Kanye West says artwork for 'My Dark Twisted Fantasy' has been banned

Kanye West has and has joked it's unfair that his new album sleeve has been banned - asking why the painting of a naked monster is not allowed while Nirvana's 'nude baby' 'Nevermind' cover was.

Revealing the image via Twitter, the rapper-producer posted up a link to the the proposed cover of 'My Dark Twisted Fantasy' for fans to see.

"Yoooo they banned my album cover!!!!!" he wrote, adding: Banned in the USA!!! They don't want me chilling on the couch with my Phoenix!"

Phoenix is the central character from West's short film Runaway, which he directed and features him dating a creature that has fallen to earth.

Bemoaning the artwork ban, West then wrote: "In the '70s album covers had actual nudity... It's so funny that people forget that... Everything has been so commercialised now," before joking about the 1991 'Nevermind' sleeve.

"So Nirvana can have a naked human being on their cover," he observed, "but I can't have a PAINTING of a monster with no arms and a polka dot tail and wings."

It is believed West is being advsied against using the artwork by his label, as it may not be stocked by US chain stores like Wal-Mart. However, Latimes.com reports a source at the label saying the rapper-producer has been told "if he wanted to do it, the label would stand behind him".