Kanye West’s new album Yeezus is in stores now and to celebrate, FADER has unearthed some unseen photos from his first magazine cover and shoot — FADER’s inaugural Now (Dec 03-Jan 04) issue. Well known photographer Jonathan Mannion shot the cover and today, he shares some of the memories from 10 years ago.
Kanye styled himself that day, there wasnāt a stylist. I remember he wanted props, things that represented his style. A Louis Vuitton bag showed up and he told a story, āI tried to get a bunch of Louis stuff and they wouldnāt send it to me, so I just bought it.ā Whether it was that bag he bought or a big clump of Louis Vuitton luggage he wanted to stand on, he wanted it to be LV to show what he appreciated. I remember his āIf I want it, Iām just gonna get itā attitude. The brick phone heās holding in some of these dates the photos, but thereās nothing else about these to make them seem like they werenāt taken yesterday. Iām sure that phone, at that time, was the freshest, greatest, nobody had it. It was always about being ahead of the competition. His style then was impeccable and thereās nothing about it that wouldnāt apply today.
Check out more photos and a video showcasing FADER’s coverage of Kanye’s early days after the break. Go here to read rest of Jonathan’s blog as well as quotes from ‘Ye’s longtime publicist Gabe Tesoriero.
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