Kanye West's Cover Art: A Look Back

A retrospective of Yeezy's thought-provoking visuals.

Kanye West's Cover Art: A Look Back - We don't know what the recently revealed cover art to Kanye's new album, Yeezus, means. Is that a broken CD jewel case? A melted CD? A piece of duct tape? It's every bit as interesting and bizarre as his recent performance on SNL. Then again, that's nothing new for Yeezy. The artwork for his albums and mixtapes have always been fascinating, conversation-sparking and thought-provoking. But before we even try to dissect the imagery of Yeezus, let's take a look back at the covers of Kanye's albums and mixtapes. We hope you're sitting down. —Alex Gale (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, GOOD Music, Def Jam, Roc Nation)

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Kanye West's Cover Art: A Look Back - We don't know what the recently revealed cover art to Kanye's new album, Yeezus, means. Is that a broken CD jewel case? A melted CD? A piece of duct tape? It's every bit as interesting and bizarre as his recent performance on SNL. Then again, that's nothing new for Yeezy. The artwork for his albums and mixtapes have always been fascinating, conversation-sparking and thought-provoking. But before we even try to dissect the imagery of Yeezus, let's take a look back at the covers of Kanye's albums and mixtapes. We hope you're sitting down. —Alex Gale (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, GOOD Music, Def Jam, Roc Nation)

Get Well Soon - Kanye's debut mixtape, 2003's Get Well Soon, is covered by a simple picture of him holding a Roc-A-Fella chain and standing in front of a brick wall featuring a mural of his hometown, Chicago. It's obvious from the graphic, and his simple wardrobe—baggy jeans, black tee—that he's hasn't yet become the bold visual genius that later releases (and tours) have show him to be. (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records)

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Get Well Soon - Kanye's debut mixtape, 2003's Get Well Soon, is covered by a simple picture of him holding a Roc-A-Fella chain and standing in front of a brick wall featuring a mural of his hometown, Chicago. It's obvious from the graphic, and his simple wardrobe—baggy jeans, black tee—that he's hasn't yet become the bold visual genius that later releases (and tours) have show him to be. (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records)

Kanye West, The College Dropout - Kanye West has played an integral part in creating and popularizing an array of styles and images. Among those is the College Dropout bear, a mascot suit that Yeezy wore on his debut album cover. In different forms, a bear would later appear on the covers of his next two albums, Late Registration and Graduation. (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, Def Jam)

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The College Dropout - Kanye's classic debut album, 2004's The College Dropout, introduced us to "Dropout Bear," his mascot and a visual theme he continued through the next two albums. It was a subtle shout-out to the classic Polo teddy-bear graphic (Yeezy was 'Lo down back then). Note Dropout Bear's despondent look and the college bleachers he's sitting on. (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, Def Jam)

The Evolution of Kanye West - Kanye went big on his sophomore album, the 2005 classic Late Registration. Working with acclaimed pop-rock producer Jon Brion, Kanye expanded past his chipmunk soul signature sound with lusher live instrumentation and epic bridges, crescendos and breakdowns. Behind hits like "Gold Digger" and "Touch the Sky," the album was Kanye's first to hit No. 1.    (Photo: Courtesy Def Jam Records)

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Late Registration - Kanye's sophomore LP, 2005's expansive Late Registration, featured the return of Dropout Bear. He's wide-eyed and smaller. Maybe that's how Kanye felt after the unexpected success of his first album. Or how he would feel a few days after the album's release, when he said "George Bush doesn't care about black people" on live TV. Either way, the Bear's spiffed up uniform and the cover's darker look reflect the more mature, serious subject matter and tone on Late Registration. (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, Def Jam)

Can't Tell Me Nothing - The cover to Kanye's masterful 2007 mixtape Can't Tell Me Nothing, a prelude to Graduation later that year, was designed by renowned Japanse artist Takashi Murakami, the beginning of a fruitful partnership between the two. It was also the start of Kanye's love affair with neon-bright colors and futuristic, slightly disturbing imagery. Is that Murakami's interpretation of poor Dropout Bear? (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, Def Jam)

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Can't Tell Me Nothing - The cover to Kanye's masterful 2007 mixtape Can't Tell Me Nothing, a prelude to Graduation later that year, was designed by renowned Japanse artist Takashi Murakami, the beginning of a fruitful partnership between the two. It was also the start of Kanye's love affair with neon-bright colors and futuristic, slightly disturbing imagery. Is that Murakami's interpretation of poor Dropout Bear? (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, Def Jam)

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Kanye Meets Murakami - Yeezy tapped Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami to design the surreal, anime-inspired cover for his 2007 album Graduation. (Photo: Def Jam)

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Graduation - Kanye linked with Murakami for another amazing album with amazing artwork, 2007's Graduation. The colorful cover shows a futuristic, anime-like version of Dropout Bear being launched into space, much like a young college student stepping into the real world. But little did we realize that Dropout would never return—he's been absent from all of Kanye's covers since. He's a big bear now.(Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, Def Jam)

Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak - With Dropout Bear boldly going where no bear's gone before (Pluto, last we saw), Kanye switched things up by once again linking with a prominent contemporary artist, KAWS, who started out as a renowned graffiti writer. It's stark and dramatic, but with an ironic wink in those cartoon gloves, a signature of KAWS' work. (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, Def Jam)

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Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak - With Dropout Bear boldly going where no bear's gone before (Pluto, last we saw), Kanye switched things up by once again linking with a prominent contemporary artist, KAWS, who started out as a renowned graffiti writer. It's stark and dramatic, but with an ironic wink in those cartoon gloves, a signature of KAWS' work. (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, Def Jam)

Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy\r - Lauded by many as his biggest and boldest album yet, Yeezy's fourth–straight No. 1 debut hit platinum with lush, ostentatious hits like "All of the Lights" and "Runaway."  \r\rU.S. Sales to Date: 1,160,000\r\r(Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records)

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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - The artwork for Kanye's fifth magnum opus, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, was another collaboration, with Kanye tapping American painter George Condo to create a series of twisted images. The painting the rapper selected, of a grimacing Kanye-ish figure drinking a beer while being straddled by a nude, bizarre-looking half-woman half-phoenix, was banned in some retail chains, although Condo later revealed that Kanye purposely asked for an image that would be censored. (Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records, Def Jam)

Soundtrack of 2011 — Watch the Throne - Jay plus Kanye, need we say more? From the first single, "H.A.M.," which added a new phrase to the urban dictionary, the summer banger, “Otis” (and the much-talked about chopped up Maybach in the song’s video), to the album's current chart-topping track “N---as in Paris”, W.T.T. was a true hip hop masterpiece. These heavy weights put everyone on notice that Jigga and Ye are still running this town. (Photo: Courtesy of Roc-A-Fella Records)

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Watch the Throne - The cover to Kanye's joint album with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne, was conceived by Italian fashion designer Riccardo Tisci. Like the sound of record itself, it's bombastic, shiny and luxurious, hinting at the title's royal theme. Baroque rap, if you will. (Photo: Roc-a-Fella, Roc Nation, Def Jam)

G.O.O.D. Music, Cruel Summer - Many were disappointed with this breathlessly hyped album, which was much less consistent and focused than most helmed by Kanye West. But it produced five of the year's most undeniable bangers—"New God Flow," "Cold," "Clique," the "I Don't Like" remix and, of course, "Mercy"—probably more than any other album on this list. If anything, the project let some fans down because these amazing songs leaked before the rest of the album. Call it a casualty of hype. (Photo: G.O.O.D. Music)

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Cruel Summer - The image that fronted the compilation album from Kanye's GOOD Music label/crew was created by DONDA, the creative agency founded by Kanye and named after his late mother. It's regal and dramatic, much like the Watch the Throne artwork, and it once again recalls the aesthethics of an old Mediterranean empire—ancient Rome, this time. (Photo: Roc-a-Fella, Roc Nation, Def Jam)