Mark Braboy
Blue & White Flash/Staff Writer
As proven throughout his career, Kanye West is not afraid to experiment and takes his music in many directions. And in many, many directions does his sixth album, “Yeezus” goes.
Yet, it did not keep the Grammy award-winning artist from selling over 320,000 units of his album in his first week (according to Billboard) and this was without any singles or traditional marketing campaigns. In the same class as his fourth album, “808s and Heartbreak”, this album proves to be his most experimental, edgy, and musically diverse album yet.
The sound on this album, unlike his previous works, draws heavily from a multitude of genres such as EDM (Electronic Dance Music), Dancehall/Reggae, Modern Hip-Hop, Rock, Blues, Minimalist, and World music. As a result, the album is a cluttered effort that hits and misses for over 40 minutes. While the production is up to par with his previous album “My Beautiful Dark and Twisted Fantasy,” the album lacks cohesion in its core sound, which is very loud and very aggressive.
The sounds West decided to use work for and against the album at the same time. For example, “Blood on the Leaves,” is notable for blending samples of Nina Simone’s version of “Strange Fruit” and C-Murder’s “Down for My N*****”, and making them work for the dark and aggressive atmosphere of the album. However, West overdoes this by using too much sound as he excessively uses autotune throughout the end of the song. The core sound can be alienating at times because the sound is all over the place and goes into directions that are sometimes unnecessary.
The features on “Yeezus” were executed perfectly and are very diverse. He shows love to his Chicago roots by enlisting Chief Keef on the hook to “Can’t Hold my Liquor” as well as rising Chicago rapper King L on “Send It Up”. Also, the trademark wailing from former G.O.O.D. music signee Kid Cudi fits the tone of the song “Guilt Trip” and is also executed well. And Charlie Wilson on the closer “Bound 2” adds the soulful sound that was missing throughout the album and reminds fans of his vintage work.
Unfortunately, the album lacks the elite lyricism that West is known for. In fact, it is the album’s fatal flaw as it lacks his technical skills, his signature wit and cleverness of his rhymes, and any true substance in his lyrical content. There are flashes of this on songs such as “New Slaves where he spits “Meanwhile the DEA/Teamed up with the CCA/They tryna lock n***** up/They tryna make new slaves/See that’s that private owned prison/Get your piece today”. At the same time, on songs like “I’m in It” he spits lackluster bars like “Eatin’ Asian p****, all I need was sweet and sour sauce”.
The lyrical content has no sense of direction and it has for the most part devolved. It appears to show whiney, sex crazed, hyper narcissistic man who is trapped in his own bubble. Granted, his lyrics have always been cocky and arrogant, but at the same time they were witty and clever. While they are not necessarily terrible, there is a lot to be desired from it.
Kanye West’s “Yeezus” is a unique album that offers a diverse sound but significantly lacks cohesion on both the beats and lyrics. The album is intentionally designed not to cater to everyone so whether or not you enjoy it lies solely on their personal preferences and what they expect from West; as it can alienate both hip-hop fans and West fans alike. However, the album is worth listening to at least once and there are a many great songs on it. It is an interesting release that definitely should not be ignored.
