Kanye West has released a new single titled “Cousins,” which is now available on streaming platforms. The song’s artwork has drawn attention for its historical ties to Nazi Germany. It features “Leda and the Swan,” painted by Paul Mathias Padua, a German artist known for producing propaganda during the Second World War.
The painting, which portrays a woman and a swan in an intimate position, was originally exhibited in 1939 in Munich. It was later acquired by Martin Bormann, Hitler’s private secretary, and presented to Hitler himself. The Nazi leader reportedly displayed it in one of the bedrooms at his retreat near the Austrian border.
West has previously used artwork with similar associations. The cover of his Vultures album included imagery inspired by Caspar David Friedrich, a 19th-century artist whose work was used during the Nazi era. That cover also echoed the visual style of Burzum, a Norwegian black metal band whose founder is a known neo-Nazi and convicted murderer.
The song “Cousins” has also stirred strong reactions because of its lyrics. In the track, West recounts a childhood experience involving explicit acts with a cousin, linking it to early exposure to adult magazines. He expanded on this in a social media post, sharing that the cousin referenced in the song is now serving a life sentence for murder. West connected the memory to feelings of guilt and confusion stemming from their shared past.
The release continues West’s pattern of using personal stories and controversial imagery in his work.
