If Jackson Hole, Wyoming seemed like an odd place for Kanye West to produce an album and hold a massive listening party, the state's tourism board tells The Blast they were not shocked at all. "It's no surprise that Wyoming's epic landscapes and laid-back vibe attract creators and artists like Kanye West," said Tia Troy, Media + PR Manager for the Wyoming Office of Tourism. "It's hard not to be inspired in a place like Wyoming, especially with the Teton Mountains as your backdrop." One of those epic landscapes even served as the album cover art for the much anticipated, "ye." On top of that, Yeezus also dropped a line of merch inspired by the state. Kanye West "One of the greatest attributes of Wyoming is that it's all-encompassing," added Troy. "These landscapes don't care if it's your first time or 15th time to Grand Teton National Park. Here in Wyoming, you're at home no matter where you're from." Seems like everyone in Kanye West's inner circle got bit by the Jackson Hole bug. Kim Kardashian West and their trio of children have also been holed up (get it?) with Kanye at the hotel. Kim posted some pics on social media recently showing the family enjoying the great outdoors ... even Kanye is smiling! BRB, going to plan our next vacation.<doc-sep>JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — “After all this,” said one fellow traveler as we walked off of our unexpected Gulfstream G400 private jet to Wyoming for Kanye West’s album-listening event, “we gonna HAVE to say the record is fire!” While that doesn’t begin to unpack the mixed feelings many people brought to this luxurious adventure, centered around an artist whose comments have made him highly controversial if not distasteful to some, it’s also a useful framing device for Thursday’s scenario: When you’re flown out to a ranch in the middle of Wyoming, wined and dined and given plush accommodation while surrounded by a near-TMZ-level hitlist of celebrities, it’s difficult to objectively assess an album purely on its artistic merits. Thus, this article is about the event rather than ‘Ye the person and artist — he didn’t address the crowd at large at all — or “Ye,” the album. (Update: Sources tell Variety that after the party, co-producer Mike Dean went back into the studio to do more work on the album before it was sent to streaming services in the wee hours of Friday. Also, the album’s cover photo was apparently taken early Thursday evening, en route to the party.) And what an event it was: Baller travel aside, the party was held at a beautiful ranch, with snow-capped Rocky Mountains as a backdrop and a dozen horses in a pen next to the giant speakers set up in a circle inside where the listening would take place. The attention to detail was top-notch: Wait staff eagerly offered a variety of drinks, there were several fully stocked bars and flowers on every table, guests served themselves from ample and delicious barbeque, and there was a who’s who of celebrities and media, radio and musical luminaries in an unexpectedly approachable setting: Jonah Hill, Nas, Chris Rock, Pusha T, Lil Yachty, Kid Cudi, Ty Dolla $ign, Fabolous, Teyana Taylor and many others maybe weren’t totally psyched about posing for selfies or conversation with star-struck strangers, but they rolled with it and generally seemed to be in relaxed party mode, if understandably a bit guarded considering how accessible they were. Mrs. West, aka Kim Kardashian, fresh from her summit on prison reform with President Trump, was also in the house but protected by an imposing bodyguard. (For a play-by-play and photos from the event, head here.) Yet what was actually most impressive was the fact that the event happened at all. The idea was first hatched by West last Friday — the beginning of the three-day Memorial Day weekend — and by Thursday afternoon approximately 500 guests were present at this near-flawlessly staged event, from nearly all corners of the globe, at a ranch in the middle of Wyoming. “A lot of people pulled together to make this happen,” said a source close to the situation late Thursday night. “We found out this was happening Friday, and nobody stopped working over the holiday weekend. Multiple event people coordinated the logistics, and things started coming together Tuesday. People were flown in from Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, Italy, France, the U.K. and all over the U.S. — radio programmers, press, DJs.” The invite list was originally 300 people, another source said, but was quickly whittled down to 150. And when it was realized on Thursday morning that there might not be enough room for all of the guests on the chartered jet flying from New York to Jackson Hole, our Gulfstream, which had been tentatively reserved via STAjets, was confirmed and ready. However, the source stressed, “This was a Kanye production — we were all invited guests. His team did the bulk of organizing, particularly the event planners MVD — which is run by sisters Massah David and Miatta David Johnson — and John McGuire, who is the architect of Kanye’s tours, including the floating stage, who brought in the sound system. Having said that, there were some pretty heroic efforts, including Def Jam’s international and promotion staff, and Mike Dean and Scooter Braun’s team were very much in the mix.” It’s worth noting that although Braun — who is no stranger to enormous and quickly organized events, as evidenced by his pivotal role in last year’s One Love Manchester benefit concert — had officially stepped down as West’s manager back in April, he and his staff were clearly an integral part of the staging of the event and the album; West and Braun were side by side for much of Thursday evening. “One other thing to note,” the source added. “[Def Jam] launched an online merch store in partnership with [Universal Music’s merchandising company] Bravado, and blew through half a million dollars of Wyoming merchandise in 25 minutes — 25 minutes!” To pull together such an event in just six days — only three of which were technically work days — was a Herculean feat that clearly cost millions of dollars as well as the considerable efforts of the people and companies mentioned above, and especially event sponsor WAV, the South Korean company for which Loud Records founder and West associate Steve Rifkind is head of talent. Notwithstanding the considerable baggage surrounding the artist and the album, the event was truly one of the most impressive we’ve ever attended in decades of music-biz throwdowns.<doc-sep>Kanye West Holding Listening Party for New Album in Wyoming: 'He's So Happy and Excited' Says Source Kanye West‘s new music is set to be unleashed. After holing up for weeks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to put the finishing touches on his eighth studio album, West is finally ready to reveal his latest work. Get push notifications with news, features and more. The rapper, 40, and his new team have invited select friends, colleagues and press out to Jackson Hole for a listening party to be held Thursday, May 31. “I talked to him yesterday and he’s so happy and excited to present the music in the place that inspired it and where it was created,” says a source close to West who will be in attendance. kim Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and family in Wyoming. | Credit: Kim Kardashian/Instagram RELATED VIDEO: Kim Kardashian Rocks a Power Suit for White House Meetings About Prison Reform Though sources told PEOPLE earlier this year that the rapper was struggling with his mental health again and there was strife between him and mother-in-law Kris Jenner, the source says he’s currently feeling better than ever.<doc-sep>Variety is en route to experience Kanye West’s last-minute album listening party in the Teton Range of the Rocky Mountains with live updates as we reach peak Kanye. West had the idea last Friday to fly a planeload of media, radio, DJs, and other influencers to Wyoming to hear his new album — yes, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Def Jam staffers leaped into action and spent much of the weekend mobilizing and organizing people from both coasts as well as Europe, Australia, and Asia to fly out; originally, the idea was to fly out 300 people to West’s country retreat, but that number was quickly cut in half. On Tuesday, West’s publicist called a few potential travelers to see if they were interested, but official emailed invites didn’t arrive until Wednesday morning — just 24 hours before wheels up. Visions of the Rihanna “777” boondoggle of 2012 — in which a planeload of journalists spent a week flying to and attending seven different Rihanna concerts in seven different countries in a week, which sounds amazing but quickly turned into a mass cabin-fever outbreak, judging by the thousands of social-media posts sent from the plane — flashed before our eyes … particularly when 7 a.m. Thursday arrived and we had no further details (such as a flight number or departure terminal). An email produced a quick response with specifics, but it turned out that several of us accidentally had been left off of the plane’s original manifest. An Uber deposited us at a small, remote terminal in a far corner of JFK airport, where several dozen fellow travelers were waiting in and outside the lobby. After some delays and confusion, the organizers realized there were more people than seats on the plane — so the 10 of us who had been left off of the manifest watched everyone else board the plane as the organizers scrambled to get us transportation to an airport in Long Island where another plane had been arranged (how they were able to scramble a plane to Jackson Hole, Wyo., on such short notice is unclear). So after some soothing words and phone calls from the organizers, we piled into three cars headed for Farmingdale, Long Island, where we were deposited at a small airfield and, after about 20 minutes, boarded a Gulfstream G400, the kind of fancy private jet you see on various “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” shows, with plush, recliner-sized seats, shag carpet, big windows, a fully stocked bar, and an incredibly polite staff. Sometimes, #FML can become #FTW! in less than an hour … “Yo, lemme get that Beats Pill” someone shouted to a traveling companion up front, and soon the dulcet tones of a song with the autotuned chorus “You need to f— a real… ” were piping throughout the cabin. Wheels up! When asked whether anyone had mentioned to West that the album will be released — and available on streaming services throughout the globe — by the time the listening session ends, a Def Jam staffer just sighed. Okay maybe the backup flight to the @kanyewest Wyoming adventure isn't so bad pic.twitter.com/Hs0I9haZBD — Jem Aswad (@jemaswad) May 31, 2018<doc-sep>
Products in this story are independently selected and featured editorially. If you make a purchase using these links we may earn commission. While on his way to debut his new album YE , Kanye West took a photo that he ended up using for the new release's cover art Talk about leaving things to the last minute! While on his way to debut his new album YE at an at an intimate album listening party in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Thursday evening, Kanye West took a photo that he ended up using for the new release’s cover art. Explaining how the album artwork came to be, Kim Kardashian West wrote on social media, “Kanye shot the album cover on his iPhone on the way to the album listening party ” In the photo, the words “I hate being bipolar it’s awesome” are printed overtop a picturesque shot of the mountains in Jackson Hole, where West, 40, has been staying since the beginning of May in order to focus on his music. West also spoke about being bipolar on the album, calling it his “superpower” and declaring it “ain’t no disability, I’m a superhero.” kanye-west However, West’s choice of artwork may have come as a surprise to fans because when he first announced his album in a series of tweets in April — writing “my album is 7 songs” — he seemed to be going in a completely different direction. Sharing a photo of a text conversation between him and his friend Wes, the rapper wrote, “This is my album cover,” alongside a photo of the California doctor who operated on his late mother Donda before her sudden death in November 2007. Wes also suggested that West call the album Love Everyone to which the rapper enthusiastically responded with “I love that.” But West is known to change the creative direction of albums in the eleventh hour: He recently changed Pusha T’s cover art for his new album DAYTONA by paying $85,000 to license a photo of Whitney Houston‘s drug-covered bathroom. Want to keep up with the latest from PEOPLE? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get our best stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox. kim-kanye Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West | Credit: Def Jam Records Although many of West’s fans have reacted positively to the album, the hype over the rapper’s new release has caused a backlash among those who believe West should still be “canceled” for suggesting slavery is “a choice” and for publicly supporting President Trump. “Wasn’t Kanye West canceled like two weeks ago? Keep the same energy,” wrote one social media user. Addressing their own hypocrisy, another wrote, “Me: Kanye West is canceled!! Also me: *runs to Spotify to listen to kanyes album*”