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The unstoppable machine that is Kanye West released his highly anticipated 6th studio album Yeezus earlier this month. This release follows his late 2012 G.O.O.D. Music Collaboration release Cruel Summer and boasts collaborations with the likes of Justin Vernon, Daft Punk, Hudson Mohawk and even God. Admittedly, the album is a tad bit disjointed; a point that it makes up for nicely with its outstanding production value and West’s impeccable lyricism.
The album opens in a big way with ‘On Sight’. The first line of the album, in fact, has West proclaiming that “Yeezy season is approaching” as he raps over buzzy lo-fi beats. ‘On Sight’ soon turns into the immaculately produced ‘Black Skinhead, an incomprehensible marvel of both sound and prose.
The album opens in a big way with ‘On Sight’. The first line of the album, in fact, has West proclaiming that “Yeezy season is approaching” as he raps over buzzy lo-fi beats. ‘On Sight’ soon turns into the immaculately produced ‘Black Skinhead, an incomprehensible marvel of both sound and prose.
‘I Am God’ has Kanye West imploring an unnamed antagonist to “hurry up” with his “damn croissants” and threatens to topple over with the weight of its own grandiosity. Its aesthetics lean heavily towards French underground House and compromise its potential commercial value for artistic value instead.
West’s cultural exposition takes flight on ‘New Slaves’ with the rapper tackling every subject from racism, politics, stardom, paparazzi, and more. Prolific ‘New Slaves’ lurches and jumps with tempo shifts while ‘Hold My Liquor’ is a steady and winding punctuation for the album.
‘I’m In It’ is inconceivably brilliant from start to finish with longtime collaborator Justin Vernon appearing on the track in his usual manor. The sound on this track and even ‘Blood On The Leaves’ are most reminiscent of 808s and Heartbreak, seemingly picking up where the 2008 release left off.
Closing track ‘Bound 2’ is a major winner on the album, bringing back a rare glimpse of a jauntier and more playful Kanye West circa ‘All Falls Down’. Presumably about current girlfriend Kim Kardashian, West raps candidly over a Brenda Lee sample on a myriad of topics all seemingly related his troubled relationships. From drinking, to sex, and breakups, West shines spectacularly on ‘Bound 2’.
While frequent collaborator Jay-Z was conspicuously missing on this release, Yeezus is a masterfully produced and executed work of art. While West himself has even expressed doubts that Yeezus will be a commercial success, the album is "bound 2" resonate with fans of his previous work and fans of great work.
Kanye West//Bound 2
