Album Review: Yeezus

Genre: Rap

Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam

Overall: 2.5 Vinyls

Did you know Kanye West & Kim Kardashian named their baby girl North, to “symbolize” the height of their relationship,  or that he bullet proofed his cars & hired extra security to keep away “weirdos and pshycos” from stalking his family? Kanye West’s private life is one of the hottest trending topics right now, so much so that it’s almost like the media has forgotten he has a new album out.

Yeezus is exactly what you’d expect from someone Obama called a jackass on national television, & if you thought that was enough to humiliate him into humility, think again. Lines like “They see a black man with a white woman at the top floor they gon’ call a kid King Kong” on the albums lead single Black Skinhead would easily tempt critics to call him a black dickhead, but don’t bother yourselves, he calls himself a dick anyway in New Slaves where he proudly confesses “I’d rather be a dick than a swallower.”

Though he doesn’t actually mention Kim’s name, we know exactly who he’s talking about on On Sight when he says “…and I know she like chocolate men/she got more niggas of than Cochrane” on I Am A God Kanye sounds like the attention seeking drama queen his wife is “Hurry up with my damn massage…In a French ass restaurant/hurry up with my damn croissants…”  I’m still waiting to hear Kim admit she wrote that. On Can’t Hold My Liquor ft Justin Vernon and Chief Keef Kanye lashes out at various unidentified women for unknown reasons “when I park my Range Rover/slightly scratch your Corolla/ok I smash your Corolla” (hope she has insurance).

 Yeezus only shines when it comes to the impeccable production quality.  He really pushes the autotune and 808 to limits most producers fantasize of reaching. Guilt Trip ft Kid Cudi is one such example, just the line “…Star Wars fur yeah I’m rocking Chewbacca…” coupled with the synth effects could potentially make this the albums best smash hit. The intro On Sight begins with a brain rattling high pitched frequency which transits into a funky EDM/disco tune that would make any 80s disco king proud. The dungeon themed I Am A God easily outdoes most horrorcore beats out there, there’s also a few Ragga samples scattered randomly throughout the album, but the crown jewel is the 6:00 long Blood on the Leaves. Think orchestra, autotune, piano, trap and one hell of a bass.

Don’t let the provocative song titles fool you into thinking Yeezus tackles spiritual or socio-political issues.  On the contrary, from All Falls Down to this, Kanye clearly doesn’t give a damn about grassroots issues anymore. Was he in a rush to get the album over and done with so he could focus on posing for the paparazzi? Nobody would really blame him though; after all his private life is clearly pulling in more money than his album.