Kanye West Is Using His Album Cover to Forgive the Surgeon Who Performed His Mom’s Last Surgery

Is it time to forgive? Kanye West seems to think so. The rapper took to Twitter on Saturday, April 28 to announce that he will be using his upcoming album to help him heal and move on from the pain and grief of his mother Donda West’s sudden death in 2007. Ye will use a photo of Dr. Jan Adams — the plastic surgeon who operated on Kanye’s mother 24 hours before she died — as the cover art for his next record.

“This is my album cover. This is plastic surgeon Jan Adams. The person who performed my mom’s final surgery,” Kanye wrote in a screenshot of a text message with his collaborator Wes Lang, that he later tweeted out to his 28 million followers. “I want to forgive and stop hating.”

https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/990263790368256000

Even though the sentiment is noble, the picture of Dr. Jan Adams that Kanye chose to use is a little questionable. Kanye is planning to use the cosmetic surgeon’s mug shot from 2006 when Dr. Adams was booked for his second drunk driving conviction, according to E! News. Previously, the doctor had been arrested back in 2002 after his vehicle “lost control” and hit a parked car.

But Kanye’s friend Wes seemed to think using the doctor’s mug shot was a good idea, and he suggested an album title for Kanye’s upcoming release. “LOVE EVERYONE,” Wes wrote, and Kanye wrote back, “I love that.”

Donda West was 58 years old when she suddenly passed away. The former university professor died just one day after Dr. Adams performed tummy tuck, liposuction, and breast reduction operations. The official cause of death was categorized as heart disease, which held up true according to a post-humous autopsy. Dr. Adams was vehement about his role in Donda’s death, citing that her demise had nothing to do with his surgical skills.

The autopsy backed this up, proving there were no signs of death by surgery. Instead, the report was in tandem with what Dr. Adams described: death was caused by “preexisting coronary artery disease” and “multiple post-operative factors” such as pain meditation and the tight bandaging around her chest. According to the Los Angeles Times, the bandage may have restricted her breathing.

Kanye — and Donda’s other family members left in a wake of sadness and grief — may have felt some tiny form of justice when a year and a half later, Dr. Adams forfeited his medical license due to unrelated alcohol offenses, which included multiple DUIs. Dr. Adams had his license reinstated in 2013 but it was quickly revoked just one year later.

However, using Dr. Adams’ mug shot as Kanye’s album art may cause some legal issues. It’s unclear if state law enforcement-issued photos can be used for commercial use.

An hour after tweeting out Dr. Adams’ mug shot, Kanye came back online again, continuing with his recent theme of forgiveness. “I’ve got a new challenge for everyone today,” the 40-year-old rapper tweeted. “Pick somebody that you had an argument with that you think you hate maybe even someone you haven’t spoken to in years and contact that person and tell them I love you.”