From a secluded Jackson Hole retreat Thursday night, Kanye West pulled back the curtains on his new album. The quasi-self-titled Ye, West's first new album since 2016's "album of the life" The Life of the Pablo, arrives beneath the unfortunate shadow of his recent marathon of baffling comments about slavery being a "choice" and supporting Donald "Grab 'Em by the Pussy" Trump. Though the slavery comments get a direct reference in the Partynextdoor-featuring "Wouldn't Leave," West's seemingly career-contradicting embrace of far-right figures in recent months isn’t given much actual context across the album's seven songs, despite Pusha-T's promise that all fans' questions would be receiving answers.
Like many fervently supportive fans of West's back catalog of classics, I haven't quite decided what to make of this particular Yeezy era just yet. I'm still mostly frustrated by it all. Yet, there's a lot to discuss here. From the predictably enthralling production to West's openness about being bipolar, let's dive into a few initial Ye takeaways.
Soul-Oriented Production
Stacked Features
Multiple Bipolar References
In Ye opener "I Thought About Killing You," West could be interpreted as having a candid conversation with himself through song. With "Yikes," West gets more direct:
That's my bipolar shit, n***a what?
That's my superpower, n***a ain't no disability
I'm a superhero! I'm a superhero!
The album's cover also includes the familiar quote "I hate being bipolar, it's awesome" emblazoned across the Wyoming skyline. Unfortunately, West's commendable openness to discuss his relationship with bipolar disorder will likely be used by some as a blanket excuse for some of his recent fanbase-dividing remarks, which makes about as much sense as Roseanne blaming Ambien for a racist tweet.