Album Review: Kanye West- 'Yeezus'



The name Kanye West bears significance across nearly every strand of pop culture. From music to fashion to America's sociopolitical climate, the 36-year-old jack-of-all-trades has molded himself into the voice of a generation. Some might argue a generation lost, as the superhero's super ego is one of the most controversially zealous in today's society. For me it's a love/hate relationship; while I continue to question the rapper's lifestyle, public relations, and self-image, it all gets pushed aside when I reminisce about my childhood listening to his 2004 debut The College Dropout or admiring the arena-rap grandeur of his 2011 Jay-Z collabo album Watch the Throne. While West has proclaimed himself as "the Michael Jordan of music"1, I think of him as more of a LeBron James; it's hard to like a guy so full of himself, but it's even harder to ignore his sheer talent and competence. And so the thought subconsciously lingers in all of our minds: When will Kanye slip up and let his persona get the best of his music? (That's when we can all justify our hatred towards the guy!) Well, perhaps it's when you adapt your monicker to signify that you are in fact the Christ incarnate. At least that's what many fans have been voicing with his new album Yeezus which, upon first listen, is a far cry from the Kanye--from hip-hop music for that matter--that the world knows and loves. On the other hand, it's being heralded as a revolutionary work of art that only a mastermind like West could concoct. But is it really worthy of such immediate critique on either end of the spectrum? Track by track, here's my take on Yeezus.

1. "On Sight"
You'll immediately start to take in the album's shock value on the opening track, with an in-your face, speaker-clipping industrial synth crunch. The bare-bones instrumental sets the tone for what is to come; it's brash, cold, and, forces you to focus on Mr. West's lyricism of the same qualities. Back and more boastful than ever, Kanye raps, "Real ni**a back in the house again/black Tims all on your couch again/black dick all in your spouse again." It's this kind of arrogance that we love to loathe him for, but at the end of the day if he doesn't say it, who will? As a cleverly inserted church choir sample chimes about half way through, "He'll give us what we need, but it may not be what we want." In a world where musical ignorance is bliss, our Lord and Savior Yeezus is here to divide us from our sins and make us see the light. 

2. "Black Skinhead"
This track is the primal scream of Yeezus. Like "Power"and "Ni**as in Paris", it thunders with a force that demands to be heard. Rumbling drums create an infectious groove to which Kanye takes the mic with hot-blooded prowess. Fueled by racial tension, the two main verses cleverly turn West's sentiments into pure poetic justice; "If I don't get run out by Catholics, here come some conservative Baptists/ Saying he overreactin' like them black kids in Chiraq, bitch." No matter how angry the star becomes, he always finds a way let his rage loose with unsurmountable snideness. Taking the title of the song into account as well, the tables are most certainly turned, and Kanye has made his counterattack towards the American order and its "justified" hatred of himself and the people he represents.

3. "I am a God" (featuring God)
"I am a God/ so hurry up with my damn massage," barks Kanye on what in a what is the dark, commanding result of all his pooled up narcissism. It's heavy, intimidating, and apparently graced by God himself. But it's more or less just Kanye being Kanye in the most unflattering way possible. 

4. "New Slaves"
What Kanye leaves out musically here he makes up for with his wit and social awareness, as "New Slaves" gives a definitive voice to the underlying racism in America. In a post-Jim Crow society, there are two breeds of prejudice, "broke ni**a racism", and rich ni**a racism" as West explicitly addresses. Hip-hop culture basically feeds the latter, and it's interesting to see that unspoken concept from an insider's perspective...THE insider's perspective really. Alexander Wang and Maybach keys are nothing but shackles and chains in what Kanye depicts as the transparent age of black oppression. And so cleverly does he brush off the weight of his critics while resisting the consumerist chokehold as he raps, "You see there's leaders/and there's followers, but I would rather be a dick than a swallower."

5. "Hold My Liquor"
"Bitch I'm back out my coma", exclaims Kanye over a dark, downtempo beat intermittently sliced by a nail-on-chalkboard guitar squeal. West's lyrics and the gut-wrenching instrumentation come off a bit rough at first, but the track is fairly easy to get lost in after that; the contrast of Chief Keef and Justin Vernon are blended well with a warbly auto-tune that adds a neo-blues finish to the eerie piece.

6. "I'm In It"
Only Kanye West has both the audacity and musical genius to record a song like "I'm In It", which is littered with sexual one-liners that will bring a guilty smirk to your face (my favorite of which I don't even think I can say on here). It's risqué music to say the least, but with such colorful lyricism that it's hard not to see the shrewdness in it all. "My mind move like a Tron bike/ Pop a wheelie on a zeitgeist" is probably the one line in the entire album that I would use to defend Kanye's self-appointed god status. Brilliant arrogance is what it is. And come on, what can you say about a guy who's "a raplic priest...speakin' Swaghili"?

7. "Blood On the Leaves"
When I listen to "Blood on the Leaves" it leaves my mind floating in a cauldron of seamlessly produced  emotions. The sampling of Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit"(originally by Billie Holiday) sets a somber tone while Kanye, in all of his 808's and Heartbreak auto-tune tenderness, wails about a severed relationship over the angry trap horns of TNGHT's "R U Ready?"

8. "Guilt Trip"
The vibes of this track just seem different from the rest of the album. The "Fly Like An Eagle" synth sequence throughout gives it more than just an R&B feel. It's almost like futuristic elevator music--in the best way possible--with a Kid Cudi hook that melts into the mesmeric instrumentals. One verse is all Kanye needs to sing about his broken heart here, but it holds its own as he name drops Shaka Zulu, Shabba Ranks, the Notorious BIG, and Chewbacca from Star Wars to make his case.

9. "Send It Up"
While there are a few noteworthy lines by West and King Louie, most of the lyrics in this track just come off dry. And it certainly doesn't help when the beat sounds like it could have been made on Garage Band.

10. "Bound 2"
The grainy soul sample of The Ponderosa Twins' "Bound" brings me back to Kanye's humble beginnings of the same production style. While it's great cap to the album, I feel puzzled as to why Kanye left out a beat (no worries though, I dug up a re-work that you can snag here). Either way, its extreme catchiness has led me to play it more than any other Yeezus track.

After listening to Yeezus you will probably either take a step back in awe or disgust. But regardless, you will have to take that step back and think about what you just listened to. What sets Kanye West apart from the pack is his highly advanced state of mind, and his ability to take his music and present it as an abstract work of art. It's supposed to make you think. It's supposed to make you ask "Why?" Today most hip-hop doesn't aim to achieve such transcendental status; it's presented to be digested for expedited acclaim. Yeezus would not have had any such success if it were released 5-10 years ago. It is an exhibit long in the making, from a tenured artist who deserves to experiment with such progressivism. And no one deserves to say that any other artist could have made a better Yeezus. It is uniquely Kanye, who no matter how snobbish he is, is one of the most unique icons of the 21st century. Yeezus is minimal and confusing as far as hip-hop goes. It's not a record I would put on at any given time. There's a certain mood that comes with it, that surrounds it. It's so ahead of its time that it can come off as unsettling. But it sets out to do what any groundbreaking work of art is supposed to do; it provokes the listener and takes them out of their element. I don't think the radio is ready for Yeezus. I don't think the clubs are ready for Yeezus. In my opinion it should be set aside for self-interpretation. If, at the end of the day, it's not appealing, I for one can certainly understand. But you listened, you questioned, and you wondered, and that's something that the majority of hip-hop records won't make you do. 



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