The Cover-Canvas Pt.1
the Best from K. West Part Two
J. K. Tang
THE 100 BEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, ACCORDING TO APPLE MUSIC. Hmm. Ranked 26th is My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. But where is Graduation? The Life of Pablo? Wake up, Mr West. Wake up, Mr West! This oversight stands as one of the biggest snubs in streaming history. Let’s re-evaluate Kanye’s albums, judging by their covers, and give due recognition to the works of this 24-time Grammy-winning sample maestro. THE COLLEGE DROPOUT (2004).
With fresh ink on the dotted line of a new record label, West was eager to visually project his work from the mic to behind the cameras. Running under an educational vision, he decided to rent spaces at a New York City high school that was reminiscent of his childhood in south-side Chi-Town (Chicago). In the stands of its gym, we wandered introspectively in his jeans and brown blazer, listening for the symphony of thought.
With his mind echoing through these halls of nostalgia, “the bear” just happened to be at the school where [his label] Def Jam had booked [for] the photo shoot for the album”, says his then-manager, Plain Pat. With rivalling artists front and centre on every album cover, West’s decision to adopt the identity of the dropout bear speaks for the album’s greater focus on the concept of loneliness.
For everyone who doubted his rise to success, the dropout bear at the stands of an empty gym manifested the aesthetics of solitude in one’s artistic triumph. In other words, he felt lonely at the top.
“I was surprised as anyone that he covered his face for the album cover…knowing his history of breaking the rules, it doesn’t surprise me at all…”
– photographer Danny Clinch
Through the eyes of this hyperreal dropout bear, we see his work roar onto the upper echelon of the 2004 rap album charts, with his genre-breaking claws scratching at the competition. What’s next for Ye’s grizzly persona?
LATE REGISTRATION (2005)
“When I had my accident, I found out at that moment nothing in life promised except death. If you have the opportunity to play this game of life, you need to appreciate every moment. A lot of people don’t appreciate their moment until it’s passed…” says West at the 47th Grammy Awards.
After receiving his first Grammy, one can only assume that Ye’s sequel album would completely “seize the day” and explore a life with one’s demise around every corner. Oh, we could not be more wrong. The aesthetic of Late Registration follows the dropout bear as he walks this world beyond the constraints of time.
“I’ll be late for that, baby I’ll wait for that….”
-West on track 21, Late.
Concept Art for Late Registration
Following the early sketches of Morning Breath INC, the cover frames” the dropout bear’s” late-night entrance through the gigantic doors of Princeton University. The sheer scale between the bear and the doors emphasises the creative weight of renewing the genre in the early 2000s.
From the high school gym to the college halls, the educational theme progresses as Ye finds more features and more samples to push the genre to new heights.
GRADUATION (2007)
As one of the most flawless albums in Ye’s collection, contemporary listeners recognise its cover by the electric masterpiece of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. Like its electrifying tracks, Ye and Murakami constructed an entire artistic world for the album, basing it on the metropolis architecture of Tokyo, Japan.
With all puns intended, his blog, “Universe City”, projected his artistic discourse onto new digital-animation mediums, highlighting how his genius has kept up with technology.
“The cover is based on Kanye’s theme of student life. School. It’s a place of dreams, of righteousness, a place to have fun. It’s also occasionally a place where you experience the rigid dogma of the human race.”
-Murakami
Completing the “dropout bear” album trilogy, the cover finalises and celebrates the persona’s learning journey through the hip-hop genre in a never-ending ascension of greatness.
Tune in next week, where I will celebrate the continuity of Ye’s cover-canvas and the genius of Yeezus.