I come from an advertising background [ TBWA\hunt\lascaris jhb] and the only way to understand this is for me to compare it to pitching for new business/client. You work long hours day and night but mostly night - you sleep during the day - well morning then come back in the afternoon till the next day. Now the end result is usually amazing because you do in a week what you would in a month with the help of everyone - concerntrating/working on one thing.
"Complex was lucky enough to get a glimpse inside the making of this masterpiece for our December/January 2011 cover story. In fact, it’s the ultimate fly-on-the-wall account: Earlier this year, our editor-in-chief, Noah Callahan-Bever, was invited out to Kanye’s rap fantasy camp in Hawaii to watch the magic happen. We also got some of the major players involved in the album (Pusha T, Pete Rock, Nicki Minaj, etc) to break down their experience." - Complex
I have dreams producing the first print s83 magazine and in my eyes this is the same level of concerntration that will out into it. It has to be perfect at that moment. It has to be the one. that issue has to change everything in print magazine. Remeber no one can accomplish that without a good team.

i didn't really like this cover. cover is wack!
Its not their best, maybe they are taking a different direction - only time will tell.
Its different from what im used to seeing out there.
Maybe they figured since they have Kanye on the cover, they should keep it simple... lets face the guy is complex.
LOL! true that ...