firedit: do not post a million kanye posts, they will be deleted!!!

A lot of material has been published since the last show, so i figured it was time to make a real thread.

Videos:

New Slaves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr6t5heUOaY

On Site
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtGXW3kqdnM

I Am a God
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RDdsWm3uRU

Black Skinhead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v0XWYKvkX8

Could Have Been Somebody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TRQ0gWLzEKA

Send it Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uiHA0bXzMrI

Rumored tracklist:

1. Bound (Produced by Kanye West, S1, No ID)
2. New Slaves (Feat. Frank Ocean) (Produced by Hudson Mohawke, Kanye West, Mike Dean, & Co. Travis Scott)
3. I Am A God (Feat. Bon Iver, The Dream) (Produced by Hudson Mohawke, Rick Rubin, Mike Dean, Kanye West)
4. Send It Up (Feat. King L) (Produced by Justice, & Co. Mike Dean)
5. On Site (Produced by Daft Punk, Hudson Mohawke)
6. Can't Handle The Liquor (Feat. Chief Keef) (Produced by Kanye West, Hit-Boy, Young Chop, & Co. Travis Scott)
7. Black Skinhead (Produced by Kanye West, Mike Dean, Rick Rubin, & Co. Jack White, Travis Scott)
8. Throne (Feat. Jay-Z) (Produced by Hudson Mohawke, Daft Punk, & Co. Mike Dean)
9. Awesome/Could Have Been Somebody (Produced by Mike Dean, TNGHT)
10. House of Sin (Produced by Kanye West, S1, & Co. Mike Dean)


Thoughts so far?

What ever the fuck you want to call it I ain't feeling it. That "Could Have Been Somebody" joint doesn't fit the vibe either. SMH, I waited three years for this shit?! Damn!

>What ever the fuck you want to call it I ain't feeling it.
>That "Could Have Been Somebody" joint doesn't fit the vibe
>either. SMH, I waited three years for this shit?! Damn!

I understand what you mean. It's a pretty radical shift from previous records. I'll wait with my opinions until i've heard the CDQ though.

>What ever the fuck you want to call it I ain't feeling it.
>That "Could Have Been Somebody" joint doesn't fit the vibe
>either. SMH, I waited three years for this shit?! Damn!

I'll hold judgement until hearing the complete album........maybe it'll make sense or click for me then, but the individual songs I've heard so far I haven't liked at all and I've rode with every phase of Kanye right up through "Cruel Summer".


__
I don't like the beat anymore because its just a loop. ALC didn't FLIP IT ENOUGH!

Flip it enough? Flip these. Flip off. Go flip some f*cking burgers.(c)Kno

Allied State of the National Electric Beat Treaty Organization (NEBTO)

Like Nick said above that 'Could Have Been Somebody' sounds totally out of place...like an 808 leftover.

I Am God sounds a little more Swedish House Mafia then Skinny Puppy.

Love the beat on Send It Up tho, it's where I hope he aimed...aggressive and sinister but still danceable or at least a heavy head nod factor.

>Like Nick said above that 'Could Have Been Somebody' sounds
>totally out of place...like an 808 leftover.
>
>I Am God sounds a little more Swedish House Mafia then Skinny
>Puppy.
>
>Love the beat on Send It Up tho, it's where I hope he
>aimed...aggressive and sinister but still danceable or at
>least a heavy head nod factor.

>Love the beat on Send It Up tho,

no interest at all in hearing this one either

This is definitely something I'd have to hear before copping though.
Most of these songs are sounding pretty iffy to me.

without HudMo Cruel Summer would have been irredeemable

Like when he farmed out 'Stronger' to Timbaland so he could beef up the drums.


>without HudMo Cruel Summer would have been irredeemable

and talent he wants on his albums? personally i think someone who can say "alright, what i've got down on paper isn't how i want it to sound... but i do know how i want it to sound and i think person A, sound B, and producer C can get it to where it needs to be" is a better *producer* than someone who just says, "ok, i had a vision for how this would shape up, it's not quite meeting that vision, but whatever, i'd rather it be all me/i don't know how to bridge the gap i'm trying to cross, so i'll leave it at that"... very little of ye's sounds and what he has to say sounds frivolous to me.. imo, great producers do much more than create, they make choices.. and i happen to think dude has been making some pretty great choices throughout his career

>and talent he wants on his albums? personally i think someone
>who can say "alright, what i've got down on paper isn't how i
>want it to sound... but i do know how i want it to sound and i
>think person A, sound B, and producer C can get it to where it
>needs to be" is a better *producer* than someone who just
>says, "ok, i had a vision for how this would shape up, it's
>not quite meeting that vision, but whatever, i'd rather it be
>all me/i don't know how to bridge the gap i'm trying to cross,
>so i'll leave it at that"... very little of ye's sounds and
>what he has to say sounds frivolous to me.. imo, great
>producers do much more than create, they make choices.. and i
>happen to think dude has been making some pretty great choices
>throughout his career

and agree with everything above.

Its just interesting how he's switching gears.

i dont listen to music for a display of executive producing

its not a coincidence Hit-boy and HudMo were directly involved with every good song on Cruel Summer

kanye's personality changed but his sound didnt, so now he needs other people to do that for him

and thats ok. but HudMo, TNGHT, Justice, Daft Punk...those are not beatmakers or session guys. they make instrumental songs, not tracks for vocalists usually. id surprised if Kanye was standing over Thomas Bangalters shoulder doing anything other than: "nah, nah, nah, YES! i'll take that one!"

> id surprised if
>Kanye was standing over Thomas Bangalters shoulder doing
>anything other than: "nah, nah, nah, YES! i'll take that
>one!"

I don't mind the fact that he's going to people that can give him what he wants, but we all know you niggers will give him all the credit for that shit
these guys aren't session musicians, it's a bit more involved than that

you're just wrong.

you're in here mighty hard rooting for niggas

you want it too, nigga?

It just doesn't work.

SMH

does it?

Fuck you

than women do

...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HzyUHxmkg0

or this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-kjLzAIYAY

or this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgdoPtMAobU

or this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy1dYFGkPUE

or this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKzWLUQizz8


man these dudes dont need Kanye...but he needs them.

>man these dudes dont need Kanye...but he needs them.

daft punk, justice, HudMo, and TNGHT were doing just fine before Kanye brought them in to keep his sound relevant

independent of Kanye, yes. Will they be as successful without Kanye production work? No.

Kanye doesn't NEED them either.

it's called a collaborative effort.

So you are wrong, and you should go sit down somewhere.

for all of your comments about how miserable "people" must be for not liking this, you have gone way the opposite direction

because if you cant admit that Kanye needs them to have a relevant sound you're lying to yourself

he's jumping on the trap/"EDM" bandwagon. he wont have a credible sound without people in the genre to produce for him. ergo, he needs them.

>for all of your comments about how miserable "people" must be
>for not liking this

I said how miserable people are for HATING ON KANYE (or any artist for that matter). Not liking it is something else. Those people either never reply to this post or speak their peace and bounce. I respect that. Every sensible poster on OKP does this. Haters set up base camp and shit on fans repeatedly. Even if it means sacrificing their favorite albums for more potent hate.

>because if you cant admit that Kanye needs them to have a
>relevant sound you're lying to yourself
>
>he's jumping on the trap/"EDM" bandwagon. he wont have a
>credible sound without people in the genre to produce for him.
> ergo, he needs them.

Kanye doesn't need them dudes. Those are just the folks he decided to collab (i'm starting to think the meaning of this word has eluded you) with. He can pull a number of Trap/EDM producers and between him and Mike Dean...come up with similar product. Alot of yall are discounting Mike Dean as well. He deserves an appreciation post but I digress.

To your point, sure if Kanye tried to do this solo he would probably produce some shitty chipmonk soul/boom-bap/electro hybrid. However, this is what makes Kanye great. He knows this. He needs a team to fully realize his vision. I'm sure a number of you would agree some of the best music is made when a well constructed team is behind the scenes. You guys are getting mad at him for this? nah...nah...i cant believe anyone is that stupid.

All I said was that he needs them to craft a timely sound for him. Mike Dean's involvement backs up my point. A kanye west solo production charting on Beatport would back up yours, but thats never gonna happen.

Its the ppl who worship at his altar that got mad at the thought that
A)a kanye west album would have others' production.
B)those producers are better

Its not gonna affect my enjoyment of the finished product because I have no personal stake. Still true tho.

tracks.

HudMo has a very soulful vibe to his solo shit, so I don't even really lump his stuff in the trap pile. But that TNGHT shit definitely has a ceiling to its appeal, that a dude like kanye could help them push past, musically

I think thats intentional on TNGHT's part, which is why their tracks are short

Plus theyve always said their dream is to produce for MCs (as TNGHT anyways). Im not mad at the pairing at all. I just wanted to emphasize that these are independent artists whose careers would be just fine without working with Kanye; additionally Kanye cant make the album he wants without them.

Thats where my statement of "he needs them more than they need him" comes from.

Videos, interviews, something that shines light on Ye's ability to traditionally produce a record. I've seen a clip in a studio where he's banging around on an MPC, and the shit ain't pretty.

Again, the reason this is so ridiculous to me is because he needs THAT much help to make electronic music. It's not like he's directing a band or anything.

-------------------------
“Floyd Mayweather should be taking fights up to 157 or 160 pounds...His frame can hold the weight..it's not even a lot of weight....Go to the gym and lift weights man..lol.”-- Warren Coolidge

dude.. i'm in no way speaking on his new material.. haven't heard a single studio version of any of it... and yes, i'm a kanye west fan, but i'm far from hanging on the dude's nuts (he's made plenty of tracks that i think are bad --> garbage)... i'm not making any conclusions other than what it means to be a producer (or its many meanings.. see: bill szymczyk)... but if you think this works like other artists *accepting* submissions instead of kanye *enlisting* outside help and guiding that help in some way, you're wrong.. and i think there's a difference...

now all i care about is whether i like the shit or not... and i would get no more enjoyment knowing that kanye "did it all himself".. in fact, you could tell me that fergie wrote all of Graduation and i wouldn't like it any less.. i'll give points for going against the grain a bit or stepping outside of a comfort zone or self expression in a novel/genuine way.. but not enough points to make me like something (e.g. 808s)...

so please explain your little "exhibit" series, cuz maybe i'm misunderstanding and i don't want to come at you the wrong way..

his sounds and what he says not being frivolous
most of what he says, and the way he says them, are frivolous to the point for boredom
it's pretty clear he does what he does for the fanfare and acclaim moreso than being an artist
he's a master at pastiche, he doesn't go all the way in when he does something because it's beyond his scope as an artist to do so, and it's by his own design
his execution is always lacking when it comes to anything other than 'LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT WHAT I'M DOING!'

really sure.. i think when i look at kanye, i think i'm looking at a bunch of things.. i'm analyzing him as an MC, as a producer, as a pop artist, as an *artist*, as a public figure, as a celebrity, as an entertainer and then him as a business... so i'm going to agree with you in part and disagree in part...

when it comes to kanye the MC, i think the dude has a dope way of engaging with his audience.. i think he's skilled enough to impress at times and sometimes bad enough to bring his shit down to earth and sound more "everyman".. i also think there's a difference between "corny" and "cheesy" raps.. corny is like "man, turn that shit off, dude is corny".. cheesy is like "haha man, that dude is seriously a fool, the audacity that guy must have to even do that"... i'm of the opinion that kanye is of the "cheesy" variety, maybe it's just cuz i enjoy his rapping (could be "copping pleas" here, but i think i'm being relatively objective lol).. but he doesn't sniff ghostface, DOOM, blackthought, em, etc. as an MC, technically..

kanye the producer is what i said in that first post.. i never claimed that he reinvented the wheel in any way.. but he plays the "listen to me because i'm kanye and you're *supposed* to be listening to me" thing really well... he goes against the *current* grain and because of the place and time in music, i think that's enough to at least be refreshing.. not to mention, i think his execution is 90-100% on point. but again, there's your mention of "pastiche" - honestly, i think he's almost like quentin tarantino in that way..

kanye the pop artist just plain makes music that a lot of people enjoy listening to and get excited about. and that's all this part of the job really requires.

kanye the artist... now here's what we'll probably agree on, but with different connotations.. i listen to kanye and none of what he says or does pushes any sort of boundary and very little of it really let's us peer into "the mind of kanye".. what he does generally is use his celebrity to create very public stories and then uses his albums as a way to "give us his side of the story" and show great "introspection".. that comes off as the kind of personal and artsy stuff critics love... like, "whoa, he wears his heart on his sleeve and allows us to get a glimpse".. but we forget that he set all of that shit up the previous year.. we don't see any part of kanye that we aren't *meant* to see... fucking brilliant, imo. and even for a cynic like me, it's fun to suspend your disbelief w/ this dude..

now i could totally see someone saying that takes away from the artistic integrity of his work and get a little annoyed seeing so many people eat it up.. esp. people who get their "art" fix from ppl like kanye.. but for me, personally, i look at kanye like i'd look at a play/musical that's just ongoing.. i don't know that motherfucker.. got no clue what he's thinking about.. the kanye west *i* know is a fictional character based on a real person - who also happens to play the character and perform the stunts lol.. and that character is just fucking entertaining to watch/listen to..

which plays directly into the "kanye as business" aspect.. i think it's similar to how MJ (jackson and jordan actually) was able to take full advantage of the new mediums available to him to become maybe the biggest we'll ever see (we all know the music was beyond fantastic, legendary, but a lot of how *big* he was able to get had to do w/ the time period).. Kanye is also using everything at his disposal to gain as many fans/haters/observers as possible.. and it's almost as if twitter was actually invented for someone like him.. i mean, his tweets usually result in multiple news articles..

anyways, this response is already too long... i'll just say that i think that "Kanye West: the show" has been artfully done so far... i mean, we've all had like 100 things to say about an album that we haven't heard an actual studio note of.. but i am pretty realistic about all of it..

A good one, yes.

But LOL @ these production credits.

still

Truth...

u probably think all Directors operate the camera or edit, or do sound, or does all the cinematography lol

I'm going out to the death with this one.

You must not be familiar with my hate for West's "genius" production.

but i hate how nowindays people throw around the word "genius"

son..."genius"...thats stevie....MJ...hendrix....bill evans....coltrane.....ETC

that you consider "genius"?

it isn't a word that should be taken lightly no?

To me rakim and nas are lyrical geniuses
how preemos production is so simple, yet keeps me coming back every single time, is genius to me

I think you are just mad that I said Kanye wasn't a genius lol. you just ignored a post where I called other hip hop artists geniuses

and its okay if thats the case, we just don't agree

no need to call my opinion ridiculous just because I'm not a super Kanye...stan? especially because you are talking to someone who likes his music anyway

producing electronic music isnt like producing for a rock band

a producer for a rock band does things the way you just described.

techno, house, *trap*, drum and bass, etc etc etc

those producers do everything themselves unless they want to record some live instruments that they themselves dont know how to play

Do you know HOW many electronic producers have ghost producers?? or a team that makes all their shit tight??

A LOT...

Im fairly confident that its more of a problem among the EDC crowd than in the underground techno/house/dnb scene

But u never know

Kanye can't do a single thing by himself on the production side anymore.

Why can't anyone admit it instead of making all these excuses and moving the goalposts?

But isn't he a producer first? He was a producer first, and the way his music goes, putting together a song/album is much more his lane than just rapping.


>A good one, yes.

Eh. He's alright. It's really those production credits that allowed him to rap.

nm

Sampling The Doors and The Jackson 5 and shit? With those weak ass drums? Come on.

He got lucky that his low-budget sample beats came around at the right time. I remember OKP giving this dude love back in 02 SOLELY based off the fact that he was "a mainstream rap artist who used samples."

Flash forward 10 years and it takes 4 guys to make a beat on a Kanye West album. What the fuck?

Oh and no one seems to agree with me when I actually give him props as a rapper, which I find odd. He worked hard to get to where he is on the mic and he deserves credit. His "production" methods, on the other hand, have become downright laughable.

You don't hear me though.

lol

These people are ridiculous.

They'll force themselves to believe anything as long as it means giving Yeezy credit.

for a semi-throwback to that "hard," aggressive mid-80's Def Jam "Reduced by Rick Rubin" vibe

Some of us lived through that; if it's not your thing then it's not your thing

And no, I haven't listened to the tracks yet; I thought it had leaked

Just being honest

______________________________________________________________________________________
Im not posting in PTP

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/10/kanye-rick-rubin-yeezus_n_3414929.html

Kanye West and Rick Rubin have reportedly teamed up to finish "Yeezus," West's album that's due out on the fast approaching date of June 18.

A new report in the New York Post cites anonymous sources who say West is driving his label, Def Jam, mad with constant tinkering. The rapper -- who performed new material at Governors Ball on Sunday night -- is said to be particularly obsessed with "Onsite," a new song that features the Holy Name of Mary Church choir, which is from Chicago's South Side.

Def Jam reportedly had such a rough go of securing rights for the vocals that they recorded another version in the studio, which the Post says West agreed to use. Rubin, a seven-time Grammy winner and producer of legendary albums for Run DMC, LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Johnny Cash, Slayer, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine and many more, was reportedly brought in to help West cross the T's and dot the I's on the disc. (The Huffington Post can confirm that Rubin has contributed a good deal of production to the album, but our sources didn't cite delays as the reason why.)

Sources also told The Huffington Post that the lack of cover art for "Yeezus" (the jewelcase is unadorned, though fans have taken to coming up with crafty art after they were instructed to add their own "graffiti") allows for more time before the album must be set to the plant.

West seemed to hint at delays during his set on Sunday:

"I'm just happy to be making music and happy to be performing for you all. You know for this album, we didn't drop a single to radio, we ain't have no big NBA campaign, we don't even have a cover. We only made real music. Back then we used to go work on an album for like 5 months, then we'd come back and wait for the label to pick the perfect time to release it. When you listen to radio, that isn't where I want to be any more. And, honestly, at this point, I could give a f--k about selling a million records. I'll drop it when I want and I'll sell more records. Because at this point, I don't really care about outside opinions."

According to the Post, Rubin will be credited as executive producer. HuffPost Entertainment has reached out to Def Jam for comment on the Post's report and will update this article should a statement be made available the label declined to comment on the story. The album also features contributions from No ID, RZA, Daft Punk and many more.

The guest spots on his albums are like instruments: Paul Wall on Drive Slow, Ross on Devil in a New Dress, Raekwon on Gorgeous for instance.

So with this in mind I already know I'm getting something hard with the Keef feature.
What's funny is I dont even like Chief Keef, in fact I can't stand him, but there's a strong chance Ill still like the song.

And it's something that I'm seeing Kendrick Lamar doing very well also.

MBDTF is the perfect example on how to use guest spots

lol West killing it

>lol West killing it

is an amazing old gospel song.
heard it on Gilles Peterson a few months ago.
one of those sick rare old joints.
Kind of disappointed in the way he used it.
He would have been better off rhyming over the whole joint.
i guess it's an homage.

anyway.
excited for the record.
not thrilled about the autotune joint though.

I like the direction so far.

... from the Chapelle show interview.

>

it's forward thinking and powerful.

there's no denying this album's power.

You can't say shit if a grown man cries after hearing "Roses" so Yeezus will have to kill it with the album filler. but so far so amazing.







*potentially.

CD to 808s to YEEZUS

c'mon...no rapper is making leaps like that and still goin Plat.

Ye is a trend setter. Yall can start rattling off electro artists who influenced this, say Ye aint a genius the way he's blending genres, and other mad-fueled statements but IDC.

>CD to 808s to YEEZUS
>
>c'mon...no rapper is making leaps like that and still goin
>Plat.
>
>Ye is a trend setter. Yall can start rattling off electro
>artists who influenced this, say Ye aint a genius the way he's
>blending genres, and other mad-fueled statements but IDC.
>

I'm a big Ye fan. You can check past posts but this ain't nothing new. Maybe new to those who only listen to rap but this music has been done before. El-P does it better he just ain't popular like Ye so I'll give him credit for doing it with the platform he has but this music has been done before and better too.

but how would you respond if he said "name a MAINSTREAM rapper..."?

>but how would you respond if he said "name a MAINSTREAM
>rapper..."?

that's the only thing I can give Ye credit for is doing this type of music on a mainstream level. Can't give him a cookie just for doing it though because it's not sounding good IMO but if he can feed the youth some kind of message I'm cool with it.

but i'm glad that you can see that Ye is in a class of his own regardless of whether or not you personally fuck with the music.

Millions of others do, perhaps you are feeling left out.

>but i'm glad that you can see that Ye is in a class of his
>own regardless of whether or not you personally fuck with the
>music.
>
>Millions of others do, perhaps you are feeling left out.

I'm a big Ye fan. Check the archives. I been riding for him. Still buying this album because I support my niggas through the ups and downs. I don't have a problem with the production. He's just not the right artist to do this IMO.

lyrically kanye has peaked and is on the decline so re-inventing his sound makes sense.
i also like this sound. it's simultaneously dark and stadium status.
it's very alterna-negro...lol... i'm all about it.
always wanted to hear an american rapper over this type of music.

and not just a producer. he's run out of original beat ideas. that doesn't mean he should quit making music...lol

if madonna can be described as changing her "sound" with every album then kanye can be given the same leeway. especially knowing how OCD hands-on he is with crafting shit.

i swear some of y'all rap fans actually hate rap. gotdamn.

all those people in the production credits that 2/3 of this post has never heard of?

they make music like that on their own and have since before they ever started working with Kanye

>all those people in the production credits that 2/3 of this
>post has never heard of?

...that people havent heard of. ESPECIALLY on OKP. foh.

maybe not these particular people in this particular post

but yeah

everyone who says they love kanye's new dark sound is outing themselves

just let me know so that I don't waste my time trying to explain this shit to you.
and just let you do what you want to.
cause i'm a hater too (just not of Kanye) so i know how that goes.

>maybe not these particular people in this particular post
>
>but yeah
>
>everyone who says they love kanye's new dark sound is outing
>themselves
this sound is not new to the beatmakers he enlisted but they NEW FOR KANYE the rapper!
what part of this shit is confusing you?

and all those guys are known. at least on okp.
why are you acting like you got a smoking gun?

CD, LR, Grad., and MBDTF are 4.5 star albums easily

but his sound lately is derivative. actually thats unfair because derivative would imply that the people he's deriving it from arent just doing it themselves.

and like i said, in this post yeah those are probably well known names...but peek into some of the "white trap" posts from the past year

see the people poo-pooing it? as soon as those people declare how much they love Yeezus my point will be proven

that's a different point though. but yes i agree that people like to be spoon fed their "tastes".
>see the people poo-pooing it? as soon as those people declare
>how much they love Yeezus my point will be proven
>

>just let me know so that I don't waste my time trying to
>explain this shit to you.
>and just let you do what you want to.
>cause i'm a hater too (just not of Kanye) so i know how that
>goes.

>all those people in the production credits that 2/3 of this
>post has never heard of?

We've heard of them. Just not feeling Kanye over these soundscapes. He's very pedestrian lyrically so maybe he should've got some writers to go along with the team of producers he assembled. Maybe Mos, my bad, Yasiin Bey or even Saul Williams. They'd be better for this type of music but they couldn't get these same niggas to produce their album because they lack star power.

>
>they make music like that on their own and have since before
>they ever started working with Kanye
>
>

>We've heard of them. Just not feeling Kanye over these
>soundscapes. He's very pedestrian lyrically so maybe he
>should've got some writers to go along with the team of
>producers he assembled. Maybe Mos, my bad, Yasiin Bey or even
>Saul Williams. They'd be better for this type of music but
>they couldn't get these same niggas to produce their album
>because they lack star power.

at this point he is the one who decides who is big enough to be on his album

> He's very pedestrian lyrically so maybe he
>should've got some writers to go along with the team of
>producers he assembled.
not saul williams though.

not others'.

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/southern-hip-hop-pioneer-mike-dean/51b0b99d78c90a03d2000198

disclaimer: this interviewer is annoying as fuck.

- details Kanye's creative process
- a few hilarious stories of dealing w/ Suge Knight

that's putting it mildly...lol
>disclaimer: this interviewer is annoying as fuck.

he actually said "and they're beautiful" in reference to jay-z verses.
you would have thought he was taking about out a designer purse.

I was hoping it was all a joke. Not feeling the sound at all, from what I've heard.

Damn, I wanted a new dope Kanye album for the summer. My hopes are no longer high. Hopefully J. cole comes through.

Plain and simple

the difference in reception between send it up and all falls down is hilarious

ye got obsessed with performance music circa graduation and this is just "stadium status" shit on level 200

>the difference in reception between send it up and all falls
>down is hilarious
>
>ye got obsessed with performance music circa graduation and
>this is just "stadium status" shit on level 200

Crowd reaction proves nothing about the actual quality of the music.

In 2003 you would have gotten a much bigger crowd reaction from a Chingy track than something from Kanye. College Dropout hadn't come out yet.

Are you going to tell me Right Thurr is a better song than All Falls Down?

-

OP asked for thoughts and that was my immediate thought...

To further explain that,

Just recently I hovered across Ye´s website and caught a soulful snippet of a song which sparked a glimpse of interest in this album to me.

After hearin these clips, that interest is gone.

... however I will give it another opportunity after it's been released to hear it in its recorded glory since it sounds sooo shitty live and through laptop speakers.

and it's not even out yet.
people are writing articles anchored by pure conjecture.

that said, i'm excited to hear it.
MJ Gone.
who else we gon be hype for?

But I guess he'd rather try to get to their sound without them

NOPE, EL-P's recent output is meh.

Im actually surprised Daft Punk made it. They're a lounge act now

.

...and maybe even better than the mike ish, was his own LP, "Cancer for Cure"...but let's just agree that Kanye is the man...lol...

He produced 2 of the top LPs of the year...one of that was my number 1

El-P's recent work being "meh", that's a god damn lie

before you go the ohh you a Ye hater, i'm actually in the Graduation, 808s and MBDTF >>> CD, LR camp and love his artistic changes/visionon on aesthetic and populist levels

but you and others literally make it easy as fuck to criticize Ye BECAUSE OF HIS FANS. there in ONE CDQ link in the OP, and yall calling it classic... calm down

it's borderline FULL retard

and jut for reminders sake, you know YE is just as old as El-P and Saul right, right?

"i own ALL his cd's...i was the first person to like 808s on this board, etc"

chill bruh

Yall getting mad because one dude used the scared word. Which summoned Bammer out of his dungeon to post a completely useless post, causing collateral damage on other OKP favorite albums.

look what you've done.

Dudes is actually low key shitting on their favorite albums by agreeing with Bammer in a quest to shit on Ye fans. yall are despicable.

Yeezus fans are devoted. We fuck with dude almost unconditionally. we support dude amongst the hate and the haters can stand it. They actually repeatedly enter this post. I would never do that for a Roc Marciano album discussion. sidebar: nigga solidified his legacy by seeding Kim K. This child will be the second coming, release a c*****c album and/or modeling career and yall will be right up there with mistermaxx mad up in the nursing home. I'd rather kill myself than get to that point.

now i fucks with u Blak...but this post is proof 85% of yall lead miserable lives.


>and jut for reminders sake, you know YE is just as old as El-P
>and Saul right, right?

and? he as aint washed up as them

Bammer a fucn weirdo and why anyone replies to that enwurd's post seriously is beyond me. he's like a wounded dog running around the forrest of the lesson howling at people to remember the glroy days of Loon and Graph. he aint looking for conversation/debate. he looking to just say "you're wrong. thaks for your reply"

most preface shit about YE to le stans because exactly how you replied. go to GD look up the post about Kim K being a slut and all that Ye a closet case... i damn near said verbatim what you did "niggas mad He wifed up and impreganted Kim" cause they live in a shit hole with a fat girlfriend. shit my own friends tell em if i had fame and money I'd be just as outtaline and assholish as Ye, BUT that don't mean heads can't be "meh" or not like some of his music or the direction of his sound.

all i'm saying is can we let the album drop first

and El-P is washed up? interviews on pitchfork, noisey, vice, sway in the morning? getting critical love from Potholes to the New York times? touring with Killer Mike all over for the past two years? that's washed up? i need a new life plan stat!

Saul is a poet/writer/thinker who decided to do music. he lives in fucn Paris, maybe he's washed up, who knows. all i know is Ye is definately moving towards a sound saul & Trent already created on Niggy Tardust. does that matter, i dont' know the answer to that either.

>all i'm saying is can we let the album drop first
>
>and El-P is washed up? interviews on pitchfork, noisey, vice,
>sway in the morning? getting critical love from Potholes to
>the New York times? touring with Killer Mike all over for the
>past two years? that's washed up? i need a new life plan
>stat!


nope, just not a fan of his. he aint shitty tho but it's meh to me.

>NOPE, EL-P's recent output is meh.

>NOPE, EL-P's recent output is meh.

no hate on dude at all

El-P killed it last year.

Even though it was a diverse festival crowd a ton of people around me knew/had heard the song. Everyone was fucking with those drums. Plus he said some shit about not wanting a cd to sell a mil but it was more important to put out a cd that everyone would bump during the summer yada yada but damn, when he ended with that shit again...this is about to be a beast of a record.

Can't Handle the Liqour (or Can't Hold My Liqour)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FtGrgSiDGVI

http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/kanye-west-yeezus-track-by-track-first-listen?recache=1&t=1231313

Kanye's ability to have a hissy fit is only exceeded by his ability to induce them.

works both ways. I think we've heard enough to make a decision one way or the other.

constantly show up in every Kanye thread (and even make their own) just to talk about how much his music sucks.

As it was said in either this thread or that other thread, it's fun to be a stan. Pretty sad when you're blatantly miserable and need to try to prove your opinion is right about someone's music when all people are trying to do is be excited about an album and enjoy the music.

Kanye stans get the most criticism because he's an easy target.

>Kanye's ability to have a hissy fit is only exceeded by his
>ability to induce them.

the absolute worst out in rap fans. just line after line of silly shit

be it praise or hate

stans and haters alike

some of these replies are embarrassing

...but I'm seeing a lot of dickriding in this thread. It isn't mandatory for every person to be madly in love with these songs.

>...but I'm seeing a lot of dickriding in this thread. It
>isn't mandatory for every person to be madly in love with
>these songs.

i'm a stan but some of ya'll doing too much

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/arts/music/kanye-west-talks-about-his-career-and-album-yeezus.html?pagewanted=all&_r=3&

Malibu, Calif. — From Shangri-la Studio here you can see the Pacific Ocean just over the fence lapping calmly at Zuma Beach. And this compound is just as Zen, with recording equipment set up in various locations, including an old bus and a spotless white house with all the mirrors removed.

But there is no rest at Shangri-la, at least for Kanye West. For several days in late May and early June, he and a rotating group of intimates, collaborators and hangers-on were holed up in service of finishing “Yeezus” (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam), Mr. West’s sixth solo album, out Tuesday, and one that marks a turn away from his reliable maximalism to something more urgent and visceral.

The original studios were built under the supervision of Bob Dylan and the Band in the 1970s — some of “The Last Waltz” was filmed here — and the property was bought in 2011 by the producer Rick Rubin, the man whose brain Mr. West had come here to pick. Together, they sandpapered off the album’s rough edges, rerecording vocals and sometimes writing entire new verses. Even as the deadline loomed, Mr. West made room for an appearance at the baby shower for his girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, who’s expecting their first child. As the days passed, the songs noticeably morphed, becoming more skeletal and ferocious.

One afternoon, Mr. Rubin exited the studio and declared, to everyone and no one, “It’s un-bee-leave-able what’s happening in there.”

If by that he meant the paring-down to what Mr. West lightheartedly referred to as “aspiration minimalism,” then yes, it was somewhat unbelievable.

Mr. West has had the most sui generis hip-hop career of the last decade. No rapper has embodied hip-hop’s often contradictory impulses of narcissism and social good quite as he has, and no producer has celebrated the lush and the ornate quite as he has. He has spent most of his career in additive mode, figuring out how to make music that’s majestic and thought-provoking and grand-scaled. And he’s also widened the genre’s gates, whether for middle-class values or high-fashion and high-art dreams.

At the same time, he’s been a frequent lightning rod for controversy, a bombastic figure who can count rankling two presidents among his achievements, along with being a reliably dyspeptic presence at award shows (when he attends them).

But Mr. West is, above all, a technician, obsessed with sound, and the music of “Yeezus” — spare, direct and throbbing — is, effectively, a palate cleanser after years of overexertion, backing up lyrics that are among the most serrated and provocative of his career.

In a conversation that spanned several hours over three days, and is excerpted here, the Chicago-raised Mr. West, 36, was similarly forthright, both elliptical and lucid, even as long workdays led to evident fatigue. He compared the current moment — about to release “Yeezus,” and looking to make a bigger footprint in worlds outside of music — to life just before his debut album, “The College Dropout,” from 2004, another time when he was in untested waters. “I want to break the glass ceilings,” he said. “I’m frustrated.”

Early Motivation

Q. When your debut album, “The College Dropout” came out, the thing that people began to associate with you besides music was: Here’s someone who’s going to argue for his place in history; like, “Why am I not getting five stars?”

I think you got to make your case. Seventh grade, I wanted to be on the basketball team. I didn’t get on the team, so that summer I practiced. I was on the summer league. My team won the championship; I was the point guard. And then when I went for eighth grade, I practiced and I hit every free throw, every layup, and the next day I looked on this chart, and my name wasn’t on it. I asked the coach what’s up, and they were like, “You’re just not on it.” I was like, “But I hit every shot.” The next year — I was on the junior team when I was a freshman, that’s how good I was. But I wasn’t on my eighth-grade team, because some coach — some Grammy, some reviewer, some fashion person, some blah blah blah — they’re all the same as that coach. Where I didn’t feel that I had a position in eighth grade to scream and say, “Because I hit every one of my shots, I deserve to be on this team!” I’m letting it out on everybody who doesn’t want to give me my credit.

And you know you hit your shots.

Yeah — you put me on the team. So I’m going to use my platform to tell people that they’re not being fair. Anytime I’ve had a big thing that’s ever pierced and cut across the Internet, it was a fight for justice. Justice. And when you say justice, it doesn’t have to be war. Justice could just be clearing a path for people to dream properly. It could be clearing a path to make it fair within the arena that I play. You know, if Michael Jordan can scream at the refs, me as Kanye West, as the Michael Jordan of music, can go and say, “This is wrong.”

You’ve won a lot of Grammys.

“ Dark Fantasy” and “Watch the Throne”: neither was nominated for Album of the Year, and I made both of those in one year. I don’t know if this is statistically right, but I’m assuming I have the most Grammys of anyone my age, but I haven’t won one against a white person.

But the thing is, I don’t care about the Grammys; I just would like for the statistics to be more accurate.

You want the historical record to be right.

Yeah, I don’t want them to rewrite history right in front of us. At least, not on my clock. I really appreciate the moments that I was able to win rap album of the year or whatever. But after a while, it’s like: “Wait a second; this isn’t fair. This is a setup.” I remember when both Gnarls Barkley and Justin lost for Album of the Year, and I looked at Justin, and I was like: “Do you want me to go onstage for you? You know, do you want me to fight” —

For you.

For what’s right. I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things. So when the next little girl that wants to be, you know, a musician and give up her anonymity and her voice to express her talent and bring something special to the world, and it’s time for us to roll out and say, “Did this person have the biggest thing of the year?” — that thing is more fair because I was there.

But has that instinct led you astray? Like the Taylor Swift interruption at the MTV Video Music Awards, things like that.

It’s only led me to complete awesomeness at all times. It’s only led me to awesome truth and awesomeness. Beauty, truth, awesomeness. That’s all it is.

So no regrets?

I don’t have one regret.

Do you believe in the concept of regret?

If anyone’s reading this waiting for some type of full-on, flat apology for anything, they should just stop reading right now.

But that is something that you apologized for.

Yeah, I think that I have like, faltered, you know, as a human. My message isn’t perfectly defined. I have, as a human being, fallen to peer pressure.

So that was a situation in which you gave in to peer pressure to apologize?

Yeah.

So if you had a choice between taking back the original action or taking back the apology, you’d take back the apology?

You know what? I can answer that, but I’m — I’m just — not afraid, but I know that would be such a distraction. It’s such a strong thing, and people have such a strong feeling about it. “Dark Fantasy” was my long, backhanded apology. You know how people give a backhanded compliment? It was a backhanded apology. It was like, all these raps, all these sonic acrobatics. I was like: “Let me show you guys what I can do, and please accept me back. You want to have me on your shelves.”

The Albums

That’s fascinating, to look at that record through that lens.

I don’t have some type of romantic relationship with the public. I’m like, the anti-celebrity, and my music comes from a place of being anti. That was the album where I gave people what they wanted. I don’t think that at that point, with my relationship with the public and with skeptical buyers, that I could’ve done “Black Skinhead”

Does that make “Dark Fantasy” a dishonest album in some way?

It’s always going to be 80 percent, at least, what I want to give, and 20 percent fulfilling a perception. If you walk into an old man’s house, they’re not giving nothing. They’re at 100 percent exactly what they want to do. I would hear stories about Steve Jobs and feel like he was at 100 percent exactly what he wanted to do, but I’m sure even a Steve Jobs has compromised. Even a Rick Owens has compromised. You know, even a Kanye West has compromised. Sometimes you don’t even know when you’re being compromised till after the fact, and that’s what you regret.

I don’t want to come off dissing “Dark Fantasy.” It’s me never being satisfied and then me coming and admitting and saying the truth. As much as I can air things out for other people, to air things out for myself, to say, “I feel like this could’ve been stronger.”

It’s interesting to think of that album as compromise, when it follows “808s & Heartbreak,” which seemed very clearly to be the moment where you’re like, “O.K., forget everything that’s been expected of me.”

Yeah, people asked me to change my name for that album.

Like, label people?

Yeah, different people. They said, “Do it under a different name.” And when it came out, people used to be like, “Man, I wish it had more rapping on it.” But I think the fact that I can’t sing that well is what makes “808s” so special.

A fully trained professional singer couldn’t have done that record. It just wouldn’t have ever come out that way.

Yeah. I love the fact that I’m bad at , you know what I’m saying? I’m forever the 35-year-old 5-year-old. I’m forever the 5-year-old of something.

A lot happened between “Graduation” and “808s,” obviously: a lot of struggle, a lot of tough things for you.

Creative output, you know, is just pain. I’m going to be cliché for a minute and say that great art comes from pain. But also I’d say a bigger statement than that is: Great art comes from great artists. There’s a bunch of people that are hurt that still couldn’t have made the album that was super-polarizing and redefined the sound of radio.

Do you feel like “808s” is the album of yours that has had the most impact?

There are people who have figured out the exact, you know, Kanye West formula, the mix between “Graduation” and “808s,” and were able to become more successful at it. “Stronger” was the first, like, dance-rap song that resonated to that level, and then “808s” was the first album of that kind, you know? It was the first, like, black new wave album. I didn’t realize I was new wave until this project. Thus my connection with Peter Saville, with Raf Simons, with high-end fashion, with minor chords. I hadn’t heard new wave! But I am a black new wave artist.

Was singing always something you wanted to do?

I just dove more into rapping because I had a lot that I wanted to express, and I wasn’t a really, really good singer.

Even though you had always wanted to be out in front, was there ever a point where you valued your anonymity?

Yeah, I held on to the last moments of it. I knew when I wrote the line “light-skinned friend look like Michael Jackson” I was going to be a big star. At the time, they used to have the Virgin music , and I would go there and just go up the escalator and say to myself, “I’m soaking in these last moments of anonymity.” I knew I was going to make it this far; I knew that this was going to happen.

But producting happened for you first, especially after Jay-Z used you so heavily on “The Blueprint.”

I used to have tracks that sounded like Timbaland; I had tracks that sounded like . But Jay-Z was an amazing communicator that made the soul sound extremely popular. And because I could make the soul sound in my sleep, it finally gave me a platform to put the message that my parents put inside of me and that Dead Prez helped to get out of me and Mos Def and Kweli, they helped to get out of me: I was able to put it, sloppily rap it, on top of the platform that Jay-Z had created for me.

Before, when I wanted to rap, my raps sounded like a bit like Cam’ron; they sounded a bit like Mase; they sounded a bit like Jay-Z or whoever. And it wasn’t until I hung out with Dead Prez and understood how to make, you know, raps with a message sound cool that I was able to just write “All Falls Down” in 15 minutes.

Is that true?

Yeah, that’s how I discovered my style. I was just hanging out with them all the time in New York. I would produce for them. You know, I was able to slip past everything with a pink polo, but I am Dead Prez. And now, because I was able to slip past, I have a responsibility at all times.

What were the things that you were trying to do on “Late Registration” that you either did not or could not yet do on “Dropout”?

I was trying to do different things with orchestras. It was just a vibe that I was trying to get at, a sound I was trying to mix with hip-hop to try to see how far I could expand it. I guess that was a Chicago thing, like Quincy Jones.

But you came here, you worked with Jon Brion .

I really liked the sound of some projects that Jon Brion had worked on. I was always considered this crazy hothead kid, but I would always just go and just really break bread with someone who I respected. I will completely bow to anybody I respect.

That era also includes what I find probably the most moving thing that you’ve ever done, which is calling out President Bush at the Hurricane Katrina telethon. To me, that moment is actually the peak of putting a message in a pop format, even though it’s not a song.

Yeah. I guess it’s a very pop moment of a lifetime or generation. I mean, my dad’s generation is a generation of messaging, you know? But that’s just a piece of me being the opinionated individual that I am.

Were you conscious that that’s what you were doing, or was it totally just instinct?

Yeah, it was pretty bugged out. When you think about it, I was wearing like, a Juicy Couture men’s polo shirt. We weren’t there, like, ready for war.

I wonder if you see things in a more race-aware way now, later in your career, than you did then. The intensity of the feelings on “Watch the Throne” is much sharper.

No, it’s just being able to articulate yourself better. “All Falls Down” is the same . I mean, I am my father’s son. I’m my mother’s child. That’s how I was raised. I am in the lineage of Gil Scott-Heron, great activist-type artists. But I’m also in the lineage of a Miles Davis — you know, that liked nice things also.

On “Throne,” who’s in a darker mood on that record, you or Jay-Z?

I’m always the one that’s in a darker mood. And then also there was still a thing where I didn’t feel comfortable, you know, going out on tour, the this, the that — all that by myself, yet. Like, I needed—

A buffer, kind of.

I needed to connect with Jay.

Part of it was you wanting to have someone standing next to you and say, “He’s cool. Ye’s cool.”

Yeah, even with the kilt on.

Public Versus Private

You look at Jay or Diddy, and I’d say like, 90 percent of the time, you think they’re having a good time. With you, I would say, I don’t know, 50-50 maybe? Or 30-70?

Maybe 90 percent of the time it looks like I’m not having a good time.

But you’re in a very public relationship, a seemingly long and satisfying relationship: you’re about to have a child.

Any woman that you’re in love with or that loves you is going to command a certain amount of, you know, energy. It’s actually easier to focus, in some ways.

When you’re uncertain about love, it can be such a distraction. It infects all the other areas.

Yeah, that’s what I mean when I say like, “Yo, I’m going to be super Zenned out like, five years from now.” I’m the type of rock star that likes to have a girlfriend, you know? I’m the type of soul that likes to be in love and likes to be able to focus. And that inspires me.

On “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” there’s a really affectionate scene where you go and help Kim sort through her clothes.

That was from a place of love. It’s hard when people read things in a lot of different ways. You know, the amount of backlash I got from it is when I decided to not be on the show anymore. And it’s not that I have an issue with the show; I just have an issue with the amount of backlash that I get. Because I just see like, an amazing person that I’m in love with that I want to help.

Did you think differently about family after your mother passed?

Yeah, because my mother was — you know, I have family, but I was with my mother 80 percent of the time. My mom was basically —

Was your family.

Yeah, that’s all I have to say about that.

What thoughts do you have about parenthood?

That is a really interesting, powerful question. One of the things was just to be protective, that I would do anything to protect my child or my child’s mother. As simple as that.

Have you ever felt as fiercely protective over anything as you are feeling now about those things?

I don’t want to explain too much into what my thoughts on, you know, fatherhood are, because I’ve not fully developed those thoughts yet. I don’t have a kid yet.

You haven’t experienced it yet.

Yeah. Well, I just don’t want to talk to America about my family. Like, this is my baby. This isn’t America’s baby.

Birthing ‘Yeezus’

One of the things I thought when I heard the new record was, “This is the anti-'College Dropout.’ ” It feels like you’re shedding skin. Back then, you were like: “I want more sounds. I want more complicated raps. I want all the things.” At what point did that change?

Architecture — you know, this one Corbusier lamp was like, my greatest inspiration. I lived in Paris in this loft space and recorded in my living room, and it just had the worst acoustics possible, but also the songs had to be super simple, because if you turned up some complicated sound and a track with too much bass, it’s not going to work in that space. This is earlier this year. I would go to museums and just like, the Louvre would have a furniture exhibit, and I visited it like, five times, even privately. And I would go see actual Corbusier homes in real life and just talk about, you know, why did they design it? They did like, the biggest glass panes that had ever been done. Like I say, I’m a minimalist in a rapper’s body. It’s cool to bring all those vibes and then eventually come back to Rick , because I would always think about Def Jam.

His records did used to say “reduced by Rick Rubin.”

For him, it’s really just inside of him. I’m still just a kid learning about minimalism, and he’s a master of it. It’s just really such a blessing, to be able to work with him. I want to say that after working with Rick, it humbled me to realize why I hadn’t — even though I produced “Watch the Throne”; even though I produced “Dark Fantasy” — why I hadn’t won Album of the Year yet.

This album is moments that I haven’t done before, like just my voice and drums. What people call a rant — but put it next to just a drumbeat, and it cuts to the level of, like, Run-D.M.C. or KRS-One. The last record I can remember — and I’m going to name records that you’ll think are cheesy — but like, J-Kwon, “Tipsy.” People would think that’s like a lower-quality, less intellectual form of hip-hop, but that’s always my No. 1. There’s no opera sounds on this new album, you know what I mean? It’s just like, super low-bit. I’m still, like, slightly a snob, but I completely removed my snob heaven songs; I just removed them altogether.

On this album, the way that it emphasizes bass and texture, you’re privileging the body, and that’s not snobby.

Yeah, it’s like trap and drill and house. I knew that I wanted to have a deep Chicago influence on this album, and I would listen to like, old Chicago house. I think that even “Black Skinhead” could border on house, “On Sight” sounds like acid house, and then “I Am a God” obviously sounds, like, super house.

Visceral.

Yeah, visceral, tribal. I’m just trying to cut away all the — you know, it’s even like what we talk about with clothing and fashion, that sometimes all that gets in the way. You even see the way I dress now is so super straight.

Does it take you less time to get dressed now than it did five years ago?

Hell, yeah.

You look at your outfits from five or seven years ago, and it’s like —

Yeah, kill self. That’s all I have to say. Kill self.

One of the things that you’ve thrived on over the years is sort of a self-conception as an outsider, that you’re fighting your way in. Do you still, in this moment, feel like that?

No, I don’t think I feel like that anymore. I feel like I don’t want to be inside anymore. Like, I uninvited myself.

What changed?

I think just more actual self-realization and self-belief. The longer your ‘gevity is, the more confidence you build. The idea of Kanye and vanity are like, synonymous. But I’ve put myself in a lot of places where a vain person wouldn’t put themselves in. Like what’s vanity about wearing a kilt?

But there’s vanity in fashion. You make clothes, but some people think it’s a vanity project, that you don’t take it seriously.

But the passion is for humanity. The passion is for people. The passion is for the 18-year-old version of myself. The passion is for the kids at my shows. I need to do more. I need to be able to give people more of what they want that currently is behind a glass. I don’t believe that it’s luxury to go into a store and not be able to afford something. I believe luxury is to be able to go into a store and be able to afford something.

I sat down with a clothing guy that I won’t mention, but hopefully if he reads this article, he knows it’s him and knows that out of respect, I didn’t mention his name: this guy, he questioned me before I left his office:, “If you’ve done this, this, and this, why haven’t you gone further in fashion?” And I say, “I’m learning.” But ultimately, this guy that was talking to me doesn’t make Christmas presents, meaning that nobody was asking for his as a Christmas present. If you don’t make Christmas presents, meaning making something that’s so emotionally connected to people, don’t talk to me.

But at the same time, this feels like the Grammy conversation, because what I keep thinking is: the people whose hands you’re trying to shake, they may control certain corridors of power, but those aren’t even the relevant corridors of power anymore.

I’m a professional musician because I have the structure of Universal Records. I’m a professional creative. Since I did the Louis Vuitton sneaker, I’ve never been allowed to be in a continually creative structured place that makes product. I’ve had meetings where a guy actually told me, “What we’re trying to figure out is how we can control you.” In the meeting, to me! Why do you want to control me? Like, I want the world to be better! All I want is positive! All I want is dopeness! Why would you want to control that?

That’s why I said “I throw these Maybach keys” . I would rather sit in a factory than sit in a Maybach.

I want to tell people, “I can create more for this world, and I’ve hit the glass ceiling.” If I don’t scream, if I don’t say something, then no one’s going to say anything, you know? So I come to them and say, “Dude, talk to me! Respect me!”

Respect my trendsetting.

Yeah, respect my trendsetting abilities. Once that happens, everyone wins. The world wins; fresh kids win; creatives win; the company wins.

I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means. I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump. I honestly feel that because Steve has passed, you know, it’s like when Biggie passed and Jay-Z was allowed to become Jay-Z.

I’ve been connected to the most culturally important albums of the past four years, the most influential artists of the past ten years. You have like, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, Nicolas Ghesquière, Anna Wintour, David Stern.

I think that’s a responsibility that I have, to push possibilities, to show people: “This is the level that things could be at.” So when you get something that has the name Kanye West on it, it’s supposed to be pushing the furthest possibilities. I will be the leader of a company that ends up being worth billions of dollars, because I got the answers. I understand culture. I am the nucleus.

happy to hear such a refreshed, unbitter kanye

The album Saul Williams made with Trent Reznor (NIN). If you haven't, check it out and let me know what you think.

I love niggy tardust and most things el-p. actually after watching the SNL performance of black skinhead my girlfriend made the saul comparison and I agree thats its spot on to that song at least. I am definitely hoping that the rest of this album is along those lines, and I never thought a ye album would be along those lines haha. if you have any other albums like that - industrial hip hop, feel free to list them.

Thats the album I'll listen on my way to work tomorrow

More Trent's fault, seems whenever there's an option for MORE he will pile on as much as possible.

That last track tho...woah.

>More Trent's fault, seems whenever there's an option for MORE
>he will pile on as much as possible.
>
>That last track tho...woah.

the last track on the original or when they added the unnecessary bonus material?

I saw Saul perform that whole album live a few years ago.
Dude walked on stage wearing an Indian warrior chief outfit blended with Marilyn Manson type make-up. He goes...... innnnn.
Its obvious that Saul studied drama at NYU school of arts.
I'd say that the 1st track "Black History Month" destroys any attempt Kanye is trying to make at sounding industrial.

'i am god' is a bit grating since it will be taken out of context, but crazy ass song
"new slaves" is the weakest track i heard on their
its crazy that he found a way to put charlie wilson on here
"on sight" "bound" are pretty strong
only heard it once all the way through @ the listening session.

please read my newest piece on the huffington post
like and share even if u hate it
thank u
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fire/kanye-west-yeezus_b_3429948.html

The mainstream rap music game may once again be returning to the church of black empowerment via its newly self-ordained minister, Reverend Kanye West. After years of rap music struggling in the muck and mire of misogyny and money, one of the greatest rappers ever has had it up to here with the 'New Slavery' of commercialism, materialism and hedonism. I cannot think of a voice more prepared to enact a radical sea change in black music than one of the main perpetrators of the aforementioned materialism and misogyny. Hallelujah.

A few weeks ago Kanye performed two new songs, "Black Skinhead" and "New Slaves" on Saturday Night Live. One day prior to the performance, he simultaneously projected the video for "New Slaves" onto the facades of 66 buildings in six different countries. The titles and lyrics of these songs have had the Internet buzzing for weeks, with hopes that he will help return black music listeners to their musical revolutionary roots. For too long, our ears have wallowed in an unhealthy aural hedonism that has benefited no one but the large multi-national corporations peddling it. There was a time when the entire nation mobilized for rights and freedoms simply because Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield crooned them into doing so. In 2013, rap music mostly only propels us to stand in line for 48 hours to purchase a pair of Michael Jordan tennis shoes. Only to be murdered for these sneakers 48 hours later, during a robbery. Current rap music dictates freedom (financial), yet manages to keep its listeners chained to a mentality that does nothing to cultivate the listener to individual or communal growth, blaspheming the hip hop gods.

A cynical burden is cultivated in the psyche of young black people that grew up in America listening to the gospel of James Cleveland, the funk of Rick James and the native tongues of A Tribe Called Quest. This cynicism was developed with the knowledge that our ancestors were traumatized by the effects of slavery and racism. In spite of our legacy of pain, we are able to "make it in America." The odds were stacked against us, but our ancestor's strides during the civil rights era swayed many of those odds in our financial freedom's favor. The birth of rap music was a byproduct of the civil rights era. It took us places and bought us things the soul singers of Motown dreamed of. Rap music has also made us so rich that we have conveniently forgotten we still need to overcome.

"New Slaves'" lyrics are only controversial to those blacks who think electing an African-American into the White House has removed us from the last 400 years of oppression. The lyrics are not narcissistic, posturing or arrogant, nor are they being spouted as rhetoric. The previews for his new album Yeezus not only display the evolution of a man and his music, but show the result of a black Generation X'er coming to an epiphany: In no way, shape or form are African-Americans in the Diaspora equal to their white counterparts. We may, in fact, have reverted to a position worse than that of our parents and grandparents. We are under the impression that the money, houses and jobs we have acquired are without consequence. The consequence is perpetual debt and the miseducation of youth who have all but forgotten what their ancestors suffered through in order for them to be free.

Kanye is a 70s child born from black power afros but raised in electronic funk backed by the heavy rhythms of revolutionary, fight the power hip hop. Our generation has viewed the racism enacted against our parents along with the 'one step away from 'sharecropper oppression' against our grandparents through dual lenses. Our oppressed relatives used the audacity of hope to fill our heads with dreams of middle class sugar plums before tucking us into our suburban Montgomery Ward twin beds at night. Yet, they raised us with caution and awareness that no matter how far we "make it"; we are still black in a country built on the genocide of our people.

The difference between Kanye and wax revolutionaries Chuck D and KRS One is that he has been accepted into the inner circle of pop culture. He has amazingly done this without being viewed as a 'sellout.' This impossible feat took place soon after the spontaneous and truthful "George Bush does not care about black people" line that he spouted during the Hurricane Katrina telethon. Kanye had fooled the moneyed, imperialistic corporate people into thinking he is going to be a well-behaved, go along with it Uncle Tom, until that poignant moment in time when he showed his true color(s).

There is a nation of potential genius music leaders like West existing in America. Stevie Wonder is one that comes to mind. The glaring difference between these two is that Mister West is privy to all the wonderment of black music, including rap. Kanye is a son of hip hop. Stevie wonder is the do better, love everyone and save the world soul man. Kanye has soul, but it has morphed into an 'I don't give a f***' attitude that is an amalgamation of every road paved by American black music artists before it. He is now at a crossroads. His path could be the easy 'please everyone' route chosen by Michael Jackson, (which inevitably led to his 'early' death). Or, he can own this moment. His lyrical content seems to be rife with material that accompanies adulthood and fatherhood knowing that his race has and will affect every moment in his life no matter how rich and famous he becomes.

It is beautiful to witness the artistic evolution of a human being. For hip hop fans, we have the pleasure of watching Kanye West being born on earth again from the comfort of our armchairs and keyboards. This birth has been nothing but figurative, his mother did all the hard work. We have been able to experience the fluffy cheeked toddler goodness of his debut and his awkward, adolescent college dropout musical stages. Kanye breathed new life and energy into the house of hip hop. Now the time has come for him to breathe new life into his people via his music. West is the dream of Martin Luther King influenced by the funk of George Clinton and raised by the black power fists of the sonic anarchists Public Enemy. If Jay-Z were not the greatest rapper of all time, I could almost pretend that Rocafella Records only existed to lead us to the rap music savior, Yeezus.

Fire, fire......

Props.....

please don't call Jordans 'tennis shoes.'

Other than that, A+ and a round of applause.

but you can still get your bathwater drank by me any day of the week, tho

Not arrogant? It's a bunch of contrived bullshit written by someone increasingly detached from the experience he's writing about. It's a more crass, more brash version of "Mr Nigga," which was essentially a throwaway cut off a record 15 years ago. That's supposed to be edgy? Totally unimaginative stuff, it makes me sad to think smart people are still pushing the cultural currency of rappers doing late-ass stuff like this. It's sad that this is being called an "epiphany," frankly it's kind of insulting to the many, many people out there doing real work furthering the understanding of race and race relations.

More to the point, the lyrics are just acrid. That bit with "Hampton" in every line had me retching for sure.

There are a couple of songs that go kind of hard on the record, but I'm definitely not ready to give this dude the adulation he wants off this. Some of his records in the past have shown some flashes of things going where he wants to take them, but this whole album feels like a whiff to me.

Girl stop.

Let's keep the Kanye party going....lol


----


VIBE Exclusive: dead prez’s M-1 Reacts To Kanye's NYT Shout-Out: ‘I Consider Myself A Peer’

http://www.vibe.com/article/v-exclusive-dead-prezs-m-1-reacts-kanyes-nyt-shout-out-i-consider-myself-peer

It seems like you can’t escape Kanye West these days. From his tabloid wet dream relationship with soon-to-be baby mother Kim Kardashian to the deafening hype surrounding his upcoming release Yeezus, due out June 18th, the man seems to be on everyone’s mind. It’s a point made during a recent interview with The New York Times in which West declared that he is, “the Michael Jordan of music,” among other monster quotes. But far-out hubris aside, one part of the sit-down that caught many by surprise was his heartfelt shot out to revolutionary rhyme act dead prez.

According to West, the uncompromising duo of stic.man and M-1 have had a huge impact on his more socially conscious, rebellious work. “Before, when I wanted to rap, my raps sounded like a bit like Cam’ron; they sounded a bit like Mase; they sounded a bit like Jay-Z or whoever. And it wasn’t until I hung out with Dead Prez and understood how to make, you know, raps with a message sound cool that I was able to just write ‘All Falls Down’ in 15 minutes,” he said of the critically-acclaimed group.

When VIBE caught up with M-1, the two-fisted MC was gracious in his reaction to West’s unmitigated praise, which also included the rapper/producer recalling, “I was just hanging out with them all the time in New York. I would produce for them. You know, I was able to slip past everything with a pink polo, but I am dead prez. And now, because I was able to slip past, I have a responsibility at all times.” Read on.—Keith Murphy (@murphdogg29)

VIBE: What was your reaction to Kanye West saying that dead prez stands as one of his biggest artistic influences?

M-1: Hearing Kanye say that about dead prez is like man sharpens man, steel sharpens steel. I consider myself a peer of Kanye. I respect his ear because he listens to the music that I listen to. He listens to Curtis Mayfield; he listens to Michael Jackson; he listens to Bob Marley; he listens to Roberta Flack. I know this because I’ve heard him play these records in front of me.

What are your memories of being in the studio with West?

We’ve spent hours and hours together. Kanye would always let *stic man and I* hear brand new tracks that he would make and raps that he would make. More than anything, I’m so happy to know that that can happen today because sometimes artists feel like they are on their own island and they are isolated and nobody is in their lane. A lot of people don’t know, but Kanye produced “Still Bigger Than Hip-Hop,” which was the remix on our first album Let’s Get Free (2000). I have to remind people that that’s how far back I’ve been a fan of what he does.

Are you looking forward to hearing West’s new album, Yeezus?

Yes…I think Kanye always pushes the envelope when it comes to the style of his music. He’s always pushing himself to find that place. I love his unquenched, eternal search for who he is no matter how egotistical it may be.

Indeed, where would Kanye be without his ego?

Well, we all have an ego. I just respect his drive to share that skin and new layer.

Can we talk about new music? What are you currently working on?

Definitely look out for the new A-Alikes single “Whole Life”…that’s a really good single and video. They (Ness and K) are RBG family, so look out for that. And there’s an album coming out called The Midnight Man that I did with Brian Jackson who’s the partner for Gil Scott-Heron. It’s a tribute album to Gil Scott. He is everything to dead prez. He taught us how to combine sharp wit and criticism around with being politically astute. I started working on that with him before he passed. The first single is slated to be released in about two weeks and it’s called “Hold On.” The album features eight songs from me, two songs from dead prez, one from Nas, one from Killah Priest, and more.

Wow, that sounds inspiring. How does it feel being connected to such an icon like Gil Scott-Heron?

I jumped at the opportunity to do it. I would have done it before hand but I was waiting in line. This is a good record. All the original Midnight Band stuff that Brian brought with Gil-Scott is there, but revamped. We are playing a few jazz festivals as well—the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Jazz à la Villette in Paris…I’m going to be one of the frontmen for some of the best musicians that came through that jazz-soul-funk revolutionary music. I’m blessed to be working with them.

.

http://www.2dopeboyz.com/2013/06/12/kanye-west-yeezus-tracklist/

they got word from some Swedish retail site:
http://cdon.se/musik/west_kanye/yeezus-23831798

1. On Site
2. Black Skinhead
3. I Am A God f. God
4. New Slaves f. Frank Ocean
5. Hold My Liquor f. Chief Keef & Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver)
6. I’m In It
7. Blood On The Leaves
8. Guilt Trip f. Travi$ Scott
9. Send It Up (Feat. King L)
10. Bound f. Charlie Wilson

all these damn replies and the album aint drop yet.

I'm doing the same thing.

http://www.kanyewest.com/

Are we sure this shit isn't getting pushed back?

came out digitally first so there wasnt a chance for it to leak

.

I don't quite understand how it hasn't leaked unless they haven't even started printing it yet.

do he got the people at the plants buttnaked when handling his cd like Nino Brown.

which is pretty much the ONLY way to stop a pre-leak nowadays (assuming itunes doesn't accidentally put it up early, which they've done before)

http://i43.tinypic.com/3536zia.jpg


THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
http://i50.tinypic.com/hvqi4w.jpg

here's some of the samples here: http://prettymuchamazing.com/feature/kanye-wests-yeezus-the-samples

He may as well have sampled it, it's obvious that's what he was going for.






















+

...Cut Chemist's "Lesson 6" more than it did "Beautiful People". At least for *me*.


THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
http://i50.tinypic.com/hvqi4w.jpg

I couldn't think of the title but, yep, Gary Glitter. I wouldn't think Manson at all but I'm really not even linking this to a lot of industrial stuff like some other people are. I'm not even hearing the Death Grips (granted, I don't listen to much Death Grips).



~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
"I don't read pages of rap lyrics, I listen to rap music." © Bombastic
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

The minimalist style, lack of a promo campaign, etc.....Yet he still has a laundry list of contributors to achieve a bare bones soundscape? The world wide video projections on buildings, ny times interviews. It's all a contrived attempt to convince us that the music is supposed to outshine the man.

But that hasn't been the case for a few years now. Mark my words...in a mere 12 months, this project will likely be the least revered of his entire catalog.

The smoke will clear and then we can hear.

i don't listen to the radio so maybe it's getting hyped there iono
but i haven't heard a song from this album since i clicked the SNL vid link a couple weeks ago
haven't heard it in any clubs/lounges,cars, stores, or commercials (nba finals etc)
there isn't even a "kanye said fuck ____" type publicity stunt for this album
is this on purpose or is the material THAT in your face to the point they can't really market it?

Nm

Now, lets see who follows

same here

inbox please!!

Can't help but being a little disappointed by that. On second listen, it sounds pretty good musically though

http://soundisstyle.com/2013/06/kanye-west-yeezus-album-stream.html

Who woulda thought a Billie Holiday sample over a No Limit beat would be so awesome.

that autotune is so damn played out
Ye should just get some vocal lessons ( because it seems like he can almost hold a tune if he TRIED )

so far not impressive

I Am A God has great production but the rapping doesnt cut it for me

>Who woulda thought a Billie Holiday sample over a No Limit
>beat would be so awesome.

This one was already 200+ before the album even leaked.

big

Nm

makes it easier to fast forward on alot of these tracks

but the temptation is strong...

Just trying to look at it positively.

Hearing "Bound" made me smile, laugh and feel so damn happy. Ye over a soulful, vocal sample beat will always be the perfect marriage. That shot transported me to 2004 for a second.

yeah

Just finished my first listen, I loved some tracks and felt indifferent about others, but "Bound" was the highlight for me...perfect way to end a Kanye album.

i'm sure some of the other ones will grow on me at some point.

Not because it's bad, but just because it doesn't fit sylistically... at all.

Even on Graduation, he had "The Glory."

soul samples and bound 2 yall niggaz who always want that soulful college dropout kanye in a way.

No matter how far he goes somewhere deep inside he its in there he can do it in his sleep so it doesn't challange him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibqb84ObXxA

"New Slaves" is solid until that beat switch and outro for the last 1+ minute. "Hold My Liquor" through "Send It Up" is a complete mess and saved only by some cool production. Don't care for the 808s & Heartbreak era Kanye that floods that part of the album at all.

I really wish he rapped on "Blood on the Leaves" and "Guilt Trip" rather than sang/autotuned.

This is like a 5 out of 10. Could bump it to a 6 if something moves me on further listens. REALLY disappointed. My least favorite Kanye album besides 808.

They're gonna know that im in the streets

Dude cannot lose.
And he threw yall a bone w/ Bound too lol.

This joint is wack. Is he too good now for rappin' and makin' beats?

From my website:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/2013/06/14/review-kanye-west-yeezus/

==begin swipe==
If anything, Yeezus (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) is about questioning. Is it social commentary? Is it a personal reflection? Is it more? Yes, yes, and yes. But maybe…no.

The album seems to be designed in the old school vinyl way, with two distinct sides, two distinct feels and vibes. There are lots of personal references that he makes, everything from his relationship with Kim Kardashian to the public perception of it, and why it shouldn’t matter to anyone. For those who think it matters to them, why amplify things? As far as calling the album Yeezus as a sly way of saying he is a Jesus figure, he explains himself a bit, both directly and in metaphors. In a way, people threw a fit when Ol’ Dirty Bastard was going to call his album The Black Man Is God. On this album, West says that he believes in a most high, respects a higher power, but why can’t someone like him be deserving of praise or accolades, or is the issue that someone deserving of praise or accolades is “someone like him”? In many ways, while he is staring at his own reflection, he is also turning the mirror on his listeners, the general public, the entire world. What makes us think we are higher than the next man, what makes us think we are holier than someone with respect, and why do we praise the holy and not the scum of the Earth? Who is the true scum of the Earth?

Musically, the album goes everywhere from having tracks co-produced with Daft Punk to traditional hip-hop tracks, and even bouncing back to the world he created with 808′s And Heartbreaks, complete with Auto-Tune abuse. One can ask if the Auto-Tune is meant to hide the emotion that he places in these songs, or is it just an open door to come in to find out what’s really going on? I read a tweet in passing which asked if West is trying to outdo Daft Punk with these songs, but how can that happen… when Daft Punk themselves produced some of it? This may be his trip into the world of electronica, EDM, or dubstep, but he has never been shy from stepping into perceived foreign territory. In fact, I found the Daft Punk tracks to be a bit of a throwback to what Anti-Pop Consortium were known for, deep and trippy basement tracks with massive bursts of everything.

The structure of the album is interesting, because while there are some parts where the lyrical themes seem to drift away from its initial intention, the music is very much the glue that keeps everything together. Some tracks aren’t just one style throughout, they will change up one or two times before the end of the song, so it seems West and/or his producers are in tap with the power of progressive rock and how those bands have worked for over 40 years. The use of three seconds of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” in “Power” may or may not have influenced West to try things out a bit more, but I like how it worked. By sampling an eclectic range of music throughout the album, everyone from Brenda Lee to The Holy Name of Mary Choral Family, he is establishing paths that will take the listener from one place to another, perhaps on a bumpy ride, or merely catering to listeners who understand the power of digging up atypical material as a means to tell/share a story.

Is West the untouchable man of hip-hop, the Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan of hip-hop? Or is he the mysterious devil as shown on the cover of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy? Is this album a way to utilize The Rolling Stones lyric “I shouted out ‘who killed the Kennedy’s?’, when after all it was you and me”, as a means to address his concerns? If so, isn’t he essentially stating what INXS once said, in that “every single one of us has the devil inside”? In other words, what West is doing is addressing all of the attacks he has been given, just because he is an artist with a lot of respect and ridicule. The respect will keep him going, and I’m sure he is humbled by that even though he may not address it in the most direct way. By calling the album Yeezus, one might say that he was throwing fire onto himself, when perhaps what he was doing was turning the fire hose on everyone.

As for his means of promoting the album by not promoting it, I think West knew and expected that when you are a mainstream artist, sometimes you can allow the public to do it for you. Is it hype, is it anti-hype, or is he being anti- anti-? Him promoting the album in a very minimalistic way was his way of starting word of mouth, and that worked. In the end, Yeezus may not be a completely brilliant album like Late Registration or My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy were, but the album is a way to not only hear his latest creation, but for it to be another piece of the puzzle that has become the spectacle of the rapper many have chosen to praise, more than someone who may deserve simple props or a dap.
===end swipe===





THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
http://i50.tinypic.com/hvqi4w.jpg

THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
http://i50.tinypic.com/hvqi4w.jpg

1. On Sight - I wish Daft Punk did something more than this repetitive shit; it just comes off as lazy to me. Same ol Kanye braggadocio rhymes

2. Black Skinhead - If it wasnt for the title, this should have been the lead single. Daft Punk jacks Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor and turns it out. My only complaint is the vocal delivery lacks in intensity ( rhymes are nice ) of the live debut ( but I guess that's a good thing for people going to see his tour for this album )

3. I Am A God - This is the lynchpin for the album, holds everything together musically and thematically..lyrically its nothing and the screaming doesn't do it either. the little changeup at the end is nice

4. New Slaves - Finally Kanye has something to say thats actually worth paying attention to. He just rapped his whole Modus Operandi and does it quite nice. When Kanye actually puts some work in, he can actually put up some nice rhymes. Didnt like the changeup at the end

5. Hold My Liquor - sounds like a Kid Cudi / Ratatat song..ehh

6. I'm In It - sounds like a pitched down La Roux after the beat change up, that girl saying "oh" is annoying and the doubled up screwed backing vocal is not cracking. Song is okay

7. Blood On The Leaves - this could have been WAY WAY better if Kanye just dropped the autotune. Im sure Ye can hold a tune, but this comes across as a rehash, instead of being an "artist" that he claims to be and that many of you claim he is, he is just serving ya'll essentially the same product from older albums

8. Guilt Trip - I like the Steve Miller Band "Fly Like An Eagle" interpolation..but other than that ^^^^^ see above

9. Send It Up - More like throw it in the trash. Could have been better with that alarm / synth sound, the drum beat is ho hum

10.Bound - Mr West stays serving you turkeys with these rehashed potatoes. Such a lazy loop and such a shame he's been reduced to this ( reference to Common's "The People" for a great example of Kanye and sample flippin ) of .Charlie Wilson serves as the only saving grace on this track


Overall a very average album, Kanye is just coasting on his past achievements nowadays.I get a good chuckle when he says yeah Imma do things my way, Imma artist, etc and its basically alot of his old shit plus some electronic bullshit.He previews a couple songs that are dope just to troll you and the rest is the same ol same ol. I think he is smart in creating a buzz by not doing any radio / videos and doing that street building / no CD art approach. First half is not bad, 2nd half is severely lacking and I also don't hear anything that would reflect Rick Rubin executive producing this.

5/10

>

Took me a minute to get that. I'd disagree though. That last MIA album wasn't as good.

>Took me a minute to get that. I'd disagree though. That
>last MIA album wasn't as good.

I thought it was unfairly maligned, but I think they're similar in that they have a more abrasive, almost discordant sound to them.

>>Took me a minute to get that. I'd disagree though. That
>>last MIA album wasn't as good.
>
>I thought it was unfairly maligned, but I think they're
>similar in that they have a more abrasive, almost discordant
>sound to them.


^^all this, although id argue kanye's is more dischordant

This shit is so ill. Gonna give it another spin. Half way through my 3rd spin now.

Bound is easily the best song on the whole thing

why the loop on Bound was so sloppy? Almost felt like a parody.

it's part of his aesthetic for this album. A lot of the songs are the album sounds rough in a way. It's pretty hit or miss in my opinion. This whole album sounds rushed.

not sloppy half assed



Instagram: ascensionmusic

usually gets credit for bringing in or popularizing sped-up vocals & soul-sample production but as most of us here know RZA was doing that long before him.

And when you go back to listen to 36 Chambers, a lot of that shit was sloppy as fuck intentionally or unintentionally.

I felt like 'Ye acknowledged RZA's influence with their recent collabs on their past few projects.

As a song, it sorta feels like a 'comedown' coda from the coked up, combative approach of much of the album, a little lowkey soulful treat at the end like 'The Joy' as the last bonus cut for Watch The Throne or 'Mama Loves Me' at the end of Blueprint.

One of the illest kanye beats I have ever heard!

Why didn't he do more production on this album?

That shit knocks hard as hell :)

I like it but theres a rough section from 6-8. Picks up with the last two though.

My review exactly

first listen took me back to 808s (an album i thoroughly enjoyed)

Thats one of my favorites on the album. Glad he went back to 808s on that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibqb84ObXxA

thanks

Ye'a delivery/lyrics don't fully work in about half the songs but the production is so strong I almost don't care. I'm going to need a weekend with this.

I applaud Kanye for being original but the sound quality of the beats sounds like poo poo. The only time I like clipping distortion is on a guitar. As a kid, I borrowed my dad's drum machine and experimented plugging it into my guitar distortion pedals and this sounds exactly like that. This whole album literally sounds like it was recorded as one way and then run through a cheap clipping distortion (vocals excluded, except for a couple tracks). Instead of a kick knock, you hear a clipped farting noise. Is that all Rick Rubin did?

To me, the best dirty raw beats have dirty elements, but retain clarity of the kicks and snares, instead of washing them out with dirt.

The "Im in it" joint probably has the most interesting stuff going on, because it was distorted....but not enough to ruin some of the knock and snap of the drums. But the quote at the end "I be speaking Swag-heli"....wtf?

Shit is compressed as hell

You do realize that clipping distortion is not the same as compression, right? Scene version or not...I don't think there will be any difference in the actual release. All that buzz and it was pissed away on this dud of an LP.

I spoke with the Mastering engineer back when MBDTF dropped and made a similar complaint. I lowkey shitted on the work done (digital clipping rarely sounds good) but he agreed and stated its done by customer request. So on Yeezus I assume its the same reasoning.

#loudnesswars

oh well.

I can see Yasiin doing his own better version tho

he could have fit in many places.

I know its been a long time since Late Registration...but damn this is what Kanye has evolved into....

I really cant understand how folks are so hype about this release..the beats are absolute garbage and Kanye is pretty much phoning it in on the lyrics.

No you aren't. I didn't enjoy it either.

HE usually a perfectionist who does like 30 mixes for each song...So its crazy to think he recorded half of the vocals in like 6 hour session..and half of the sogns was done in like 2 weeks.

I like it to this is probably the rawest and most I don't give a fuck he has ever been even more than 808's.

Dug "Black Skinhead" and "Round 2", but the rest was messy or boring. Maybe it'll get better after another listen, but this really feels like a misfire.

i wouldn't agree that this is a continuation of 808s at all... but i do agree that they're similar in that they're like experimental "bridge" albums.. this experiment works a lot more for me than 808s did.. i've probably given it about 5.5 listens now.. shit sounded like a mess on the first listen, albeit an intriguing mess.. def. got better and sounded more like organized chaos and more cohesive w/ more listens..

i think he took just enough of some other folks' sounds on this and had just enough "kanye" in it to make it palatable.. i like the fact that it feels sprawling and compact at the same time..

right now, it seems like "blood on the leaves" wears out its welcome just a tad.. that track seemed like the only one that was abrasive enough to make me want to skip to the next track (it's not that it was abrasive, just kind of repetitively abrasive).. i will say that the song has bothered me less w/ repeated listens.. but i can see it preventing me from playing the album all the way through when i listen to it in the future.. which is kind of what i want to do w/ this album..

i can't really say that there are songs that really "stand out" to me... the album seems like a package deal.. but i will say that i think "i'm in it" is a meeaaan track..

still not sure what to make of this album... but i do like it.. a lot, actually.. and not that i'm surprised to like a kanye album, but after 808s, i didn't really want ye to go into these diversion type albums anymore.. this shit is cool by me tho... i know the critics are already on the album's dick, but i'm really interested to see how the masses receive this one..

Like, in a row.

For most music out there that sounds like this, you'd just say "this is not for me" and move the fuck on.

With Kanye West, however, you've convinced yourself that there must be some type of brilliance hidden within, and it takes multiple listens for it to "make sense."

Don't let me do a search and find you shitting on El-P's solo albums. I won't, because I don't care THAT much......but face it - a lot of you guys in here praising this shitrock for it's hard/minimal/difficult sound were nowhere to be found when El was doing this industrial sound earlier and much better.

I'm not letting this go, so don't try to play the "Kanye makes you mad" card. This dude has been feeding you over-processed bullshit for the last few years and I'm gonna keep reminding you of that.

I only listened to it once. I thought it was wack and while I was tempted to listen a few more times to not be out of the loop I figured it just wasn't worth it. I didn't even like Dark Twisted Fantasy that much so I guess it makes sense that I don't like this one.

if i followed this rationale of only listening once to form an opinion,
i never would have gotten into rock, i never would have listened to any jazz,
and i still would think hip hop sucks, as a genre.


it's okay to listen to stuff multiple times i sort out how you feel about it.
sometimes, music is challenging.

i haven't heard this album yet, btw.
and yes, sometimes the emporer has no clothes.
but there's nothing wrong with wondering if an album you don't instantly like
is stretching you a bit.



>For most music out there that sounds like this, you'd just say
>"this is not for me" and move the fuck on.
>
>With Kanye West, however, you've convinced yourself that there
>must be some type of brilliance hidden within, and it takes
>multiple listens for it to "make sense."
>
>Don't let me do a search and find you shitting on El-P's solo
>albums. I won't, because I don't care THAT much......but face
>it - a lot of you guys in here praising this shitrock for it's
>hard/minimal/difficult sound were nowhere to be found when El
>was doing this industrial sound earlier and much better.
>
>I'm not letting this go, so don't try to play the "Kanye makes
>you mad" card. This dude has been feeding you over-processed
>bullshit for the last few years and I'm gonna keep reminding
>you of that.

He's not saying there's anything wrong with multiple listens.
He's saying alotta people here only afford certain artists that luxury,
which is why he said folks would immediately be like "this ain't for me"
if another artist came with this sound.

I do think he's right.

At the same time I understand that artists build reputations through
their past work. I think people here do that with Kanye because he's
given them exactly what they WERE looking for in the past, they've
listened to it repeatedly for that reason, and found more brilliance
in it. At this point, people will try to get into it simply because he's
established a relationship with them through previous efforts.
Kinda like I was with Prince for a long time.

and i feel you on the last paragraph.
that's true, too.

i will have more patience with my favorite artists...
just in the sense that i'll listen a few more times than normal
to see if i missed something.


>He's not saying there's anything wrong with multiple
>listens.
>He's saying alotta people here only afford certain artists
>that luxury,
>which is why he said folks would immediately be like "this
>ain't for me"
>if another artist came with this sound.
>
>I do think he's right.
>
>At the same time I understand that artists build reputations
>through
>their past work. I think people here do that with Kanye
>because he's
>given them exactly what they WERE looking for in the past,
>they've
>listened to it repeatedly for that reason, and found more
>brilliance
>in it. At this point, people will try to get into it simply
>because he's
>established a relationship with them through previous
>efforts.
>Kinda like I was with Prince for a long time.

but the Daft Punk sequence justifies a lot of the hysteria, I feel. "I Am a God" doesn't move me but I feel like the other three tracks are pretty brilliant.

There's too much Travi$ Scott influence on this album, much like $cott's music some of Yeezus feels like it's trying really hard to prove it's cleverness, or aggression.

I think it's really interesting that, if the way the production credits are currently listed holds up in the physical release, Kanye West didn't stake a claim to most of these beats. Coupled with Rick Rubin's gossip that he finalized most of these vocals just a few weeks ago, it becomes a bit hard to take seriously.

"Hold My Liquor" and the entire b-side just drags and drags, and a lot of that's on Kanye's really uninteresting lyrics. It's not even the subject matter, this is just a really boring set of lyrics, which to me is a first.

I'm starting to feel like it'll be more fun to talk about than listen to. After re-watching the SNL performances I feel like he's going for a Bowie thing, some sort of alter ego. I'm not sure he's clever enough for that, and faking it isn't what got Kanye where he is.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
"I don't read pages of rap lyrics, I listen to rap music." © Bombastic
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

i have a feeling this album will get better on repeated listens, but from a diehard Ye stan, who feels hes been 5 out of 5, this feels like the first misstep.

I appreciate what he's doing, I think there's some moments on this album that are undeniable, but its so disjointed, and tries to do some really ambitious that I don't feel get fully executed and end up just feeling sorta contrived.

Songs like Blood on the Leaves are crazy to me, and theres beats on here that are just fantastic, but I think Kanye was trying to make a sort of zeitgeist electronic/soulful/dance/in your face rap album, with lyrics that hit you in the way that Power hit you, and the way that New Slaves actually does. But that sentiment doesn't carry on, especially when he's being way to sexually overt on the first verse on I'm In It, and also feels empty on songs like I Am God.

I think I just have a hard time dealing with a Kanye that's so far in the clouds that he doesn't even sound like a real person. He went from the most relatable person in rap, to perhaps the most unrelatable, and the progression makes sense, but his lyrics usually hit home in some way, even if hes rapping down.

Think i'm going to go back and listen a few times to see what sticks, but right now :(

i do this shit with most albums... which cuts down on quantity of albums i listen to... i spend a long ass time with albums that intrigue me.. the best first reaction i could have to an album is confusion/intrigue, not "omg i love it!" or "omg this is terrible!".. the former usually leads me to get bored in a month or two... i listen to shit on repeat until i can get the terrain of the album.. i think it's better than commenting on something before i understand it... that's what i did as a kid.. that's why i openly said i hated The Beatles until i was like 24 - because i didn't know what the fuck i was talking about... not because i wasn't conforming with popular opinion, it's because i didn't spend time with any of their music... i didn't like Radiohead at first, now they're my favorite band... i listened to 808s a bunch of times and came to the conclusion that it was garbage.. Cosmogramma is a recent album that took time and repeated spins for me to appreciate.. shit, the list goes on and on and on...

the more i think about it, you trying to prove your point that kanye sucks by pointing out that people are listening to an album multiple times before passing judgement is pretty fucking stupid. sorry if that comes off mean, but it's really really dumb.

and i think as far as enjoying this more than other stuff in the lane he derived this sound from, the reason might be because he wasn't as uncompromising as the other ppl doing this stuff.. i look at a group like Death Grips and it sounds like it's making it a point to not be popular... i think there are at least delicate moments on this album that can hold interest for some where they might not have it for the people who did it "first and better".. that's not my personal take on it.. but it makes sense to me..

Course I been fucking w/ HudMo and Daft Punk so this album checks all of my boxes.

At least for the last decade or so (El-P longer since Co-Flow).

And regardless of the kind of album he made, most people would be giving it multiple listens regardless. He's earned it.

The issue is that there are different kinds of fans with different musical backgrounds/exposure.

There's a ton of OKPs who have listened to Death Grips, dalek, and other "experimental" artists, so what Kanye is doing honestly isn't anything new or that challenging. Some people are going to dismiss him because of this, but I still think he put out a very good album.

Then you have people who haven't heard of any of those artists, and they think Kanye is doing some avante-garde shit. I'd sat what Kanye is doing is still (relatively) "experimental," but it isn't necessarily new or novel. You'll have your frat boys and sorority girls that probably won't like it, the hip hop kids who only like boom-bap and/or soul beats who are stuck in 1999 and can't enjoy anything that deviates from that, and of course the kids who really think Kanye is on the cutting edge of hip hop and music. Fuck, this group sounds annoying as fuck, don't they?

Whatever. Pop hip hop/music needs shit like this, and Kanye really is one of the few guys that can do it.

why does it have to be one of the other? My thing is after Run the jewels and this is out, theres not gonna be enough time in the day to bump them both.

Some of the praise this is getting so far is like emperor has no clothes level. I really don't hear what you guys are hearing.

Quote it then. Stop trying to start an argument and just discuss the music.

giving up the production reigns. As an egomaniac, I know that was
hard for him to do. Many artists will just keep trying to do it themselves,
despite running out of steam and trying to appeal to new crowds
(Prince comes to mind here).
I think that was smart of Kanye, and it definitely shows a side of him
that most people don't expect in basically admitting he doesn't have
the inner wherewithal to pull this album off himself. I know I, personally,
would never have expected that from him.

As for the album itself. I actually like it much more than I thought I
would. Two things make me take a little time with an album before
reviewing it... 1)I strongly wanna like it, and 2) I strongly wanna hate it.
This one fell in the 2nd category. Despite that, exactly half of it
was undeniable upon my first listen. The rest was like "Ok, OK, I
admit it. I like it." As with any album, some tracks are weaker than
others, but I can play this album from beginning to end without having
to skip anything.

Funny thing about this album is that alotta people are saying they
like 3 tracks or so, but they all name different ones. That sounds
exactly like a Prince discussion, speaking of him. Needless to say,
he seems to have done a little something for everybody.

I don't think it's a GREAT album by any means. It's a decent one
that I'll be able to pull out and listen to in it's entirety when I feel
so inclined. Who know though... in time I mind find it great, or I
mind think it's just aight... I did just hear it afterall. I do like it though.

I'm loving Bound 2 though



<================================
http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd494/raysnill1/2012falcons.jpg

the beats, the rhymes, the songs, i dig them

.

that dude has never made a song i could listen to beyond 5 times
i think i bumped hold my liquor more than that already

tracks in the club "new slaves" and "send it up" specifically, otherwise, album is just "meh" to me... I like the idea he went for on it, just think he still could have done it better

his name is Gesaffelstein and his only other hip hop production is a remix of Danny Brown "Black Brad Pitt"

other than that he makes amazing techno with dark, French House sounds

the thing I dig about kanye's work is how soulful it is, and how wide of a musical scope he creates in. The whole "rick rubin raw" shit is soooo the opposite of that. A kanye west minimalist sound is something I'd be happy to hear...this though? nah.

But, I'll listen again. First time just skimmed

The DJ set (by Chauncy) before the Cold Cave show in SF on saturday had like 5 yeezus songs.

On first listens in my headphones I thought the songs were kinda slow and dark to get people movin. Yeah I could see "on site" or the shuffle on "black skinhead" get heads nodding.

But damn, even "Bound 2" and "I'm in it"--slow shits with barely any drums--were BANGIN that night.

Lots of catchy hooks too.

Maybe it was the crowd. Or maybe it's cuz I'm old and I don't know what goes on in clubs anymore.

Anyways...just my two cents.

these beats are fucking thunderous.

but not too much else to see.

the artsiness of the buildup was a bust.

seems like Kanye made good use of his time in Paris

TNGHT - R U Ready
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YedU4f5cA7E

Kanye West - Blood on the Leaves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02m70ICKtTw

did Lunice get credit?

although I could see the actual liners being different considering I could tell from the moment that beat dropped there wasn't ANYTHING different about it.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
"I don't read pages of rap lyrics, I listen to rap music." © Bombastic
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

We gonna post "Feel So Good" and "Hollywood Swinging" now too?
As long as they're consenting, credited, and paid, what's the issue?

B) I was right all up and down this post and now yall copping pleezus

like...who would think to put chops of "strange fruit" over that and then sing in autotune over it...and it actually came out to sound like a cohesive song?

its a grower...

like top 5 EASILY.

i assume OKP has no issue with this fact.

The album bangs tho

it goes hard.

yea i said it.

slow clap

let that pussy breathe my g

it's pretty safe to admit it now.

After 30+ minutes of this musical dystopia I guess ANYTHING that sounds "real hip hoppish" will sound like a masterpiece, eh?

its an average, forgettable song.

Ye can keep the auto-tune shit, tho.
Its not a "masterpiece", but it aint terrible.
Its just different. And thats not a bad thing.
Its very stripped down, but yet experimental.
"Black Skinhead" intro drumbeat sounds similar to Skinny Puppy's "Convulsion", and the drum during the verses sound like that famous Gary Glitter song.
BTW, I really like the outro in "New Slave".
.

If all those summers in the late-90s wasted away in front of a television airing Saturday Night Live reruns from the mid-90s taught me anything, it was to never trust the SNL stage. The best statement you could ever hope to make was a provocative, meme-like stage show that capitalized on the essence of the times. If not in physicality, Kanye's performances of "New Slaves" and "Black Skinhead" certainly embodied the spirits of predecessors Sinead O'Connor, Ashlee Simpson, Fear, Eminem and...Kanye himself. Unlike many of those performances, the awkwardness of the moment was overpowered by it's mere presence: why is Kanye screaming at us, and how did the Occupy movement get control of SNL's projectors? Are these songs kind of good, or am I just totally amazed this is happening? SNL's stage rarely proves a song is worth it's salt, but it can certainly raise the eyebrow of the middle class U.S.A. Understanding the spirit of that performance, it was hard to be scared by it.

But looking back on those performances now does certainly raise a few questions about the state of Yeezus and Yeezy, good and bad. If we're to believe Rick Rubin's many quotables in the Wall Street Journal (http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/06/14/the-inside-story-of-kanye-wests-yeezus/), half the songs here feature lyrics written and vocalized in under two hours. A job one of the industry's most grizzled, diverse veterans assumed would take months to complete at the time he was brought into the fold hit assembly lines mere weeks later. You have to wonder, considering the blatantly antagonistic spirit behind every factor of this album's release - the lack of any case lining, the 1984-like projection-singles, going onto a comedy show to complain about being a paid rapper - if Kanye doesn't in some ways hope we hate his album.

There is, of course, recent precedent for this in rap: Eminem famously pretended that Encore was a real album from the depths of an opiate well, and Lupe's veiled self-hatred as a result of agreeing to make an album like Lasers was as public a label admonishment as we'd seen since Clipse told Jive Records to go fuck themselves on "Mr. Me Too". I've stopped to ask myself what Kanye might think he has to gain by making people mad, but between George Bush and having a child by Kim-fucking-Kardashian, I'm pretty sure he understands precisely what he has to gain by making people angry in 2013. Yeezus could be Kanye's Empire Burlesque (Dylan, Bob), or perhaps Tonight (Bowie, David, http://kanyewestdavidbowie.blogspot.com/). And if it is, I believe he's fully prepared to take those comparisons as total compliments.

All of this psychoanalysis feels necessary because, well, Yeezus is a spectacularly bad album in as many ways as it is a great one. Many of this album's flaws exist from apparent carelessness, an often explicit fracture of expectations. I want to use the word endure, but if you are a Kanye fan from the beginning, it's probably more proper I say relish in the last minute of "New Slaves", that cocky sample on "On Sight", the terrible loop on "Bound 2". None of it fits, and that's the point, as Kanye teases around these strange sexual fantasies on the way to conceptual happiness.

At Yeezus' darkest moments, however, Kanye only sometimes keeps up. It's a shame because even without his name on the tags of most leaks' credits, his obvious desire to feel like his after dinner mushrooms didn't taste so good ends up being overshadowed by a few guests that actually make Yeezus feel as paranoid as Kanye wishes it would. "I'm in It" has some wild one-liners from Kanye, and it's fun to have the image of a mid-30s Kanye West sleeping with the nightlight on. But it's another thing entirely to hear Assassin sway in and out of the beat like a pirate ship on the high seas, giggling at Kanye's one-liners as he carries listeners off to The Bug's London Zoo.

"Guilt Trip" is an example of what happens when that paranoia takes total hold. Many interesting parts are combined into an awkward whole that leaves the listener wondering why KiD CuDi didn't get to keep the track for himself, realizing that Travi$ Scott's aggressively abstract trap sound has consumed most of this album and Kanye had long ago tuned out. Most of the songs during Yeezus' midsection have their captivating moments - when Kanye loses the ability to snag an ear for any random 30 seconds, let's talk - but they struggle fitting together as wholes. "Send It Up" is so close to amazing with it's misogyny and Suicide-style bleep bloops (especially with the sloppy soul of "Bound 2" following) that it's a shame that token "Travelin' Man" sample is so awful. Giving Frank Ocean a similar spot to nod at James Fauntleroy on "New Slaves" is just distracting, too.

It's a shame that half the album feels so absent-minded, or perhaps riddled with Ritalin, because the brilliant moments of Yeezus justify all the mystique Kanye built up around it. Astute listeners will quickly note that the warzone backbone of "Blood on the Leaves" is TNGHT's "R U Ready?" played straight, an historically bland hip-hop move that Kanye lifts into the heavens with a sample of Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit". Likewise, the opening four-song set headlined by Daft Punk on the boards is perhaps the purest id intoxication I've been witness to.

"On Sight" is hilariousy spastic, Kanye getting his Red Flame on over a steampunky alarm clock that doubles as Daft Punk's answer to all those lamenting Random Access Memories' refusal to react to the rise of Justice and similarly aggressive descendants. And the two SNL singles here are repurposed not for their token shock value but for Kanye to toy with being iconic; "Black Skinhead" isn't Kanye's "Beautiful People", it's his "Rock and Roll Part II", with Kanye spasming and gesticulating from behind the mic as though he's imagining Will Ferrell and Adam McKay taking a crack at the Bring It On / Drumline genre of high school battle flicks. "New Slaves" is Kanye figuring out how to make his "Scream" or "Stranger in Moscow", evoking the spirit of pop's most paranoid royalty with all the fire and brimstone of Game of Thrones' Mad King.

After about 15 minutes of total alpha male, 300-style cartoon catharsis Kanye unfortunately proceeds to make perhaps the most terrible choice of his career by following with "Hold My Liquor", an autotune duet between Justin Vernon and Chief Keef (seriously) while someone's playing the Ratatat guy's guitar. Nothing about this song is remotely interesting other than the deeply soothing, warm bass which is layered very nicely in the mix - on an album full of obnoxiously in your face 808s, "Hold My Liquor" is really the one 'headphone' track - and at five and a half minutes, it crushes the schizophrenic mania. The slog allows previously amped listeners to take a real hard look at some of the utter crumminess of Kanye's performance at times throughout the album.

"I'm in It", a song that plenty of people are going to learn to love, really should've figured out how to make a response to Ray J's "I Hit It" that didn't include that last verse from Kanye, full of fun meme-ready catchphrases that don't make for a very cohesive 30 seconds, or lead very cleanly into "Blood on the Leaves", Kanye's nod to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy fanatics. As I mentioned early, Kanye, Mike Dean and the crew have a lot to be proud of with this track. Using the 808s & Heartbreaks autotune setting, the song clues listeners in that this is probably an Amber Rose track, and quite a frank one at that. At least it is for the first two and a half minutes of dirty laundry before indulging in a 40-second ode to "Down 4 My Niggaz", the old No Limit posse cut, then again reconfiguring itself as a skewering of the lifestyle fans of the Kanye/Amber relationship lead, telling a love story that begins on Instagram and ends in divorce in just over a minute. Again, that Miss Simone is wincing about the "blood on the leaves" from "Strange Fruit" throughout this entire thing and it sounds incredibly natural isn't a thing to frown at.

Kanye closes the album with "Bound 2", ostensibly a sequel to the song's main sample, "Bound", by the Ponderosa Twins Plus One. On paper it likely shouldn't be one of the album's most divisive moments, being a soul-oriented boom bap loop (for the most part) that follows a lot of music imagining the Treacherous Three had been offered the finances - or been interested - to make albums inspired by Can and James Chance instead of Parliament-Funkadelic. But that soul loop is messy in a way even Madlib beat tapes are rarely capable of, and it's sort of hard not to chuckle a little at it's sweet lyrics being directed at his new nuclear (in more ways than one) family (and Kanye might be a little in on the fun, considering he ends with a Martin quote). It's hard not to chuckle at a lot of Yeezus, both because it's extremely funny and because at this point, most of Kanye's complaints are about houses he built for himself, not walls holding him back.

As a sonic experience, Yeezus isn't as dangerous as it likes to think it is but it's certainly the epic banger Kanye's worried he didn't have in him since he first ran to Timbaland to help beef up his drum sounds on Graduation. The idea of it being a rush job to the finish line can be a romantic one for fanatics, but keener eyes might realize a really fantastic album is dragged down a little more than it's supposed to be by it's A.D.D. nature and litany of awkward moments. It feels self-sabotaged as often as it does transcendent, and that may be the statement Ye'd like to make most of all. A man afraid to stand still suddenly finds himself in the grandest, most confounding prison of them all ("...love?") and Yeezus is that man searching for a baptism in his sex sweat. It's not a pretty sight, "but tell me have you seen that before?" asks the showman as the curtain closes.



~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
"I don't read pages of rap lyrics, I listen to rap music." © Bombastic
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

Thanks for actually talking about the music

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
"I don't read pages of rap lyrics, I listen to rap music." © Bombastic
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

you always kill it.

I agree so whole heartedly about Blood on the Leaves. the fact that you can take that nina sample, with the TNGHT beat, Kanye's autotune, the piano chords and make THAT hot of a song, is so amazing to me.

During my third and fourth listens "Blood on the Leaves" started to feel a little messy to me, but a couple days later I just found myself overwhelmed by it all and didn't feel that way anymore. My jaw was just stuck on the floor.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
"I don't read pages of rap lyrics, I listen to rap music." © Bombastic
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

Feel free to share it with your friends now that it's finally published.

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/172739-kanye-west-yeezus/

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

One of the worst hip hop albums of all time, considering that someone who is actually dope made it.

He's got the catalogue to get a pass I guess, so it's not a big deal. But this album sucks. Just a hard listen.

I ended up loving NoYork though, so I'll keep listening and hopefully everything will click.

I think it was Phonte said that there is no such thing as a piece of art "growing" on someone. He said people only said that because they are forcing themselves to like it.

I strongly disagree but I found it interesting that he said that. I remember him saying some pretty harsh things about MBDTF too when that dropped. Seems like he is just not a kanye fan at all.

But yeah I didnt care for NoYork initially outside of a few songs, and liked it more and more as I listened to it. There are still a few cuts i dont care for on it, but its a good album. Danny Brown's XXX is the same thing. I couldnt get past that voice at first, but now I love taht album and i still play it pretty regularly 2 years later.

as if you expected anything less.
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18172-kanye-west-yeezus/

i think it ties w/ GKMC as the highest score since dat 10.0

lol!!
i don't even read the written reviews, the scores provide enough comedy.

got some writing credits. King Louie has a credit on New Slaves as well.

also got writing credits.
it seems like all his friends our in the room, and he ask them what he should say and he credits everyone.
this probably the best way not to get sued.


more readible version:
http://www.missinfo.tv/index.php/kanye-west-yeezus-tracklist-credits/#more-95694

Apparently there are some differences between the U.S. iTunes, New Zealand iTunes, and physical CD.

EDIT: Some people are reporting actually audible differences between the releases.

http://i.imgur.com/PqjDpHS.png

US: http://i.imgur.com/8B54syX.jpg

NZ: http://i.imgur.com/xGvkVjM.jpg

"Perfect" FLAC rip from CD: http://i.imgur.com/h73tGwT.jpg

for a i guess pretty pretentious over sexualized goof ball music experience, you can tell he took this bullshit album way to serious in his douchey way of translating his emotions to music. I almost enjoyed it, because it seems like YEEZUS said i'm go head and put some total bullshit out and see how long it sticks to the wall...

i was not impressed...i might grab a couple of cuts off this joint and play them when I aint got nothing else to do.

the Ghetto's tryin to kill me >> Yeezus
what ever convoluted statement YEZZUS is trying to make is mute, MURS and company brought some fire with there experiment.

He didn't do this for us ya know.

No radio single. No videos. It's a selfish grandstanding fuck you to us all.

...6/10.

fuck you too, ye.

...5/10.

http://i3.minus.com/ipz6KyZKenVTI.png

http://open.spotify.com/album/7D2NdGvBHIavgLhmcwhluK

because he told you shit was delicious.

The tastemakers are saying it's delicious, so you're convincing yourselves it's delicious.

I hate the group think card, but damn if it's not appropriate here.

This is awful in every possible way, and most people who believe in its greatness are saying it mostly to convince themselves.

What about it do you think isn't good?

>What about it do you think isn't good?

Typically good beats and good rapping are a requirement for a rap album to be considered good. This album was liquified shit on both fronts, so it's wierd that someone would ask that question.

To be fair, Ye has always been shit as a rapper though. He usually got by with sometimes great, mostly decent production to cover the forced delivery, eye-roll inducing punch lines, and outrageously overstated pomp, but the shitty beats can't cover that up on this one.

>because he told you shit was delicious.
>
>The tastemakers are saying it's delicious, so you're
>convincing yourselves it's delicious.
>
>I hate the group think card, but damn if it's not appropriate
>here.
>
>This is awful in every possible way, and most people who
>believe in its greatness are saying it mostly to convince
>themselves.

"Stop enjoying things I don't like."

You can't enjoy the album, so in your head it's impossible that anyone else can enjoy it without some extrinsic factor at play, and you've convinced yourself that everyone else is being disingenuous with themselves. Fucking pathetic. Grow the fuck up.

>"Stop enjoying things I don't like."

Except I never said anything remotely close to that. Please, take a moment and point out where I even implied that statement. I'll wait :)

>You can't enjoy the album, so in your head it's impossible
>that anyone else can enjoy it without some extrinsic factor at
>play, and you've convinced yourself that everyone else is
>being disingenuous with themselves. Fucking pathetic. Grow the
>fuck up.

FUCKING PATHETIC!!! GROW THE FUCK UP!!!

lol

It's amusing to watch you dance like the puppet you are. Is there any reasonable explanation for why you got so emotional over that statement?

Well, outside of being easily manipulated by the words of someone whose opinion shouldn't matter in the least. I waited until the thread ws 3X plat before I decided to troll it, and within minutes you came running like the sycophant you are. Bravo.

At any rate, grown ups can handle such opinions without throwing a tantrum. Clearly, you're not there.

Thanks for playing!

he gets a pass.

carry on though.

I see at least as many negative or lukewarm reactions in here as positive ones. Maybe more so.

hella writing credits for the rhymes to sound so so. probably his weakest rhyming performance. if not for Bound 2 I would be disappointed.

My review....Yeah, it's long...But fuck it....Sometimes you got to go in....Enjoy or get angry....I like both reactions, actually....

------

Review: Kanye Pulls Off Messy, Majestic Triumph With 'Yeezus' Album
VIBE

'The daring Yeezus finds Kanye nailing his greatest stunts'

You don’t become the most polarizing pop star this side of Rihanna by playing nice. Indeed, Kanye West is not the easiest soul to love. Pissing off Presidents. Trolling a country music sweetheart during an awards speech. Comparing being barred from a fashion show to joining a civil rights sit-in. That’s all surface shit. West does most of his trolling on his own fans. Let’s recall how the Chicago born MC and producer—who was knighted as the savior of digging-in-the-crates hip-hop with his earnest 2004 debut The College Dropout—embraced the enemy when he hooked up with T-Pain and went all Auto-Tune on our asses. Followers who were ready to proclaim West as the Brian Wilson of the rap world after the genre-twisting brilliance of 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (some critics even started throwing around the G-word: genius) were perplexed when ‘Ye started breaking bread with trap star general 2 Chainz and chick-obsessed protégé Big Sean.

Even West’s front page union with reality show queen Kim Kardashian has provoked a collective side-eye; an interesting move from a notoriously private individual that in the past has publicly expressed his disdain for the TMZ/US Weekly brigade (yeah, good luck with that). And yet West continues to get away with it all, often times with messy yet stunning results. It’s that same need to buck complacency that fuels his latest work Yeezus, a sneering statement that challenges listeners to erase all previous notions of what hip-hop should be. On this brave, economic assault everybody—politicians, racists, ex-girlfriends, religious fundamentalists, fellow artists and even Kanye himself—gets it.

“How much do I not give a fuck?” West tosses off on the Daft Punk produced “On Sight.” Apparently not much when he’s raging over a track that sounds like Kraftwerk on mushrooms. There’s not so much a beat here, but bleeps, blips, synth keyboard stabs, and the kind of unmitigated disdain that Johnny Rotten could get behind. “Real nigga back in the house again/Black dick all in your spouse again/And I know she like chocolate men/She got more niggas off than Cochran, hanh?!”

“Jesus Walks” it ain’t.

West then goes full blown race man on the volatile “Black Skinhead,” a socio-political kissing cousin to Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People.” “Stop all that coon shit,” he angrily commands over war drums. “If I don't get ran out by Catholics/Here come some conservative Baptists/Claiming I'm overreacting.”

And on the explosive “I Am A God,” West takes on detractors who question his hip-hop credibility: “Old niggas mentally still in high school/Since the tight jeans they never liked you/Pink-ass Polos with a fucking backpack/But everybody know you brought real rap back…” Reggae dancehall chants, 808 bass that bruises and batter—West is not a bromidic host. And that’s the point.

There’s a throw-it-all-out-the-window energy that permeates throughout Yeezus. Whereas on past albums West made it a point to present compositions that jumped from populist productions to lush, over-the-top orchestrations, his sixth solo release has an impromptu, unfinished feel. The ghost-in-the-machine sound is mostly linear, a fact that is even more impressive when you factor in West’s number of studio collaborators and producers (In his world, Rick Rubin, Hudson Mohawke, Mike Dean, Lupe Fiasco, RZA, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, King Louie, and the aforementioned Daft Punk can all sit at the same table).

Yeezus is not merely the ramblings of an asshole that equates Godliness with material wealth or status. It’s a record that could be heard as the diary of an artist who is well aware of his immense influence and the spoils that come with it, but is not exactly comfortable with the deal. That point of contention erupts on the Frank Ocean assisted “New Slaves” on which West juxtaposes the segregated past of his late mother (“My momma was raised in the era when/Clean water was only served to the fairer skin…”) with today’s era of private prisons and a culture that has become a slave to conspicuous consumption (Bentley’s, furs, drugs, diamond chains, Alexander Wang…).

But before you start expecting the same introspective, lyrically sharp Kanye West that carried Jay-Z on The-Throne team-up, you won’t find him here. This is stream-of-conscious ‘Ye. When ratchet rascal Chief Keef anchors the nihilistic hook on the dark “Hold My Liquor,” the fellow Chicago MC is merely an extension of West’s self-destructive path. Alcohol-induced car crashes, one-night stands, blackouts and hangovers. Even the aunt of ‘Ye’s latest conquest sees the writing on the wall when she tells her niece, “Baby girl, he's a loner…Late night organ donor/After that he disown ya/After that he's just hopeless…”

Unfortunately, the raw nature of West’s songwriting at times becomes disjointed and even cringe-worthy. The sexual debauchery fueled “I’m In It”—arguably Yeezus’ most impressive production with its warped Art of Noise meets Mike WiLL Made It mash-up—gets dragged down with sophomoric lines like, “Eatin' Asian pussy, all I need was sweet and sour sauce…” And whoever thought it would be a great idea to waste a flawless sample of Nina Simone’s take on Billie Holiday’s haunting, anti-lynching protest song “Strange Fruit” on the otherwise trivial “Blood On The Leaves” (West rebukes “second string bitches” on Instagram “tryna get a baby”) needs to go to rehab.

Thank, um, Yeezus that Yeezus closes out strongly offering the nearest thing to head knock music as you can possibly get on this set. The euphoric “Send It Up” thumps with a piercing noise that could be mistaken as a siren for an impending riot as a bold West surmises, “It’s so packed I might ride around on my bodyguard back like Prince in the club!” And the soulful, dusty Blueprint-feel of “Bound 2” will no doubt become a rhyme-along favorite, even down to the abrupt Charlie Wilson breakdown.

Yet there’s a reason why Yeezus so far stands out as Kanye West’s most divisive work (it has officially surpassed 2008’s emotional opus 808s & Heartbreak).This is electro progressive punk masquerading as a rap album.

West even admits that not everyone will be in for the ride when he lifts these telling words from gospel choir Holy Name of Mary Choral Family: “He'll give us what we need/It may not be what we want.” So, the next time you find yourself shaking your head at what you perceive to be West’s latest douchebag antic, remember: The sensitive jerk in the leather kilt just may be the most important artist of his generation. Ain’t that a bitch. —Keith Murphy (@murphdogg29)

yup yup
album is still doodoo

>yup yup
>album is still doodoo


I didn't realize there was a civil war in this thread....lol....Kind of makes sense though....This album has caused a split...

But it's important to note...U come off as a bit lazy and even idiotic labeling everyone as "followers = swallower's that offers even handed criticism of this album....

You should be more confident in YOUR view of the album....If you think it's suck, that's all good...Shit, I thought 808s & Heartbreak was lackluster....And yet I never resorted to name calling or shitting on niggas that was calling that album the best thing since condoms....

See how that works?

youre a cool cat Murph, so that I apologize for the misunderstanding ( the reply wasnt directed at you or your review ). i just thought that line was pretty catchy in New Slaves ( the whole song lyrically is pretty dope ). its moreso directed at this blind adulation this album is getting everywhere, without any merit or statements telling me why it's so dope. anyone who can clearly write down their thoughts and explain why they hate / love an album will never get any shit from me.

>youre a cool cat Murph, so that I apologize for the
>misunderstanding ( the reply wasnt directed at you or your
>review ). i just thought that line was pretty catchy in New
>Slaves ( the whole song lyrically is pretty dope ). its moreso
>directed at this blind adulation this album is getting
>everywhere, without any merit or statements telling me why
>it's so dope. anyone who can clearly write down their thoughts
>and explain why they hate / love an album will never get any
>shit from me.



Respect....

Respect.

http://pitchfork.com/news/51175-rick-rubin-discusses-the-intense-completion-of-kanye-wests-yeezus/

Def Jam founder and fabled producer/hip-hop pioneer Rick Rubin has spoken to the Wall Street Journal via email about his last-minute involvement in Kanye West's Yeezus, which is out on Tuesday. From the sound of it, the record-- which has yet to leak online-- was a work-in-progress until beyond the 11th hour, and Rubin played a crucial part in the process.

From the interview:
"Kanye came over to play me what I assumed was going to be the finished album at three weeks before the last possible delivery date. We ended up listening to three hours of partially finished pieces. The raw material was very strong but hadn’t yet come into focus. Many of the vocals hadn’t been recorded yet, and many of those still didn’t have lyrics. From what he played me, it sounded like several months more work had to be done. I joined the project because after discussing what he had played for me, he asked if I would be open to taking all of the raw material on and help him finish it."

Just two days before the album was supposed to be turned in, five songs still needed vocals. "Don't worry, I will score 40 points for you in the fourth quarter," Kanye allegedly told Rubin. "In the two hours before he had to run to catch the plane , he did exactly that: finished all lyrics and performed them with gusto," Rubin said.

Rubin, who's been credited as Yeezus' executive producer, said he also helped take the songs to different places than they began. "When he first played for me, it was a more middle of the road R&B song, done in adult contemporary style," he said. "I removed all of the R&B elements leaving only a single note baseline in the hook which we processed to have a punk edge in the Suicide tradition."

I've ever had the unfortunate pleasure to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BbHi-2Wl3o

I feel like he missed the point of New Slaves.

LOL
Thats funny, but logical.
You can't be a "new slave" when you have freedom of choice.
Its a schtick, folks.

especially considering his previous points.

new slaves, or maybe I misheard the song. (I only listened once).

He seemed to be talking more about how we're victims of materialism and media programming than just whining about himself.

How can he accuse us of being slaves to materialism and mass-media, when he is the biggest narcissus in pop culture?
Sheesh, he really is a delusional, walking contradiction.

least favorite out of his catalogue

In fact, production wise--> not impressive

Yeezus establishes an excellent atmosphere and mission statement from On Sight to New Slaves but gets very muddy and awkward on the second half of the album. The reason Blood on the Leaves and Bound 2 both stand out in comparison to everything else on the album's latter half is because sonically their like cousins to older stuff Kanye's done. The verses on Blood on the Leaves reminds me of Kanye's more serious verses on Watch the Throne and Bound 2 is lighter and playful in a way that Kanye hasn't fully captured since the first three albums.

The awkward murkiness that this album brings with it would match perfectly if Kanye the persona didn't contradict some of this. New Slaves is an awesome song and my early favorite but Kanye doesn't actually represent any of that when the song's placed in the context of all the high fashion he wears and the fact that his label has its own brand of braggadocio that would be lumped in with the same music he's criticizing if they were less skilled as rappers.


When I hear some of these songs, it has the feel of someone beating himself up over insecurities to a mashup of NIN and Death Grips. Album's not bad but I wish the music and production could've sustained that same sharpness throughout. The way I feel about this album is practically identical to what I feel about a lot of Kid Cudi's material. It begins to sink under its own weight.
---------------------------------------


---------------------------------------

I've been a Ye fan since forever, but i seriously don't know what to think about this album. I'm not even sure if it'll grow on me. The music just isn't clicking with me like i expected to. I'm not going to force myself to like it. I'm not going to jump on any bandwagons... I'm starting to feel like this is my least favorite solo Ye album.

smh it's just awful

1) any amount of Ye autotune is far too much

2) beats are all ass

3) Ye yells way too much and takes himself way too seriously (which is saying a lot)

there are 2 songs that are worth a 2nd listen, and neither are even that impressive. New Slaves and Bound 2 were aight. Neither are better than White Dress, which I believe is the last thing he dropped before the album.

Hopefully he gets back to that type of shit, and produce more of his own music.

Yeezus ain't even making it to the whip.

my opinion is right now off of the first listen, I can't really see this growing on me though

this isn't good

on site, black skinhead, i am a god, and new slaves send it up, and bound 2 are awesome. hold my liquor is okay. the other 3 i haven't listened to enough. it's my least favorite 'Ye album, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, since i love all his albums.

It's not for me

ahhhhh ... Kanye.

I want to like him but I think homeboy is gone. Delusional. Ego-maniac. Troubled.

This latest album is wack sauce to me. Maybe him having a child will bring back some of that deepness he used to show both lyrically and production-wise.

For now I tune out.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS KANYE WEST AND RICK RUBIN
CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER CHÉ POPE

ON SIGHT (KANYE WEST, GUY-MANUEL DE HOMEM-CHRISTO, THOMAS BANGALTER, MALIK JONES, CHÉ SMITH, ELON RUTBERG, CYDEL YOUNG, DERRICK WATKINS, MIKE DEAN) ASCAP/BMI/COPYRIGHT CONTROL PRODUCED BY KANYE WEST AND DAFT PUNK ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION BY MIKE DEAN #MWA AND BENJI B ENGINEERED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN, ANTHONY KILHOFFER, ANDREW DAWSON AND MIKE DEAN AT NO NAME HOTEL & STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS; GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC AND SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA ASSISTED BY MARC PORTHEAU, KHOÏ HUYNH, RAOUL LE PENNEC, NABIL ESSEMLANI, KEITH PARRY AT STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS; KENTA YONESAKA AND DAVID ROWLAND AT GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC AND SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIXED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIX ASSISTED BY SEAN OAKLEY,ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA CHOIR PRODUCED BY KEN LEWIS DRUMS BY DYLAN WISSING PERCUSSION BY MATT TEITELMAN CHOIR DIRECTOR: ALVIN FIELDS CHOIR: CARMEN ROMAN, K. NITA, JOHN MORGAN, JESSENIA PENA, RONNIE ARTIS, CRYSTAL BRUN, SEAN DREW, NATALIS RUBY RUBERO, LORRAINE BERRY, GLORIA RYANN, TIMEKA LEE CHOIR ENGINEERED BY URI DJEMAL AT MADPAN STUDIOS, NYC CONTAINS INTERPOLATION OF “SERMON (HE’LL GIVE US WHAT WE REALLY NEED)” WRITTEN BY KEITH CARTER, SR. PUBLISHED BY KEITH CARTER PUBLISHING. USED BY PERMISSION.

BLACK SKINHEAD (KANYE WEST, GUY-MANUEL DE HOMEM-CHRISTO, THOMAS BANGALTER, MALIK JONES, CYDEL YOUNG, ELON RUTBERG, WASALU MUHAMMAD JACO, SAKIYA SANDIFER, MIKE DEAN, DERRICK WATKINS) ASCAP/BMI/COPYRIGHT CONTROL PRODUCED BY KANYE WEST AND DAFT PUNK ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION BY GESAFFELSTEIN, BRODINSKI, MIKE DEAN AND LUPE FIASCO, JACK DONOGHUE AND NOAH GOLDSTEIN ENGINEERED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN, ANTHONY KILHOFFER AND MIKE DEAN AT NO NAME HOTEL, PARIS; STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS, GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC AND SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA ASSISTED BY MARC PORTHEAU, KHOÏ HUYNH, RAOUL LE PENNEC, NABIL ESSEMLANI, KEITH PARRY AT STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS; KENTA YONESAKA, DAVID ROWLAND AND KEVIN MATELA AT GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC AND SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIXED BY MANNY MARROQUIN AT LARRABEE STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES, CA MIX ASSISTED BY DELBERT BOWERS AND CHRIS GALLAND MASTERED BY CHRIS GEHRINGER AT STERLING SOUND & VLADO MELLER AT MASTERDISK, NYC

I AM A GOD FEAT. GOD (KANYE WEST, GUY-MANUEL DE HOMEM-CHRISTO, THOMAS BANGALTER, ROSS BIRCHARD, JUSTIN VERNON, MALIK JONES, CHÉ SMITH, ELON RUTBERG, CYDEL YOUNG, MIKE DEAN, DERRICK WATKINS, CLIFTON BAILEY, HARVEL HART, ANAND BAKSHI, RAHUL BURMAN) ASCAP/BMI/PRS/COPYRIGHT CONTROL PRODUCED BY KANYE WEST, MIKE DEAN #MWA, AND DAFT PUNK CO-PRODUCED BY HUDSON MOHAWKE ADDITIONAL VOCALS BY JUSTIN VERNON ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN, CHE POPE AND TRAVI$ SCOTT ENGINEERED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN, ANTHONY KILHOFFER AND MIKE DEAN AT NO NAME HOTEL, PARIS AND GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC ASSISTED BY MARC PORTHEAU, KHOÏ HUYNH, RAOUL LE PENNEC, NABIL ESSEMLANI, KEITH PARRY AT STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS AND KENTA YONESAKA AND DAVID ROWLAND AT GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC MIXED BY MANNY MARROQUIN AT LARRABEE STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES, CA MIX ASSISTED BY DELBERT BOWERS AND CHRIS GALLAND CONTAINS SAMPLES OF “FORWARD INNA DEM CLOTHES” PERFORMED BY CAPLETON, COURTESY OF GREENSLEEVES RECORDS LTD. WRITTEN BY C. BAILEY AND H. HART, PUBLISHED BY BMG CHRYSALIS MUSIC O/B/O GREENSLEEVES PUBLISHING LIMITED AND STB MUSIC, INC. (ASCAP). CONTAINS SAMPLES OF “ARE ZINDAGI HAI KHEL” BY MANNA DEY, RAHUL BURMAN, ASHA BHOSLE, LICENSED COURTESY OF SAREGAMA INDIA BY ARRANGEMENT WITH THE ROYALTY NETWORK, INC. WRITTEN BY ANAND BAKSHI AND RAHUL BURMAN, PUBLISHED BY TENYOR MUSIC (BMI)

NEW SLAVES (KANYE WEST, CHRISTOPHER BREAUX, CYDEL YOUNG, BEN BRONFMAN, MALIK JONES, CHÉ SMITH, ELON RUTBERG, SAKIYA SANDIFER, LOUIS JOHNSON, MIKE DEAN, GABOR PRESSER, ANNA ADAMIS) ASCAP)/BMI/COPYRIGHT CONTROL PRODUCED BY KANYE WEST CO-PRODUCED BY BEN BRONFMAN ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION BY MIKE DEAN #MWA, TRAVI$ SCOTT, NOAH GOLDSTEIN, SHAM JOSEPH, CHE POPE ADDITIONAL VOCALS: FRANK OCEAN NOISES AND VOCAL SOUNDS CREATED AND ENGINEERED BY KEN LEWIS ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING BY HUDSON MOHAWKE AND ARCA ENGINEERED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN, ANTHONY KILHOFFER AND MIKE DEAN AT NO NAME HOTEL, PARIS; GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC AND SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA ASSISTED BY MARC PORTHEAU, KHOÏ HUYNH, RAOUL LE PENNEC, NABIL ESSEMLANI, KEITH PARRY AT STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS; KENTA YONESAKA, DAVE ROWLAND AND KEVIN MATELA AT GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC AND SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIXED BY ANTHONY KILHOFFER AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIX ASSISTED BY SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF “GYÖNGYHAJÚ LÁNY” PERFORMED BY OMEGA, USED COURTESY OF HUNGAROTON RECORDS AND FOTEXNET KFT. WRITTEN BY GABOR PRESSER AND ANNA ADAMIS.

HOLD MY LIQUOR (KANYE WEST, MIKE DEAN, JUSTIN VERNON, KEITH COZART, ELON RUTBERG, CHÉ SMITH, MALIK JONES, ALEJANDRO GHERSI, CYDEL YOUNG, DERRICK WATKINS) ASCAP/BMI/COPYRIGHT CONTROL PRODUCED BY MIKE DEAN AND KANYE WEST ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION BY ARCA AND NOAH GOLDSTEIN ADDITIONAL INSTRUMENTS BY MIKE DEAN #MWA (GUITAR SOLO) ENGINEERED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN, ANTHONY KILHOFFER AND MIKE DEAN AT NO NAME HOTEL, PARIS; GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC AND SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA ASSISTED BY MARC PORTHEAU, KHOÏ HUYNH, RAOUL LE PENNEC, NABIL ESSEMLANI, KEITH PARRY AT STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS; KENTA YONESAKA AND DAVID ROWLAND AT GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC AND SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE ‘SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIXED BY MANNY MARROQUIN AT LARRABEE STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES, CA MIX ASSISTED BY DELBERT BOWERS AND CHRIS GALLAND VOCALS BY CHIEF KEEF AND JUSTIN VERNON

I’M IN IT (KANYE WEST, JUSTIN VERNON, JEFFREY ETHAN CAMPBELL, JOSH LEARY, MALIK JONES, CYDEL YOUNG, SAKIYA SANDIFER, ELON RUTBERG, MIKE DEAN, ANDRE HARRIS, JILL SCOTT, VIDAL DAVIS, CARVIN HAGGINS, KENNY LATTIMORE) ASCAP/BMI/COPYRIGHT CONTROL PRODUCED BY KANYE WEST CO-PRODUCED BY EVIAN CHRIST AND DOM $OLO ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN, ARCA AND MIKE DEAN #MWA VOCALS BY JUSTIN VERNON AND ASSASSIN “OH” VOCALS CREATED BY TAMMY INFUSINO AND KEN LEWIS – ENGINEERED BY BRENT KOLATALO ENGINEERED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN, ANTHONY KILHOFFER AND MIKE DEAN AT NO NAME HOTEL, PARIS; GEE JAM STUDIOS, PORT ANTONIO, JAMAICA; REAL WORLD STUDIOS, BATH, ENGLAND AND SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA ASSISTED BY MARC PORTHEAU, KHOÏ HUYNH, RAOUL LE PENNEC, NABIL ESSEMLANI, KEITH PARRY AT STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS; MAT ARNOLD AT REAL WORLD STUDIOS, BATH, ENGLAND; DALE AT GEE JAM STUDIOS, JAMAICA, AND SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIXED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIX ASSISTED BY SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA CONTAINS SAMPLES OF “LATELY” PERFORMED BY KENNY LATTIMORE, USED COURTESY OF SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. WRITTEN BY A. HARRIS, J. SCOTT, V. DAVIS, C. HAGGINS AND K. LATTIMORE, PUBLISHED BY SONY/ATV TUNES LLC (ASCAP)/EMI APRIL MUSIC INC. O/B/O ITSELF AND TOUCHED BY JAZZ MUSIC (ASCAP)/UNIVERSAL MUSIC CORP. O/B/O DIRTY DRE MUSIC/JAT CAT MUSIC PUBLISHING, INC./BLUE’S BABY MUSIC/NIVRAC TYKE MUSIC (ASCAP).

BLOOD ON THE LEAVES (KANYE WEST, ROSS BIRCHARD, ELON RUTBERG, MALIK JONES, TONY WILLIAMS, CYDEL YOUNG, MIKE DEAN, LEWIS ALLEN) ASCAP)/BMI/PRS/COPYRIGHT CONTROL PRODUCED BY KANYE WEST, HUDSON MOHAWKE AND LUNICE CO-PRODUCED BY CARLOS BROADY FOR SIX JULY PRODUCTIONS, INC. ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION BY 88-KEYS, MIKE DEAN #MWA AND ARCA ENGINEERED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN AND ANTHONY KILHOFFER AT NO NAME HOTEL, PARIS; GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC AND SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA ASSISTED BY MARC PORTHEAU, KHOÏ HUYNH, RAOUL LE PENNEC, NABIL ESSEMLANI, DAMIEN PROST, KEITH PARRY AT STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS; KENTA YONESAKA AND DAVID ROWLAND AT GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC AND SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIXED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIX ASSISTED BY SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF “STRANGE FRUIT” AS PERFORMED BY NINA SIMONE. COURTESY OF THE VERVE MUSIC GROUP, A DIVISION OF UMG RECORDINGS, INC. UNDER LICENSE FROM UNIVERSAL MUSIC ENTERPRISES. USED BY PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. WRITTEN BY LEWIS ALLEN. USED BY PERMISSION OF EDWARD B. MARKS MUSIC COMPANY (BMI)/MUSIC SALES CORPORATION (ASCAP).

GUILT TRIP (KANYE WEST, SCOTT MESCUDI, CYDEL YOUNG, MIKE DEAN, LARRY GRIFFIN JR., KEITH ELAM, KEVIN HANSFORD, DUPRE KELLY, CHRIS MARTIN, AL-TERIK WARDRICK, MARLON WILLIAMS, TERRENCE THORNTON, TYREE PITTMAN) ASCAP/BMI/COPYRIGHT CONTROL PRODUCED BY KANYE WEST, MIKE DEAN #MWA AND S1 ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION BY TRAVI$ SCOTT AND ACKEE JUICE ROCKERS ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN (SFX) ADDITIONAL INSTRUMENTS BY CHRIS “HITCHCOCK” CHORNEY (CELLOS) ENGINEERED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN, ANTHONY KILHOFFER AND MIKE DEAN AT NO NAME HOTEL, PARIS; THE MERCER HOTEL, NYC; GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC; SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA AND REAL WORLD STUDIOS, BATH, ENGLAND ASSISTED BY MARC PORTHEAU, KHOÏ HUYNH, RAOUL LE PENNEC, NABIL ESSEMLANI, KEITH PARRY AT STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS; KENTA YONESAKA AND DAVID ROWLAND AT GERMANO STUDIOS, NYC; MATT ARNOLD AT REAL WORLD STUDIOS, BATH, ENGLAND AND SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIXED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIX ASSISTED BY SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA CONTAINS INTERPOLATIONS OF “CHIEF ROCKA,” WRITTEN BY K. ELAM, K. HANSFORD, D. KELLY, C. MARTIN, A. WARDRICK AND M. WILLIAMS, PUBLISHED BY EMI APRIL MUSIC INC./MARLEY MARL MUSIC INC. (ASCAP)/ALMO MUSIC CORP./GIFTED PEARL MUSIC INC. (ASCAP)/ROYNET MUSIC/LOTUG MUSIC (ASCAP)/BMG CHRYSALIS US O/B/O FOUR KNIGHTS MUSIC (BMI)/GHETTOMAN MUSIC (ASCAP) CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF “BLOCKA REMIX” (ACKEE JUICE ROCKERS) WRITTEN BY TERRENCE THORNTON AND TYREE PITTMAN, PUBLISHED BY SONY/ATV SONGS LLC/NEIGHBORHOOD PUSHA (BMI)/YOUNG CHOP PRODUCTIONS/WARNER CHAPPELL (ASCAP).

SEND IT UP (KANYE WEST, LOUIS JOHNSON, GUY-MANUEL DE HOMEM-CHRISTO, THOMAS BANGALTER, ALEJANDRO GHERSI, MIKE LEVY, SAKIYA SANDIFER, AB LIVA, ELON RUTBERG, MIKE DEAN, MOSES DAVIS, COLIN YORK, LOWELL DUNBAR) ASCAP/BMI/COPYRIGHT CONTROL PRODUCED BY KANYE WEST AND DAFT PUNK CO-PRODUCED BY GESAFFELSTEIN AND BRODINSKI ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION BY ARCA AND MIKE DEAN #MWA ENGINEERED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN AND ANDREW DAWSON AT NO NAME HOTEL AND STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS ASSISTED BY MARC PORTHEAU, KHOÏ HUYNH, RAOUL LE PENNEC, NABIL ESSEMLANI, KEITH PARRY AT STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS MIXED BY ANTHONY KILHOFER AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA MIX ASSISTED BY SEAN OAKLEY, ERIC LYNN, DAVE “SQUIRREL” COVELL AND JOSH SMITH AT SHANGRI-LA, MALIBU, CA VOCALS BY KING LOUIE KING L APPEARS COURTESY OF EPIC RECORDS CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF “MEMORIES” PERFORMED BY BEENIE MAN, COURTESY OF VP MUSIC GROUP, INC. WRITTEN BY M. DAVIS, C. YORK AND L. DUNBAR AND PUBLISHED BY TAFARI MUSIC, INC. (ASCAP)/UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING/DUBPLATE MUSIC/SHOCKING VIBES MUSIC/JACK RUSSELL MUSIC LTD.

BOUND 2 (KANYE WEST, JOHN STEPHENS, CHARLIE WILSON, CHÉ POPE, ELON RUTBERG, CYDEL YOUNG, MALIK JONES, SAKIYA SANDIFER, MIKE DEAN, NORMAN WHITESIDE, BOB MASSEY, ROBERT DUKES, RONNIE SELF) ASCAP/BMI/COPYRIGHT CONTROL PRODUCED BY KANYE WEST CO-PRODUCED BY CHÉ POPE ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION BY ERIC DANCHILD, NOAH GOLDSTEIN, NO ID AND MIKE DEAN ENGINEERED BY NOAH GOLDSTEIN, ANTHONY KILHOFFER AT NO NAME HOTEL AND STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS ASSISTED BY MARC PORTHEAU, KHOÏ HUYNH, RAOUL LE PENNEC, NABIL ESSEMLANI, KEITH PARRY AT STUDIOS DE LA SEINE, PARIS ADDITIONAL VOCALS BY CHARLIE WILSON ADDITIONAL INSTRUMENTS BY MIKE DEAN (BASS, GUITAR) MIXED BY MANNY MARROQUIN AT LARRABEE STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES, CA MIX ASSISTED BY DELBERT BOWERS AND CHRIS GALLAND CONTAIN INTERPOLATIONS OF “AEROPLANE (REPRISE),” WRITTEN BY N. WHITESIDE AND PUBLISHED BY DUST INDEX (BMI). CONTAINS SAMPLES OF “BOUND” PERFORMED BY THE PONDEROSA TWINS PLUS ONE. UNDER LICENSE FROM RHINO ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY, A WARNER MUSIC COMPANY AND RMG MUSIC INC./ROBINSON MUSIC GROUP, LLC. WRITTEN BY B. MASSEY AND R. DUKES AND PUBLISHED BY GAMBI MUSIC, INC. ADMINISTERED BY SONGS OF UNIVERSAL, INC. (BMI). CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF “SWEET NOTHIN’S” PERFORMED BY BRENDA LEE. COURTESY OF MCA NASHVILLE, A DIVISION OF UMG RECORDINGS, INC. UNDER LICENSE FROM UNIVERSAL MUSIC ENTERPRISES. USED BY PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. WRITTEN BY RONNIE SELF AND USED COURTESY OF SONGS OF UNIVERSAL, INC. (BMI).

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS KANYE WEST AND RICK RUBIN
CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER CHÉ POPE
MANAGEMENT IZVOR ZIVKOVIC
A&R CHÉ POPE
A&R DION (NO ID) WILSON FOR DEF JAM
ADDITIONAL A&R KYAMBO “HIP HOP” JOSHUA
A&R ADMINISTRATION TERESE JOSEPH
A&R COORDINATION SCOTT MARCUS LEESA BRUNSON
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER NOAH GOLDSTEIN PRODUCTION CONSULTANTS HUDSON MOHAWK ARCA YOUNG CHOP
MARKETING ERIC WONG AMY THOMSON
MASTERED BY VLADO MELLER AT MASTERDISK NYC
ASSISTANT MASTERING ENGINEER MARK SANTANGELO
YEEZUS CREATIVE DIRECTOR KANYE WEST
YEEZUS ASSISTANT CREATIVE DIRECTOR VIRGIL ABLOH
YEEZUS ART DIRECTOR & MUSIC CONSULTANT MATTHEW WILLIAMS
DONDA ART DIRECTOR JUSTIN SAUNDERS
DONDA GRAPHIC DESIGN JOE PEREZ DONDA MUSIC CONSULTANT BENJAMIN BENSTEAD
ILLUSTRATION AND TYPE TREATMENT FOR DONDA JIM JOE 13
ART PRODUCTION TODD RUSSELL KRISTEN YIENGST ALEX HALDI ANDREW ZAEH MEREDITH TRUAX TAI LINZIE THE DGS TEAM
PACKAGE PRODUCTION CAROL CORLESS
SAMPLE CLEARANCES ERIC WEISSMAN MUSIC LICENSING, INC.
LEGAL MICHAEL GUIDO, ROB COHEN AND RENEE KARALIAN FOR CARROLL, GUIDO & GROFFMAN, LLP
BUSINESS AFFAIRS NICOLE WYSKOARKO IAN ALLEN
ANTOINETTE TROTMAN DONNA FETCHKO

http://i.imgur.com/9yIbuGl.jpg

Thanks though.

It took me more than a moment to get through it.

Where the fuck Carlos "Six July" Broady been?

Ab-Liva?
Rhymefest? (I guess I should'nt be surprised by that tho.)
Lupe on Black Skinhead?

...Hopefully we get some stories behind this album and how it was made.

pretty much all of "on sight" is hilarious to me.

i enjoy the sonic direction of some songs but i think the lyrics are super unfocused

am i bugging?

take guilt trip for instance... the title and music imply a deep song, even cudi's singing during the bridge... but what the fuck is ye talking about?

a lot of the bars on here sound like reference tracks

I mean I know Kanye isn't the best MC but damn. I'm mad dissapointed

I think that kinda works in the album's favor on some level... it leaves things up
for interpretation and lets you draw your own conclusions as to what it could
mean for you, personally...

On the other hand, the Rick Rubin interview revealed that he finished a good
percentage of the lyrics in a day, so that sounds like he just threw the shit
together, lyrically. Here's the excerpt from the interview...

"Can you recall a scene from the sessions that might help people
understand his method in the studio?

We were working on a Sunday for girlfriend Kim and the album was to be turned in two days
later. Kanye was planning to go to Milan that night. Five songs still needed
vocals and two or three of them still needed lyrics. He said, “Don’t worry, I
will score 40 points for you in the fourth quarter.” In the two hours before
had to run out to catch the plane, he did exactly that: finished all lyrics and
performed them with gusto. A remarkable feat. He had total confidence in
his ability to get the job done when push came to shove."

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/06/14/the-inside-story-of-kanye-wests-yeezus/

but it is easily my least favorite Kanye album. Why have all these dense electronic producers on the joint only to have rick rubin come in and strip it to shreds?

This shit is gonna be HUGE for the hipster/white college crowd though. Might be his biggest crossover record.

...make an album consisting of him taking a dump and folks will still hype it up. That has to be the only explanation as to why he dropped this garbage. This album is wack as hell. Horrible.


Since 1976

-------------------------
“Floyd Mayweather should be taking fights up to 157 or 160 pounds...His frame can hold the weight..it's not even a lot of weight....Go to the gym and lift weights man..lol.”-- Warren Coolidge

>wack as hell.
>Horrible.





fuckin wit u tho

just saying. Kendrick is like the younger more authentic voice, something Kanye tries desperately to be. But Kendrick can rhyme a million times better and smarter.

http://www.mixmag.net/words/features/who-made-yeezus

though I think there's some stuff with On Sight and Bound 2 also, he didn't list them.


Black Skinhead
CD - Less Lossless (cuts off at 21kHz), clean drum intro, drum fill going into the hook before the second verse in left channel only
World iTunes - More Lossess (cuts off at 22.1kHz), clean drum intro, drum fill going into the hook before the second verse in left channel only
WEB FLAC - Same as World iTunes, except cuts off at 21.9kHz
US iTunes - More Lossess (cuts off at 21.9kHz), distorted drum intro, Opening Lines NOT spoken by Kanye, screams louder in the mix, drum fill going into the hook before the second verse in the center, a bit Quieter but less dynamic vs. CD and World iTunes

I Am A God
CD - Beat does not drop out during "Y'all Better Quit playing with God" line
World iTunes - Beat drops out during "Y'all Better Quit playing with God" line
US iTunes - Beat drops out during "Y'all Better Quit playing with God" line, a bit Quieter but less dynamic vs. CD and World iTunes

New Slaves
CD - Kanye's outro vocals more towards the right
World iTunes - Kanye's outro vocals more towards the left, slightly different mix
US iTunes - Kanye's outro vocals more towards the left, slightly different mix, a bit Quieter but less dynamic vs. CD and World iTunes

Hold My Liquor
CD - possibly MP3 sourced (cuts off at 16kHz), volume spikes during verse 1
World iTunes - From a Lossless source, volume spikes during verse 1
US iTunes - From Lossless source

I'm In It (Percussion during Outro possibly remixed in iTunes releases)
CD - Wave Form cut at top and bottom, original outro mix
World iTunes - Wave form NOT cut at top and bottom, outro slightly remixed (unique vs. CD and US iTunes)
US iTunes - Wave form NOT cut at top and bottom, a bit quieter vs. World iTunes; outro slightly remixed (unique vs. CD and World iTunes)

Blood On The Leaves (the core of the track has a slightly different mix in each release.)
CD - original mix
World iTunes - unique outro mix (slightly different vs. other formats)
US iTunes - unique intro mix (slightly different vs. other formats), original outro mix, a bit quieter CD and World iTunes

Guilt Trip
CD - Original Mix
World iTunes - Original Mix, possibly a tiny bit different than CD release; a bit quieter than the CD release
US iTunes - Slightly Different Mix

Send It Up
CD - narrower stereo field (possibly less reverb), Beat does not drop out during "It's so packed I might ride around On my bodyguard's back" line.
World iTunes - same as CD
US iTunes - wider stereo field (possibly more reverb), Beat drops out during "It's so packed I might ride around On my bodyguard's back" line.



~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
"I don't read pages of rap lyrics, I listen to rap music." © Bombastic
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

Granted, I've only played it once at work so my opinion might change.

Anyway, Kanye might very well have the most annoying rap-persona ever: the combination of
*jesus-complex,
*"cocky", I'm rich swag,
*"I'm missunderstood"-emo isms
*vague attempts at consciousness
*narcissistic celebrity-twitter crap

It's like they cooked him up in hell, like, the most obnoxious dude ever. And his flow sucks. I've liked him sometimes in the past but it seems like he has settled into a "style" that is really pretty wack, sort of like what happened to the RZA when he suddenly just started to ramble all the time.

The production is cool but not great to me. The abrasiveness is not an issue to me; PE and early Ice Cube sounded more abrasive to me. However, many of the beats on this record give me a corny 90's industrial hangover. It's like those hollywood movies when the straight-laced hero goes to some depraved bar full of deviants, perverts and lesbians dressed as goths dancing to something that sounds like a parody of NIN or EBM-sounding shit... well, that's the vibe I get. I dig the beat on "Black skinhead" though but I've already heard that one.

Still, it was an entertaining listen which counts for something. I'll come back to individual songs after I've played it again...

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
"I don't read pages of rap lyrics, I listen to rap music." © Bombastic
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

>It's like they cooked him up in hell, like, the most obnoxious
>dude ever.

not that he was ever that great at rapping, but nowadays he is just so annoying to me.

Wrote a review for it on my site here

http://troyismajor.com/?p=245

Peep it.

he even managed to ruin blood on the leaves, which could have been an amazing song


new slaves is dope tho

so true.

Check out NEW Soul music at: www.myspace.com/starbeing

Bumpin in the STEREO:
Gladys Knight&The Pips
Slave-Stone Jam
Kelly Rowland -Talk A Good Game
Adrian Marcel-RS Presents..
Quadron-Avalanche

Really? I thought Kanye elevated Blood On The Leaves. Rapping over that piano sample so flawlessly in the beginning of the song was jawdropping.

I think this is a very strong Kanye album. I almost think this is his Kid A or Amnesiac. He'll lose a few fans, but overall I think this broadens his palette even more, and I like the rawness of it, the contrasts- Yeezus is all about contrasts- between cold synths and warm dusty samples, between confidence and self doubt, between empty space and startling noise, love and hate for women, etc.

I definitely think I'll still be playing this years from now.

it's at least his 2nd best album from a sonic standpoint, imo.
i also think when viewed as a concept record (bachelor raging before settling down) the sequencing and perspective makes a lot of sense.

in short, i think this is his Pinkerton, Ok Computer or even Kid A: an album that is initially looked down upon by some fans because it is so different from his prior work, but later vindicated.

It certainly isn't for everyone, but to dismiss it as lazily thrown together tripe is to not study it properly (in my opinion).

The album gets better and better after every listen.

I hated MBDTF for the entire first month of listening to it. Now it's one of my favorite albums EVER. I don't think this is on that level but I know that it's good.


I really wish that there were more than 10 tracks on it tho...

and album can't get better, that's bullshit

For much of my childhood, while I loved the Wu-Tang for whatever reason I did not like Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...

At all.

It took me almost a decade to learn to love that album, but now it's a love something fierce, and I'll never forget how amazed and stupefied and bewildered I felt when I finally clicked with that album.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

cuz that Raekwon album was legit on arrival for many of us back then

if you've never made an effort to grow as a listener and sit with an album through repeat listens til it "clicks" or revisit an album which blows you away when you weren't feeling it the first couple times, that can be an amazing experience. I imagine people who have never felt that have a pretty narrow scope of what they are able to enjoy musically.

and my first experiences with it were trying to play Contra III, and later NFL Blitz, over at my neighbor's house. He was a real dick and was always yelling with his mom about one thing or another, calling her a bitch. It was so awkward, but I really wanted to play those games, and the soundtrack was always OB4CL (or Limp Bizkit). I learned to hate most of the music I heard in that house. Cypress Hill was another one, I had the worst opinion of them for a long time.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

if you don't like it, you don't like it, and that's okay.

nobody talking to you about your experience
I'm telling you there is no such thing as an album getting better
it was whatever it was when it was presented to you, that doesn't change because you like it or dislike it now
the idea that music quality bends to our perception is pretty fucking silly to me

especially when the hype for the album clouds your ears...

This is definitely some Kid A shit... I'll never forget the day/night Kid A came out. It released on Tower records at midnight and the line was long. We're standing in line waiting to cop and I ask an employee who the hell is playing.

It's the new radiohead! Huh? This ain't rock? What? Shit's bleeping, clicking and sounds nothing like OKComputer...over time... I GREW to love the album because it took a while to erase the expectations of a follow up to OK.

I feel like this Yeezus album is the EXACT same thing... Ye fans are all "WTF is this shit? This ain't hip hop... and they are right. This ain't a hip hop/rap album... this shit is.... an album. Shit's weird, odd.. but that shit bangs IMO and at first I was thinking DELETE. Shit grew on me though...

..and I'm too old to form my opinion based on the masses. Shit, most people aren't feeling it anyways. However, I think it's a great rock/rap/electo/trap sound.

which is my point.
that album is widely regarded as one of the best albums of the 90s.
but it's a big jump away from "the bends"

a lot of people were taken aback when they first heard it.
it took me a full 6 months to come around and now its one of my top 3 albums (if not number 1).

same story for "Pinkerton" on a lesser scale.

and "Kid A" also.

It's not at all an outlandish thing to make the same case for Yeezus.
i'm not saying everyone will love it, i'm saying I personally have grown to enjoy it more and more.

>especially when the hype for the album clouds your ears...
>

any hype about an album comes from people, not the album itself
if you're lukewarn on an album then love it later, or vice versa, that's on you
the album is made already, it's as good or as bad as it's ever going to be and your personal perception of that is up to you


>This is definitely some Kid A shit... I'll never forget the
>day/night Kid A came out. It released on Tower records at
>midnight and the line was long. We're standing in line waiting
>to cop and I ask an employee who the hell is playing.
>
>It's the new radiohead! Huh? This ain't rock? What? Shit's
>bleeping, clicking and sounds nothing like OKComputer...over
>time... I GREW to love the album because it took a while to
>erase the expectations of a follow up to OK.
>

that's always a bitch if you're into music, but it's one I welcome


>I feel like this Yeezus album is the EXACT same thing... Ye
>fans are all "WTF is this shit? This ain't hip hop... and they
>are right. This ain't a hip hop/rap album... this shit is....
>an album. Shit's weird, odd.. but that shit bangs IMO and at
>first I was thinking DELETE. Shit grew on me though...
>

"it grew on me" seems to be the mantra around here for listening to wack shit enough that you start to like it
not saying whether or not this is the case with you, but there's a precedent set


>..and I'm too old to form my opinion based on the masses.
>Shit, most people aren't feeling it anyways. However, I think
>it's a great rock/rap/electo/trap sound.

seems to me more people are liking it where I am, not sure about anywhere else

but do you..

I dig it. I don't view it as a rap album tho so maybe that's why I like it. I like all types of shit tho so it's not a WTF is this moment.

That being said... I did not fuck with 808's at all. I'm not a fan of the auto tune long notes.

you honestly believe that the music printed on a CD or in a rar file actually changes as you listen to it more?
can you explain this magical process that allows you to remix entire albums by listening to them?

With any good art, the work can grow and you can see/hear/understand things in a different way over time. It is not the work that changes, but one's perspective/mind-state. Our expectations affect the way we perceive things, and as we go beyond them, we can appreciate other aspects. Heck, even our life experiences change how we relate to things.

For example, if you listen to some cool jazz as a high schooler and can't chill out enough to vibe to it, but discover it in your 40's and really dig/understand it, did the music change? No. But you sure are hearing it way differently. This can happen on a smaller scale as well, coming back to something in a few months or even a few days can change what you hear. Not what is actually there, but what you hear.

not making the same point as the person you called 'off'
no snark intended, but read my post again

art doesn't exist in some vacuum of objective quality where something just IS good, or IS bad, or is mediocre. It exists in a continuum of interpretations that change upon EVERY READING. By every person who listens, each and every time that they listen.

The context of society, and where things are going to be in 10 years will change the quality of this album.

The way music will sound in 10 years will change the quality of this album.

The way your life changes in 10 years will change your personal opinion on the quality of this album.

The quality might change infinitely back and forth between every listen, or it might consistently be considered the best or worst thing that Ye ever did in his career.

But to make a blanket statement that you listen once, and thats it. Thats the fact, thats the only experience you have, thats the only one that matters, thats the only thing that can be effectual to you about this album, and every continued rehashing is just "convincing" yourself that something is good, now THATS bullshit Joe.

not the music itself

Because the quality of the music and the perception of that quality are so intrinsically linked that one doesn't exist without the other. Basically my point is that just how people can say you can't call something a "classic' until some time has passed after somethings released, neither can you discount that repeated listening also changes the perception, which changes the quality of the music.

it's not the fault of the artist you have to catch up, the music is already what it is and doesn't get 'better' over time

>in short, i think this is his Pinkerton, Ok Computer or even
>Kid A

these albums are so much fucking better than yeezus it isn't even funny. for me on repeated listens the beats aren't even the main offender. its the LYRICS. lyrically this is...well......the lyrics just suck in my opinion

Wow.

Finally listening to it now.

In my mind, Kanye has steadily declined. The last album I REALLY liked was Graduation.

Was meh about 808s (his "innovation" was only interesting to people who only listen to hip hop), WTT (really bad) and MDTBF (1/2 was good).

This one has moments (a few seldom ones) of greatness...I like "New Slaves" start to finish but it does seem totally rushed...with all these cooks in the kitchen, it just seems and sounds messy and unfocused.

Shocked that no one has connected his supposed "anger" to his newfound fatherhood.

If I had a kid with Kim Kardashian, I'd be fucking bummed....except for the money.

I don't see how anyone could disagree with that...

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9157-the-yeezus-sessions/

Came here to post this..

So HudMo ODed during the making of Yeezus.. Hopefully that cat keeps it together. Been waiting on another solo LP from him. I need to hear some non-TNGHT/Non-Kanye/Non-G.O.O.D. Hudmo production again.

WHen folks call Yeezus experimental, its obvious they haven't heard the pile of real experimental stuff that has been floating around. I would have liked if Kanye worked with experimental producers instead of the product we got in Yeezus. Just simple beats run through a very shitty, cheap, clipping distortion and we have Pitchfork fawning all over it. The lyrics really werent that deep and the production doesn't even hint at the world of highly experimental dope hip hop beats out there that actually have kicks that knock.

Flying lotus and El-P are gods to me, and I love this album. Could just be that you just don't like this album and other sincerely do...

but just because you think its trash doesn't mean its trash to someone else. And just because someone else doesn't think its trash doesn't mean that they don't because they haven't been exposed to the same music that you have and it doesn't mean that they aren't a fan of other shit your into. I like this album because I prefer my hip hop along the lines of el--p and flylo. And although Ye isn't the best at that, I am a huge kanye fan and I enjoy hearing him mixed into this vibe. I think ye pushes the limits just as much as el-p and flylo, just in different venues and through different channels.

The folks that are fawning over this album are the ones touting its experimental, forward-looking sound. Just sounds like they took regular beats and ran em through shitty distortion. This is not what EL-P, FlyLo, etc are doing. And its also not very good. I have dug a lot of Ye stuff, but this is pretty fucking bad. This is Metallica Lulu bad.

but he is for real pushing the envelope
and i dig it alot

new slaves stays on repeat

i actually like the rhymes more on this than mdtf

the last track could've been on Late Registration.

i'm so fucking retarded.

i was trying to play the disc on my computer for hella long, but it wouldn't read it. "No Disc"

So I eject it and reload about 5x before I finally flip the shit and now it's all good.

Damn this no label bullshit.

Then going into that bluesy interlude afterward is the perfect end to side 1 of this album.

Crazy to read such glowing reactions from critics

Kanye took you clowns to another planet with this one and still kep it hood. Y'all lames ain't hearing doe. Go listen to Sage Francis nerds.

since that album feel so clearly like a counterpoint to Yeezus, but in that special way where it's going for a lot of the same things as Yeezus, it's just not jumping up and down screaming "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! I'M WEIRD!" as it does that.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

Don't tell me what I should be listening to. Oh! these people are so dumb for liking this when so and so is better. Fuck off.

Not even sure if he has that sound but I'm sure you can group dude wit Flying Lotus or something.

maybe you should read the thread before you start blasting off.



~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

.

After I got over the fact that it wasn't going to be a sequel to Kanye's other records and listened to it for what it is I really enjoyed this album.

I still don't like "Hold My Liquor" but otherwise I really enjoy it all.

I put this album down for a couple weeks. Mostly to listen to RtJ.

But I picked it back up this week (cuz I heard about the APC collabo...no other reason than that, really) and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I liked it on my first listens. But now I REALLY like it. It's now my desert island kanye disc.

This is probably the most important project to drop this year.
Including the video projection of New Slaves on 66 buildings, a stark statement about grandiose celebrity-entitlement (as well as worship).
Its a resuscitation of performance art.
All the way down to the absence of album art-work on the cd.
The biggest satire on pop-culture in 2013.

And I find myself liking it more and more each time, while the opposite is happening with Hov's album.

The "dualities" as Hov likes to (now) say.

>This is probably the most important project to drop this
>year.
>Including the video projection of New Slaves on 66 buildings,
>a stark statement about grandiose celebrity-entitlement (as
>well as worship).
>Its a resuscitation of performance art.
>All the way down to the absence of album art-work on the cd.
>The biggest satire on pop-culture in 2013.

LOL meanwhile this fucker is not only in a relationship with a Kardashian, but had a child with one.

Was that part of this shitty piece of "performance art" too?

Absolutely.

To me, the fact he's with who he is with doesn't mean he's insincere about the anti-corporation stuff.

Hell, he put his $ where his mouth is with the way he had his label market the album. I'm sure he cost himself a whole lot of $ with that one.

Also, go fuck yourself.

>Also, go fuck yourself.

I'll do that, and use a page full of ye's wack ass rhymes to nut on before I mail it to you.

I thought the purpose of this thread was to discuss our opinions on the quality of the album, not to try and bait each other into silly barbs. Once again, my bad.

I never once baited you
I just decided to go all in once I saw how emo you are on the subject/

And then you told me how wrong I am? Yeah, sure buddy, I'm in the emo one here.

:)

>The biggest satire on pop-culture in 2013.

Why is that so far from being comprehensible?
Ye made more of a controversial statement than Hov's corporatized grand-standing.
Irony, sure. But Ye doesn't neccessarily have to be conscious of how subversive his art is being conveyed.
Even the way he has fetishized the naked cd is a form of cultural trolling.
There's so much "accidental" subtext to be dissected in his album.
The fact that Ye is actually bragging about himself is irrelevant, at this point.
It's the best mistake he's created yet.

this shit is garbage. i like kanye, but this dude has been feelin himself too much lately.

And it might not be my least favorite Kanye album anymore.

__
I don't like the beat anymore because its just a loop. ALC didn't FLIP IT ENOUGH!

Flip it enough? Flip these. Flip off. Go flip some f*cking burgers.(c)Kno

Allied State of the National Electric Beat Treaty Organization (NEBTO)

kinda liked it at first.

put it away for a week.

picked it back up.

damn.

still in heavy rotation.

why did everyone and their mama stop singing its praises

SMH at the swallowers

& still listening to it regularly

Sorry it's still in heavy rotation.
Sorry it's my favorite album of the year.
Sorry that I'm a fan of Kanye's music.

Meanwhile the MCHG post been sunk to the bottom of the vast Lesson-ocean.