Kanye West stirs debate with racy album cover art

The controversial Kanye West is at it again. This time, West is drawing ire over the cover art for his new album, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy." The illustration, by painter/sculptor George Condo, depicts a nude West (with a jarring expression on his face) gripping a bottle while being straddled by a naked, winged woman who appears to possess very sharp teeth. West revealed the art here, via Twitpic, with the caption "Banned in the USA!!! They don't want me chilling on the couch with my phoenix!" It's unclear who allegedly banned the art from the United States. West later tweeted, "In the '70s album covers had actual nudity ... It's so funny that people forget that ... Everything has been so commercialized now." The Los Angeles Times on Sunday spoke to an unnamed source who indicated that the debate over the artwork was between West and his label, Island Def Jam, and it was just that -- a debate, and not a full-blown ban, but West was "strongly" urged to use alternate art. We'll see if that happens, as West doesn't seem to be bothered by possible ramifications. He ultimately tweeted, "In all honesty ... I really don't be thinking about Wal-Mart when I make my music or album covers #Kanyeshrug!" theGrio slideshow:Kanye's most controversial moments