetition of the text. The album as a whole is raw and evocative, and the artwork, visually appealing or not, illustrates this extremely well. |
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On May 31, 2018, West was on the way to the listening party for Ye (2018) and took the photo for its cover on his iPhone only hours before the party's start. What he captured was a serene scene of a cloudy sky and mountains in Jackson Hole, Wymoing, the location of the album production. He scribbled "I hate being Bi-Polar its awesome [sic]" over the image, referencing his diagnosis of Bi-Polar disorder earlier in the year. He not only references it in the album art but in the album's songs as well; in the song Yikes, he says that it "ain't no disability" and that instead it makes him a superhero. The serenity of the photo and the phrase written over it perhaps shows himself finally coming to peace with his internal demons that he has so long struggled with in the past and is now transforming into strengths. What is certain, though, is that the spontaneity of the album cover is a direct nod to West's message of the importance of living in the present. |
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After originally setting an earlier release date of the album, West is now releasing Yandhi (2018) on Black Friday - November 23, 2018. Without having a sample of what the album might sound like, fans assume it is a follow-up to his 2013 album Yeezus because of the similar clear album case as the album art and the title of the album being his name (Yeezy) as a spin-off of a historic religious figure. Recording the album in his hometown of Chicago and in Uganda, West could possibly be reconnecting with his roots and maybe even be trying to finally humble himself. |
For reference, below are some of his greatest hits.
If you are interested in the work of his nine studio albums, be sure to check out other albums in which he has played a major role: