DAYTONA

The cover of DAYTONA is a photograph of the bathroom of the late singer Whitney Houston, its counter cluttered with drug paraphernalia. It replaced the album's original artwork only a few days before release, and the image was licensed for $85,000, a fee paid by Kanye West, who produced the album.

The choice was deliberately provocative for a record steeped in drug-dealing imagery. The cover design was credited to Akeem Smith, with the photograph itself credited to the agency Splash News.

It drew immediate criticism. Houston's former husband, Bobby Brown, said the cover was in "really really bad taste." DAYTONA was released on 25 May 2018 by GOOD Music and Def Jam, and its sleeve remains one of the most debated covers of the decade.