Yeezus rivals 808's & Heartbreak as West's most inaccessible album to date and to the mainstream at least, comes across as a challenging, almost surreal mixture of styles ranging from acid house and electronic dance music to dancehall and Hungarian rock, all clearly designed to shock. This is West at his most experimental, and even coming from a man who gave us an album of auto-tuned warbles, it still achieves it's shock this after repeated listens. The Daft Punk produced opener On Sight sets the tone as the albums most offensive track to the ears, with it's hard, distorted acid house beat likely to strike fear into the first time listener. Mid way through the track though, West cuts the music and brings in a choir sample to bridge to the next verse. This is typical of several tracks and does lead to some of the albums highlights, notably the combination of West and Frank Ocean's singing at the end of New Slaves or the final third of Bound 2 as songs switch up and change focus.
Rick Rubin was brought in to 'minimalise' the album's production at the last minute and I would love to hear the original cut as the final one still sounds deep in layers of samples and bass lines. One thing Rubin could have done was remove the annoying end-of-bar synth that West seems to have picked up as this plagues tracks Blood On the Leaves, Hold My Liquor and Black Skinhead, the production of which is credited to West, Daft Punk, Mike Dean, Lupe Fiasco, No I.D. and Salem, to name a few. Yeezus is as sample heavy as West's previous efforts but noticeably West has ignored his typical soul samples for the electric mix of industrial electronica and dancehall vocals and it lacks a cohesive listen.
So, the beats are a-typical, abrasive, shocking but unfulfilling. Unfortunately the lyrics are not up to West's usual standard either and for me that was a bigger disappointment. Although not the greatest MC that ever graced the mic, West is usually capable of intelligent and witty rhymes and I'm a fan of his typically goofy style. However, on Yeezus he seems so wound up that a lot of his wordplay lacks the witty, fun nature and basic quality that he is capable of. According to Rubin, he rushed the lyrics, wrote the majority in two hours and some at the last minute. If that is true, and listening to some of the lines, it seems wholly plausible, then am I the only one who wants to know why?! In what world is that a justification for a sub-par product? Yeezus isn't without good lines, 'in a French-ass restaurant, hurry up with my DAMN croissant!', but generally in between the occasionally hypocritical, aggressive social themes, and the sexually charged misogynistic lines 'Eatin' Asian p*ssy, all I need was sweet and sour sauce', there's little West left.
Thematically, Yeezus, is much closer to 808's than other albums. Break-ups and relationships , past and present, feature centrally on Blood On the Leaves, Hold My Liquor and Bound 2, and in another common trait, West digs out the auto-tuner on several tracks. He obviously wasn't listening when his 'big brother' declared it's death on The Blueprint III. The worst offender Guilt Trip sounds as if it missed the cut for 808's.
At under 40 minutes, Yeezus is a short experience, and with a couple of weaker tracks nearer the end, I'm In It, Send It Up and the aforementioned Guilt Trip, it is even shorter and closer Bound 2, the albums stand out track, really saves the day and its no coincidence that the track is the outcast of the album in being most traditionally Kanye.
According to the choir on On Sight, 'he'll give us what we need, it may not be what we want', unfortunately really what we are given in the form of Yeezus is what Kanye wants regardless of what we may need. Yet for all it's flaws, Yeezus is an undeniably fascinating beast, and sharing it's creators nature, one that demands attention.
Best guest: Charlie Wilson
Standout tracks: Bound 2, Hold My Liquor, I Am A God
Best bars: (Bound 2)
Hey, you remember where we first met
Okay, I don't remember where we first met
But hey, admitting is the first step
And hey, you know ain't nobody perfect
And I know, with the hoes I got the worst rep
But hey, their backstroke I'm tryna perfect
And hey, ayo, we made it, Thanksgiving
So hey, maybe we can make it to Christmas
She asked me what I wished for on my wishlist
Have you ever asked your bitch for other bitches
Maybe we could still make it to the church steps
But first, you gon' remember how to forget
After all these long ass verses,
I'm tired, you tired, Jesus wept
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