Kanye's new album, Yeezus, is here, no doubt hoping to piss people off. And although the lyrics are as crude as ever, (one line about fisting a woman actually succeeded in widening my eyes) it's just as likely to offend die hard hip hop fans with it's abandonment of the genre's tropes. The music he's made with his sixth go around is certainly not pop, but it's not exactly an underground album catering to the backpackers. He's combined mainstream hip hop's mumbled hooks and tales of lavish luxury with the pretentious musical jackoffery of the underground's most undanceable electronic artists. And honestly, it's a match made in heaven.
The lyrics on Yeezus are not only trashy, they are pure trash. I've never been impressed by Kanye's raps. His jokes
are juvenile and his insights are shallow, but that's part of the
fun. I love hearing how pleased he is with himself after a horrible pun or a "shocking" commentary on society. After years of following him, I don't put much importance on what Kanye has to say. What is important to me is that he means it, and I believe he does. When it comes to technical delivery (outside of parameters like passion, where he's always excelled) he does an adequate job here. He relies on a lot of his old tricks, a familiar repertoire of intonations which he has been fitting to their emotional counterparts since College Dropout. The one surprising new wrinkle he's added to his game are some genuinely disturbing gasps and screams, which fit in well with the overall mood of the album. His vocal rhythms are fine and although not nearly as groundbreaking and avantgarde as the music, it sort of works to his advantage. The rhythm of his raps are the remnants of the old Kanye, last heard on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It's as if the real Mr. West could always be found in his words and his music has just now caught up with the ugliness that he spits. The lyrics are trashy, but it's a perfect match for the sleaze that oozes out of these beats. The bars he spits act like an anchor for his wild synthesizers and lo-fi drums to improvise over. One could even argue that his rhymes have now traded places with the typical role that drums take on in hip hop. His words are as monotonous and droning as a typical 4/4, kick/hat/snare beat, they fade into the background as your ears gravitate towards the dynamic sounds he dashes onto their foundation.
The true allure of this album is the beats. These abrasive compositions make up
for the lack of solid verses, they are more controversial and shocking
then anything Kanye has ever said. The music is always powerful,
unpredictable, and boundary pushing. They consist of samples drenched in distortion and reverb, synthesizers that are loud and tortured, the death rattle of a crashing computer, and drums that are always stark, minimal, and distinct. This album has few slick transitions, in place of bridges there are violent interruptions. The bulk of the songs are carried by dark keyboard riffs with the occasional interlude of a more traditional hip hop sample. These samples are always sinisterly manipulated and sound as if they're battling against the restraints of their new electro captors, gripping to the Earth as they're dragged to Hell. There's not a dull moment on this album. Just when a particular movement seems to have run its course, something new and terrifying destroys its memory and rules in its absence.
Few other artists captivate me the way Kanye West does. He's constantly on the cutting edge, some might even say he's guilty of following trends. In my eyes he doesn't so much follow them as he does respond to them. The vast majority of hip hop tends to bore me and even albums I regard as classics rarely contain enough variation to keep me engaged until the end. I've already listened to Yeezus back to front twice, and that's something I wouldn't do for
just about any other hip hop artist. I'm not sure if this album will stand the test of time. Beyond the context of the current scene in hip hop and the contrast with his prior works, this album may just become a strange diversion in Kanye's discography. Only time will tell, but for now, I applaud the man for all his bravado, eccentricities, and bold experimentations. Yeezus doesn't sound like it was made by a rockstar seeking out a paycheck. These are the sounds of an artist seeking out a place in history. Kanye probably won't succeed in changing the world with this album, but he damn sure tried.
