BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Kanye West tweeted Sunday night that the original artwork for his new album, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," was banned in the U.S.

"They don't want me chilling on the couch with my phoenix!" he wrote, alongside a photo of the intended artwork.

The graphic artwork shows a naked depiction of West with the mythological bird in female form straddling him.

"In the 70s album covers had actual nudity... It's so funny that people forget that..." he wrote. "Everything has been so commercialized now."

"So Nirvana can have a naked human being on their cover but I can't have a PAINTING of a monster with no arms and a polka dot tail and wings."

At issue, reports the Los Angeles Times, is whether mass-market retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart would carry an album featuring a cover with nudes.

"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" is scheduled for release on Nov. 22.