Frank Ocean provides a few subtle vocals towards the concluding moments. Next up is the infamous collaboration with fellow Chicago emcee Chief Keef. I say infamous, not because of Chief Keef’s lengthy arrest record, but because when the tracklisting was released, long before the record actually hit stores, internet quacking revolved around large hesitation about how two seemingly polar opposite artists would mesh on a Ye-produced track. However, “Hold My Liquor” is without a doubt one of the greatest songs on the album, with Sosa handling the hook duties. The beat has the aura of a slasher film soundtrack, with Ye’ spitting some of the most comical lines of his career: “Slightly scratch your Corolla/ Ok I smash your Corolla.” Somehow Keef’s thick garbled flow blends magically with the beat, and I’m positive “Hold My Liquor” will be a staple at parties for a long time to come.
And where to I begin with “I’m In It,” a song that makes Ye’s previous lyrical content fit for the Disney Channel? Here Kanye raps about explicit sexual scenarios, such as biting ass and dining on Asian pussy with sweet and sour sauce…yeah. The beat combines elements of old school Chicago house music and dance hall, with a reggae artist unintelligibly commanding a large portion of the track. Justin Vernon admitted in the Pitchfork article that he was not only sure of what the Jamaican dude was saying, but himself as well. Regardless of how you feel about this song, the mere scope of it is dazzling. “I’m In It” is another clear indication of Kanye’s newfound DGAF attitude, because the song contains wholly absent of the simple melodies and grooves one might find melodic or catchy, an strategy that permeates throughout the album. According to collaborator Hudson Mohawke: “There are a lot of amazing songs that were left off [Yeezus]– stuff that you might consider to be more melodic or in-line with Kanye’s previous material– purely because they didn’t necessarily fit this rough-edged, 90s-industrial-type vibe. A lot of the record is trying to avoid obviousness. Through the entire process of putting it together, there were tons of easy slam dunks, but rather than just going for the hits and having an album that nobody’s going to give a fuck about in a month or two, he intentionally sidestepped the obvious route each time. I think that’s what going to give it more longevity and put it in a category of records that you’ll go back to in 10 years time. I assumed that he was gonna do the maximalist thing again with this album, but it’s more like: ‘Boom! We just made a song, and it bangs, so fuck you.’ It’s such an awesome contrast.”
On Yeezus, some of the best moments of Ye’s musical career are juxtaposed rather jarringly with some of the most “huh?” moments of his career. The gaps in quality confirm, at least in my eyes, that the ambitious sonic leaps takes with this record are conscious decisions rather than true indications of withering genius. “Bound 2,” seems to exude all the great moments of Ye’s career in one track. It is no surprise, given Ye’s purpose behind Yeezus, that the most easily identifiable Ye track comes at the very end of the album. Enlisting R&B legend Charlie Hamilton for vocals, West provides the most soulful recording of the album by far in “Bound 2.” Rick Rubin, the legendary long-bearded Caucasian hip-hop producer was largely instrumental in the harvesting of this record, and others. Recently, Rubin has stated on record that he personally felt that the tracks on Yeezus needed another year to reach full blossom, but respected Kanye’s insistence on a minimalist approach this go ’round. Speaking to the Daily Beast, Rubin had this to say: ““There was so much material we could really pick which direction it was going to go,” he revealed. “The idea of making it edgy and minimal and hard was Kanye’s. I’d say, ‘This song is not so good. Should I start messing with it? Can I make it better?’ And he’d say, ‘Yes, but instead of adding stuff, try taking stuff away.’ We talked a lot about minimalism. My house is basically an empty white box. When he walked in, he was like, ‘My house is an empty white box, too!’”
Other tracks like “Send It Up,” and more notably, “Blood On The Leaves” fall just short of five star status in my eyes. “Blood On The Leaves” is a shining testament to Ye’s fearless musical ambition, as he is very possibly the first person in the world to think to combine a song about racial hate crimes (Nina Simone’s cover of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit) with the “fuck them other niggas ’cause I’m down for my niggas” beat. “Blood On The Leaves” features the more sing-happy Ye we witnessed on 808s and Heartbreak than the back-pack-rapper-with-a-fondess-for-Bentleys on College Dropout. Ye ranges in different emotions as he speaks about relationships that have lost their vitality. Although it is not my favorite track on the album, most critics have been unanimous in their praise of the song. “Guilt Trip” is one of the aforementioned songs that could sit snugly in a collection of Ye’s greatest songs to date. As he proved on “Gorgeous” and “All Of the Lights,” Kid Cudi has a knack for adding flare to Ye productions, even if his guest spot is minimal. Cudi’s crooning toward the waning moments of the song are no doubt the cherry on top of an awesome record. As the song implies, Ye laments about a relationship gone wrong, as synths and computerized sounds replace 808s.
The well-known mythology behind Ye’s recording process is that he is a ruthless perfectionist in the studio, meticulously slaving over every minute piece of a song until it finally meets his satisfaction. However, the recording sessions behind Yeezus were much different, with Ye spending not enough half of the time working on this record as he did with MBDTF. Speedy production is a strong element in most punk music, as often times bands freestyle their songs in effort to mimic live performances, mistakes and all. The tactic is hardly practiced in hip-hop however, but there are a few notable exceptions. Once he was out on bail, fresh outta jail, California dreamin’ 2pac recorded possibly the greatest album of all time, All Eyes On Me, in just two weeks. But 2pac’s is a rare case, and while the tracks on Yeezus do not feel “rushed” per say, there is the looming feeling that the songs did not reach their full potential. Even with that said, after a few listens, I have to admit that I am a fan of all the songs on the album, and in total feel that Kanye put out a very strange, yet awesome record. It’s comforting to know that hip hop artists are in a position where they are able to comfortably push, push, and push boundaries, as consequently polarizing as these finished efforts are. It remains to be seen what Ye’s next move will be, with his G.O.O.D. Music compilation disc set to drop sometime this winter.
Anyways, after writing this long review I’m hungry, and croissants sound mighty good.
And where to I begin with “I’m In It,” a song that makes Ye’s previous lyrical content fit for the Disney Channel? Here Kanye raps about explicit sexual scenarios, such as biting ass and dining on Asian pussy with sweet and sour sauce…yeah. The beat combines elements of old school Chicago house music and dance hall, with a reggae artist unintelligibly commanding a large portion of the track. Justin Vernon admitted in the Pitchfork article that he was not only sure of what the Jamaican dude was saying, but himself as well. Regardless of how you feel about this song, the mere scope of it is dazzling. “I’m In It” is another clear indication of Kanye’s newfound DGAF attitude, because the song contains wholly absent of the simple melodies and grooves one might find melodic or catchy, an strategy that permeates throughout the album. According to collaborator Hudson Mohawke: “There are a lot of amazing songs that were left off [Yeezus]– stuff that you might consider to be more melodic or in-line with Kanye’s previous material– purely because they didn’t necessarily fit this rough-edged, 90s-industrial-type vibe. A lot of the record is trying to avoid obviousness. Through the entire process of putting it together, there were tons of easy slam dunks, but rather than just going for the hits and having an album that nobody’s going to give a fuck about in a month or two, he intentionally sidestepped the obvious route each time. I think that’s what going to give it more longevity and put it in a category of records that you’ll go back to in 10 years time. I assumed that he was gonna do the maximalist thing again with this album, but it’s more like: ‘Boom! We just made a song, and it bangs, so fuck you.’ It’s such an awesome contrast.”
On Yeezus, some of the best moments of Ye’s musical career are juxtaposed rather jarringly with some of the most “huh?” moments of his career. The gaps in quality confirm, at least in my eyes, that the ambitious sonic leaps takes with this record are conscious decisions rather than true indications of withering genius. “Bound 2,” seems to exude all the great moments of Ye’s career in one track. It is no surprise, given Ye’s purpose behind Yeezus, that the most easily identifiable Ye track comes at the very end of the album. Enlisting R&B legend Charlie Hamilton for vocals, West provides the most soulful recording of the album by far in “Bound 2.” Rick Rubin, the legendary long-bearded Caucasian hip-hop producer was largely instrumental in the harvesting of this record, and others. Recently, Rubin has stated on record that he personally felt that the tracks on Yeezus needed another year to reach full blossom, but respected Kanye’s insistence on a minimalist approach this go ’round. Speaking to the Daily Beast, Rubin had this to say: ““There was so much material we could really pick which direction it was going to go,” he revealed. “The idea of making it edgy and minimal and hard was Kanye’s. I’d say, ‘This song is not so good. Should I start messing with it? Can I make it better?’ And he’d say, ‘Yes, but instead of adding stuff, try taking stuff away.’ We talked a lot about minimalism. My house is basically an empty white box. When he walked in, he was like, ‘My house is an empty white box, too!’”
Other tracks like “Send It Up,” and more notably, “Blood On The Leaves” fall just short of five star status in my eyes. “Blood On The Leaves” is a shining testament to Ye’s fearless musical ambition, as he is very possibly the first person in the world to think to combine a song about racial hate crimes (Nina Simone’s cover of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit) with the “fuck them other niggas ’cause I’m down for my niggas” beat. “Blood On The Leaves” features the more sing-happy Ye we witnessed on 808s and Heartbreak than the back-pack-rapper-with-a-fondess-for-Bentleys on College Dropout. Ye ranges in different emotions as he speaks about relationships that have lost their vitality. Although it is not my favorite track on the album, most critics have been unanimous in their praise of the song. “Guilt Trip” is one of the aforementioned songs that could sit snugly in a collection of Ye’s greatest songs to date. As he proved on “Gorgeous” and “All Of the Lights,” Kid Cudi has a knack for adding flare to Ye productions, even if his guest spot is minimal. Cudi’s crooning toward the waning moments of the song are no doubt the cherry on top of an awesome record. As the song implies, Ye laments about a relationship gone wrong, as synths and computerized sounds replace 808s.
The well-known mythology behind Ye’s recording process is that he is a ruthless perfectionist in the studio, meticulously slaving over every minute piece of a song until it finally meets his satisfaction. However, the recording sessions behind Yeezus were much different, with Ye spending not enough half of the time working on this record as he did with MBDTF. Speedy production is a strong element in most punk music, as often times bands freestyle their songs in effort to mimic live performances, mistakes and all. The tactic is hardly practiced in hip-hop however, but there are a few notable exceptions. Once he was out on bail, fresh outta jail, California dreamin’ 2pac recorded possibly the greatest album of all time, All Eyes On Me, in just two weeks. But 2pac’s is a rare case, and while the tracks on Yeezus do not feel “rushed” per say, there is the looming feeling that the songs did not reach their full potential. Even with that said, after a few listens, I have to admit that I am a fan of all the songs on the album, and in total feel that Kanye put out a very strange, yet awesome record. It’s comforting to know that hip hop artists are in a position where they are able to comfortably push, push, and push boundaries, as consequently polarizing as these finished efforts are. It remains to be seen what Ye’s next move will be, with his G.O.O.D. Music compilation disc set to drop sometime this winter.
Anyways, after writing this long review I’m hungry, and croissants sound mighty good.
