Ye, aka Kanye West, is currently transitioning into an entirely independent artist. His upcoming album ‘Bully’ is being recorded, produced, written and conceptualized all by himself- without any partner or collaborator. This decision to take full control of his creation came from years of dealing with the constraints, limitations, and pressures of working with big labels. But, looking back, the first time Ye publicly repudiated against the mainstream music industry and its conventions was through the 2010 Grammy-winning album, ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’. To show that the album’s legacy is still very much alive, a relic from the masterpiece has recently been put on auction. 

The memorabile from the award-winning album has been prized at a whopping $15000 after almost a decade and a half since its debut. 

Ye, apart from his music, is also known for his unique album cover arts. Back in 2010, the rapper commissioned George Condo to visually represent the style of ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’. For the single ‘POWER’, Condo went for a crowned Ye, decapitated, while a sword impaled through his severed head. Recently, the original rough Sketch of the cover art was put on auction for $15000 by the current owner.

Ye, reportedly, spent thousands of hours producing the track, ‘POWER’. And the second it dropped as the album’s lead single, fans knew ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ was going to be an album unlike any other- which is still being hailed as Ye’s best work by artists. Ye also put a lot of thought into the cover art for the lead single, about which artist Condo once shared in an interview with Vulture back in 2010. 

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Ye, apparently, wanted to go for a Shakespearean symbolism for the cover art of ‘POWER’. 

The severed head concept for 'POWER' was actually of Ye’s, and he was inspired by William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In the play, the severed head of Macbeth symbolized his downfall from power and the overthrow of his reign, which was something Ye aimed to show with the artwork. “I really like that idea of a Shakespearian thing,” Ye apparently told Condo, as per the artist's statement to Vulture. 

Condo added, “His tragedy was a kind of exile that Kanye imposed upon himself”. The cover art showed that whenever someone reaches a certain level of ‘POWER,’ they immediately become a target of detractors trying to weaken them. However, the artwork also featured Ye having a “cathartic moment” as he opened his eyes. “He’s alive in the painting,” said Condo. These layered details in the album are what has kept it such a fan-favorite even after 14 years since its release. 

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What do you think about Ye’s 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' cover art being auctioned off? Let us know in the comments below!