Lil B Waters Down 'I'm Gay' Album Cover Artwork

West Coast rapper Lil B has appeared to tame the hype surrounding his controversially titled I'm Gay album by using a shock-less cover.

Rather than fuel critics' tensions with the play on gay, B plainly clarifies the meaning on its cover.

Several months and several death threats after announcing that his upcoming album would be called I'm Gay, weirdo rapper Lil B has backed off a bit, or clarified a bit, or something with the cover art. So yes, there's that "I'm Happy" parenthetical right below the title, which kind of sounds like an elementary-school joke but, to be fair, is the same rationale Lil B's been giving ever since the announcement. Again, he wants the world to know "words don't mean anything"-which anyone who's ever used the words "I'm gay" to say that, in fact, they are actually gay might disagree with, but which certainly isn't inconsistent with B's stream-of-consciousness style. (Pop Dust)

The cover is also inspired by late music great Marvin Gaye.

Today, B revealed the cover exclusively to RapFix Live and while many fans anticipated a controversial piece of work, the album's cover could be possibly be considered tame by many stretches of the imagination. The I'm Gay album artwork was inspired by Marvin Gaye's I Want You album cover drawn by late African American painter Ernie Barnes; Barnes also drew a similar piece for the opening credits of 70s sitcom Good Times. Lil B's version is decidedly similar, much like Camp Lo's debut album Uptown Saturday Night and its cover, but highlighting a message of the contrast between slavery and freedom. (Rapfix)

Last April, Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs publicly taunted Lil B's album title.

"No f*ck sh*t. This ain't no Lil B Based God or no f*cking f*ggot sh*t like that up here," Freddie told fans at a Southpaw Brooklyn show April 27th. "What the f*ck you thought this was? N*gga this is real rap. N*gga. Based God get the f*ck outta here n*gga." (YouTube)

Lil B later came forward and downplayed the taunts.

Lil B, in true Based God fashion, kept the positive vibe going, continuing to downplay any beef with Gibbs or Mysonne when he appeared on MTV's "RapFix Live on Wednesday. "I got love for ... Fred and the other dude. I got love because they dope artists," Lil B said. "This is hip-hop and love; I got respect for both of those cats." (MTV)