Separating the artist from the music is never the easiest thing to do. In the case of Kanye West, it's nigh-on impossible.
This is a man who recently told the New York Times: “I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things”, a man who ambushes starlets at awards shows, who launches campaigns to prevent his new record from leaking only to give “no fucks at all” when it does. West is a cacophony of contradictions, and 'Yeezus' reflects that.
After 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' in 2010, West's next move was anyone's guess. On that record he traded the anthemic qualities of 'Graduation' for more experimental fare, producing highs unmatched in his discography.
Yet, the grand sound of that album is nowhere to be found on 'Yeezus'. West has come out swinging with a record so aggressive that it's unlike any other hip hop release you'll hear this year.
Opener On Sight has an intro and beat that wouldn't be out of place on a Nine Inch Nails album, Black Skinhead briefly dabbles in a filthy guitar sample reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine and Send It Up wails into life under a synth riff that grows more grating by the second.
Daft Punk, Hudson Mohawke, Brodinski & Gesaffelstein and Rick Rubin all share production credits on 'Yeezus' and the collaborative approach has paid off in giving added life to West's daring compositions. Rubin has, after receiving “three hours of partially finished pieces” three weeks out from zero barrier, done a fine job in helping to pull everything together. A record this abrasive was never going to flow, but you can't describe its clipped 40 minute run time as unfocused.
It's so refreshingly different from West's peers, in fact, that it's all the more difficult to wade through the wild, contradictory statements that dot the lyric sheet. At times West is outspoken and brilliant (on 'New Slaves'), at times he's thoughtless (On Sight's “get this bitch shaking like Parkinson's”) and he's often deeply misogynistic. Attacks on consumerism and the politics of race battle with images of sexual violence and ego-fuelled grandstanding for space. It's messy, and pretty grim at times.
West has poured a lifetime's anger into 'Yeezus'. Its beats are shaped by it, its lyrics and performance drip with it. A raft of producers and high-profile guest stars pop up – Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and Frank Ocean slip in and out almost unannounced – but this is Kanye West's show. He will never be an easy man to get a handle on, and on 'Yeezus' he gives no fucks at all if you aren't on board.
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