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Kanye West's Album Cover Banned by Wal-Mart?

Posted on Oct 18th 2010 10:30AM by Derek Evers
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kanye-westGetty Images

Kanye West's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' album has been banned from the shelves of Wal-Mart due to its controversial cover art. At least according to Kanye.

West revealed the cover of his upcoming album, 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,' over the weekend on his Twitter, immediately implying that it had been banned. "Yoooo they banned my album cover!!!!! Ima tweet it in a few ..." Kanye tweeted, adding, "Banned in the USA!!! They don't want me chilling on the couch with my phoenix!"

The (please note, the image may offend some) illustration was done by contemporary American painter/sculptor George Condo, the same man responsible for Kanye's 'Power' single, and portrays a demonic-looking Kanye laying on a blue bed while an equally demonic white woman with no arms, wings and a polka-dot tail straddles him. They are both naked in the illustration.

"So Nirvana can have a naked human being on they cover but I can't have a PAINTING of a monster with no arms and a polka dot tail and wings," West continued tweeting. "In the '70s album covers had actual nudity ... It's so funny that people forget that ... Everything has been so commercialized now." While Kanye was up-in-arms over the censorship of 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,' he went on to insist he, "really [doesn't think] about Wal-Mart when I make my music or album covers."

An unnamed source familiar with West's discussions with his label, Island Def Jam, told the Los Angeles Times the rapper was "strongly urged" to use a different cover image but was told that "if he wanted to do it, the label would stand behind him."

Watch Kanye West's video 'Power' after the jump.



Watch Kanye West Perform Live at Sessions


Get more on Kanye West at PopEater

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Penny

Nirvana simply had a baby boy swimming in the water. Kanyes cover is sexual in nature and he knows it. had it been his phoenix or male swimming in a simialr manner it'd be no big deal but 2 adult creatures, her straddeling him naked is nothing but sexual. When I'm with my husband like this, I don't want my daughter as the audience and other kids don't want to see this on albums either. of course it's going to be sensored form gen pop, kids under 18 groups. Honestly people, is he really that stupid or is this another tit-baby press moment where he has to whine because he's not getting what he wants?

October 21 2010 at 5:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Faux Blonde Foe

Oughta be called "Power Failure."

October 19 2010 at 6:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
lorraine

The song is horrible. He probably portrays the devil because he looks like the devil.

Nirvana's nudity was a baby so get a grip.

October 19 2010 at 5:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tyrebitre

If you bother to go view the actual cover art, it is one horrendously awful POS. However, those who wish to condemn it ( myself included ) might wish to go view the world's most expensive piece of work by a living "artist" sold at auction ( for $33,600,000.00 ) by Lucian Freud. Google it - you will be amazed ( and possibly scarred for life ).

October 19 2010 at 2:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kelly

This Guy Should also be BANNED !! What a Joke He is ...

October 19 2010 at 2:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ray

Good god almighty, I've seen elephants at the zoo make better art pieces than this album cover. Who was doing the proof's. This must have been a no brainer (like Kanye) for wal-mart. It doesnt even deserve the amount of time that I have spent typeing this little note. He's self absorbed IDIOT!, Narcisist!!

October 19 2010 at 2:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
alan roberts

"Kanye laying on a blue bed" ? Derek Evers needs to take a remedial lesson in proper grammar. Kanye is lying on the bed, not "laying" unless the author wants to suggest an even greater sexual activity than the picture already conveys.

October 19 2010 at 1:59 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Henry

I think all rap music is crap, it's not really even music, just gibberish
set to a high bass back-beat.
Anyone with half a brain would'nt even buy this S**T, so I guess, those that do buy it, must have LESS than half a brain.
The only part of rap that usually has any worth at all, is the stuff they steal, by "sampling" parts of other artist's songs.

October 19 2010 at 1:59 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Basse

The album cover my be banned??
I would rather see all that social garbage banned
to begin with.
I dont know why people waste the time on this
kind of trash to begin with.

October 19 2010 at 1:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Julia

whoa, that's different. imagery....imagination...the title of his album has fantasy in it. Ye used his imagination...have you used yours today?

October 19 2010 at 1:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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