Kanye West's sixth solo album, Yeezus, finally hit the streets today. Or, the e-streets. The 10-track album, featuring production by Daft Punk, Rick Rubin, and guest appearances from Chief Keef, King L, and Kid Cudi, among others, leaked five days before its official release date of June 18.
It adheres to no boundaries. West was not looking for a radio hit (hence the lack of singles leading up to the release), and the jarring, electro-influenced production is about as far away from anything that could be described as "easy listening" as possible. But while there's plenty of new sounds, it's filled with familiar personality. Plenty of the emotions that Kanye fans have come to expect: arrogance, self-righteousness, anger, vulnerability, fear.
We got our hands on Yeezus and made 10 quick reactions to the 10 track project. Yeezy Season is in full effect.
Peep the full tracklist below:
1. "On Sight" (Produced by Daft Punk) [Malik Yusef, Rhymefest]
2. "Black Skinhead" (Produced by Daft Punk) [CyHi The Prynce, Lupe Fiasco, Malik Yusef]
3. "I Am A God" (Featuring God) (Produced by Daft Punk) [Hudson Mohawke, Justin Vernon, Malik Yusef, Rhymefest]
4. "New Slaves" (Featuring Frank Ocean) (Malik Yusef, Rhymefest)
5. "Hold My Liquor" (Feat. Chief Keef & Justin Vernon) [Alejandro Ghersi, Malik Yusef, Rhymefest]
6. "I’m In It" (Feat. Travis Scott) [Justin Vernon, Malik Yusef]
7. "Blood On" The Leaves [Hudson Mohawke, Tony Williams]
8. "Guilt Trip" (Feat. Kid Cudi) (Produced by S1)
9. "Send It Up" (Feat. King L) [Alejandro Ghersi, Daft Punk, Gesaffelstein]
10. "Bound 2" (Feat. Charlie Wilson) [John Legend]
Everybody's talking about the EDM but Yeezus is rife with dancehall.
Few albums have been so minutely dissected and analyzed before their release as Yeezus. And while there has been much discussion of the EDM influence and the Daft Punk production and the "Strange Fruit" samples and all the rest, there has been much less discussion of the profound dancehall influence on the album. Not only is the overall sound of the record—stripped-down, hard-edged, digital—very much representative of a dancehall asesthetic, but it's full up of dancehall reggae samples.
"Awesome" didn't make the cut.
It's a very Chicago album.
There are no songs for radio here.
Still, it doesn't sound as minimal as we were led to believe.
Many of the songs are broken up into different parts, with dramatic changes and shifts in tone.
Kanye made some bold choices on "Blood On the Leaves."
There are some very Kanye lines on the album.
Kanye is the most self-deprecating egoist in the world.
"Bound" will be the most freestyled track of the summer.
The album concludes in stunning fashion with "Bound 2," which will leave fans of hip-hop's soul-sample era foaming at the mouth. The production is remarkably minimalist, composed of just samples and a Charlie Wilson-featured breakdown that revisits Kanye's work on Graduation. Lyrically, he makes sure no woman over the age of 30 will ever set foot in Forever 21 again, drops a few well-timed references to the hilariously uncouth Jerome character made famous by Martin and analyzes relationships as only Kanye can.
The beat, which is the closest to straight up "hip-hop" on the entire album, will have everyone from wannabe rappers to the experienced ones who should know better kicking freestyles all summer long in an attempt to recreate the magic Kanye captures here:
"Hey, you remember where we first met? Okay, I don't remember where we first met/But hey, admitting is the first step/You know ain't nobody perfect/And I know, with the hoes I got the worst rep/But hey, the backstroke I'm trying to perfect/We made [it] to Thanksgiving/So hey, maybe we can make it to Christmas/She asked me what I wish for on my wish list/Have you ever asked your bitch for other bitches?"
Can anyone top that? We'll hear rappers try, whether we want to or not. —Julian Kimble