Yeezus
Kanye West
Def Jam Recordings
“Simply put, West was my slave name and Yeezus is my god name,” —Kanye West in a speech at his listening party.
The most popular criticism of Kanye West is that he is egotistical to the point of self-obsession, but at this point in his career, he has every right to be.
His last album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, has been lauded with perfect reviews and masterpiece status, and his sixth and latest release, Yeezus, is bound to change the face of rap music yet again.
The first half of the album is produced almost entirely by Daft Punk, but it would be impossible for one to discern that without reading the liner notes. The songs feature pounding 808 drums and broken, noisy synths, favouring a production style similar to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, if it were stripped down to its most basic elements.
One of the album’s greatest strengths is Kanye’s powerful delivery of his lines. He has explored manipulating his voice before on other releases, most notably on 808s & Heartbreak. But on Yeezus, Kanye’s vocals are mostly untouched. He breathes heavily into the microphone, half sings, half moans some lines and even screams at some points.
The album is divided in two by its weakest song, “I Can’t Handle my Liquor.” The song never quite hits the same highs as the others, and I wasn’t surprised to read that Kanye originally intended to omit it from the album.
The second half of the album is where Kanye shows off his real masterwork.
“I’m In It” is darkly sexy and crude, and builds up to a perfectly delivered hook from Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon. The lyrics are purposely discomforting, featuring a particularly vivid line involving sweet and sour sauce.
The best song on the album, and perhaps Kanye’s best to date, is “Blood on The Leaves.” The song features Kanye battling with a vocal sample from Nina Simone’s cover of “Strange Fruit” over an edited version of TNGHT’s “Higher Ground.”
“Higher Ground” is completely stripped of its original playful attitude and pitch-shifted into a menacing, chill-inducing assault of horns. Kanye’s lyrics are particularly striking, as he recounts a night of trying molly and falling in love, sounding both sentimental for his past and haunted by his mistakes.
The album cools off after this, closing with a track consisting of Kanye rapping over minimal soul sample.
Yeezus as a whole feels like the logical progression of both Kanye West’s persona and musical arc. It is inward-gazing, dark, and holds absolutely nothing back.
