Kanye West -- I'm Going Back to the LAX/Paparazzi Lion's Den

Kanye West is getting on an airplane right now ... bound for the airport that has triggered multiple run-ins with the paparazzi and 2 criminal prosecutions ... TMZ has learned.

Kanye left Milan early this morning and landed in Newark. He's about to board a plane for LAX and our sources say he will leave the terminal and walk right into the always-present paparazzi frenzy -- by his choice.

Kanye has told friends it's too much of a hassle to fly out of his way to avoid LAX. When he left for Paris, he took a private jet to San Francisco and picked up an international flight. As we reported, his reps wanted him to avoid LAX because they didn't want to give prosecutors in his pending criminal case more ammo, in case another confrontation erupts.

Kanye is determined to remain cool, regardless of how the photogs act. But he's also hedging his bets. He's spending a couple of grand for 3 security people to flank him as he leaves the airport.