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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWith 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With his mind echoing through these halls of nostalgia, \u201cthe bear<\/em>\u201d just happened to be at the school where [his label] Def Jam had booked [for] the photo shoot for the album\u201d, says his then-manager, Plain Pat. With rivalling artists front and centre on every album cover, West\u2019s decision to adopt the identity of the dropout bear<\/em> speaks for the album\u2019s greater focus on the concept of loneliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For everyone who doubted his rise to success, the dropout bear<\/em> at the stands of an empty gym manifested the aesthetics of solitude in one\u2019s artistic triumph. In other words, he felt lonely at the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was surprised as anyone that he covered his face for the album cover\u2026knowing his history of breaking the rules, it doesn\u2019t surprise me at all\u2026\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 photographer Danny Clinch<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through the eyes of this hyperreal dropout bear<\/em>, 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\u2019s next for Ye\u2019s grizzly persona?<\/p>\n\n\n\n LATE REGISTRATION (2005)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen 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\u2019t appreciate their moment until it’s passed\u2026\u201d says West at the 47th Grammy Awards.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n After receiving his first Grammy, one can only assume that Ye\u2019s sequel album would completely \u201cseize the day\u201d and explore a life with one\u2019s demise around every corner. Oh, we could not be more wrong. The aesthetic of Late Registration<\/em> follows the dropout bear<\/em> as he walks this world beyond the constraints of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll be late for that, baby I\u2019ll wait for that\u2026.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n -West on track 21, Late<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Concept Art for Late Registration<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the early sketches of Morning Breath INC, the cover frames\u201d the dropout bear\u2019s<\/em>\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n GRADUATION (2007)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As one of the most flawless albums in Ye\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With all puns intended, his blog, \u201cUniverse City\u201d, projected his artistic discourse onto new digital-animation mediums, highlighting how his genius has kept up with technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe cover is based on Kanye\u2019s theme of student life. School. It\u2019s a place of dreams, of righteousness, a place to have fun. It\u2019s also occasionally a place where you experience the rigid dogma of the human race.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n -Murakami<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Completing the \u201cdropout bear<\/em>\u201d album trilogy, the cover finalises and celebrates the persona\u2019s learning journey through the hip-hop genre in a never-ending ascension of greatness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tune in next week, where I will celebrate the continuity of Ye\u2019s cover-canvas and the genius of Yeezus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":19079,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","article_category":[10],"article_tag":[],"class_list":["post-19078","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_category-student-journalism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-weekly-record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/19078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-weekly-record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-weekly-record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-weekly-record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-weekly-record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-weekly-record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-weekly-record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_category?post=19078"},{"taxonomy":"article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-weekly-record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_tag?post=19078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n