Kanye West promised that he'd never release The Life Of Pablo in a physical edition, but that doesn't mean other people won't do it for him. The Vinyl Factory discovered a German label cheekily named #tidalforall has pressed at least 1,000 copies of The Life Of Pablo on vinyl, and users on Instagram and Twitter pointed out that copies have even popped up for Record Store Day. The bootleg features new cover art of a different female model.
As you might expect from an album that's changing so much so quickly, there are some differences between the bootlegs. One listing on eBay has a copy which plays “Facts” twice in keeping with the very first downloadable release of The Life Of Pablo. Another copy, seen in the tweet above, does contain “Fade.” That version is pink, while other editions are clear plastic (there have been unconfirmed reports of a black vinyl). It's unclear whether #tidalforall or some other pranksters are behind this latest batch of TLOPs.
I visited a handful of record stores around Toronto to investigate, and each one was sold out of TLOP bootlegs. I was told that there are probably not going to be any additional pressings, so if you're interested in getting one off eBay, do so quickly before the prices surge.
There is a chance that an official TLOP vinyl release could be in the works. Last month, Madlib posted—and quickly deleted— an Instagram picture of a Pablo vinyl. This doesn't contradict Kanye's recent tweets saying he's done releasing CDs, but if a vinyl does end up getting released, only half of purchasers may actually listen to it.
When reached over email, a rep for Kanye West told The FADER that the albums were “bootlegs." The plot thickens!
