Kanye West Shells Out $85K To Make Last-Minute Changes To Pusha-T’s ‘Daytona’ Album Cover

After making controversial statements regarding his politics and the history of black slavery, Kanye West is once again inciting criticism from fans on Twitter.

On Thursday, May 24, the self-professed genius unveiled the album art for the upcoming album. Fans immediately noticed that the album art, a broken photograph, was taken from the bathroom of late singer Whitney Houston.

Pusha T's 'Daytona' And Its Whitney Houston Connection

The photo used by West and Pusha-T on Daytona was taken secretly by a member of the Houston family in 2006 and was published on the National Enquirer in the same year. It showed drug paraphernalia strewn all over the bathroom counter, revealing the award-winning singer's battle with addiction.

The "I Will Always Love You" singer was discovered dead face-down in a bathtub filled with water. The coroner who examined her body found traces of cocaine, marijuana, and prescription medication in her system.

In an interview with The Angie Martinez Show, Pusha-T shared that the photograph was a last-minute change to the album.

"[West] changed my artwork last night at 1 a.m. He wasn't feeling it," the rapper told the radio host. "The [original] artwork, it was pictures that we all agreed on."

Pusha T added that West had to pay $85,000 to license the photo to be used on Daytona.

During a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Pusha T said that he was not opposed to the change. He thought that the new album art was better than what they had before.

"I feel like the cover represents an organized chaos," he explained. "The energy of the album is a bit chaotic, but it's all in place. Looking at that cover, I'm sure whoever frequents that bathroom or area knew whatever they wanted to find and knew where it was."

Daytona is the first album that comes out of West's Jacksonhole, Wyoming studio. It is set to drop on Friday, May 25.

West, on a tweet, said that he and Pusha T have been working on the album for the past year and a half, but all their efforts were rewarded because they have already been receiving positive responses from fans.

Fans Slam Kanye West For Using Whitney Houston's Bathroom Photo

Unsurprisingly, several people were not happy about the use of the controversial photo on Pusha T's new album. Fans pointed out that the use of the photo, which reveals the singer's struggle with addiction, was insensitive.

West is also set to release his still-untitled new album and a collaborative album with Kid Cudi called Kids See Ghost this summer.

Tags
Pusha-T, Daytona, Kanye West, Whitney Houston
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