Kanye West- Yeezus Album Review

As proven throughout his career, Kanye West is not afraid experiment and takes his music in many directions. And in many, many directions does his sixth album, “Yeezus” goes in. Yet, it did not the Grammy award winning artist from selling over 320,000 units of his album in his first week (according to Billboard) and 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, and Minimalist, and World music. As a result, 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 works for and against the album at the same time. For example, “Blood on the Leaves”, is a notable song for blending samples of Nina Simone’s “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 Auto tune 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 niggas 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 his both the beats and lyrics. The album is intentionally designed not to cater to everyone so whether or not one will 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 I strongly suggest to a few songs on the album first before you consider buying it to see if it you’ll like it. It is an interesting release that should not be ignored.

Beats: 9.5/10

Lyrics: 6/10

Originality: 8/10

Overall: 7.5/10

Favorite Songs: Blood on the Leaves, New Slaves Black Skinhead, Send it Up, Guilt Trip, and Bound 2

Mark’s Thoughts: Kid Cudi’s Departure from G.O.O.D. Music

It is always shocking and sad when our favorite hip hop tandems go their separate ways. The departure of Kid Cudi from Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music is no different. He broke the news to fans (and possibly their hearts) earlier this week on L.A.’s Power 106 where he discussed his new direction with his career, his relationship with West and the G.O.O.D. Music family, and his new album.

While some may think it was a bad move for Cudi, I disagree. I think it will allow him to further grow as an artist and his own entity as he has slowly been establishing for the past several years.

In Hip Hop, its always common to see artists of established franchises depart to pursue their own endeavors. When the Cleveland, OH native revealed that he knew six months ago that he was leaving the label, all of the pieces started to fit the puzzle. The direction of his music and brand was drastically different than anything else that came from the label, and Cudi was only featured on one song from the Cruel Summer compilation. To me, those were early signs that he was on his way to walk down a new path, but the idea of him leaving G.O.O.D. Music was simply unfathomable.

As much as I hate to see Cudi leave, since he was an important part of their history and aesthetic, I think the change is not a bad thing for him. The “Immortal” singer has a large following that he caters to with his brand of Alternative Hip Hop and I think going on his own will give him more space to focus on his brand and his new label, Wicked Awesome.

“It’s just I wanna focus on Wicked Awesome,” Cudi said to Power 106. “I wanna focus on Chip, and that’s it. I don’t wanna have, like, a full label of artists. I just wanna work on Chip and keep my sound going on a freight train.”

I’m glad his going to focus on the career of longtime collaborator and friend, King Chip as well because he’s a slept on lyricist and too dope to not have some albums out by now.

Also, I appreciate the fact that while him and West are going in their separate ways, they still are on good terms with each other. You don’t really get to see that these days. In the interview, he expressed how difficult it was to discuss his plans with West, but after conversations with Jay-Z and Don C, he was able to move forward. Since they are on good terms and are still willing to work with one another, we may still hear him on a few projects with G.O.O.D. Music, but probably not as much.

Do I think he’ll be successful with his endeavors right now? Musically, yes because now he will have more room for crafting his own sound and musical brand. Not only that but he now more control over own career. As long as he stays consistent, then he shouldn’t have too much to worry about. Also, I don’t think he care too much about being a superpower and conforming with today’s rap circles, but rather being the best in his own lane as he’s doing now.

Kid Cudi has the potential of being one of the greatest artists of our generation. To me, it’s not a bad thing that he’s leaving G.O.O.D. Music because sometimes a great musician needs to grow and spread his wings elsewhere. I salute Kanye West for supporting Cudi and still maintaining a relationship the artist. Hopefully, his album “Indicud” will be a shining result of what he’s working hard for.

Christian Hip Hop Mini-Showcase

Good afternoon everyone! In the spirit of this Easter holiday, I would like to showcase three of my personal favorite songs from the rising Christian Rap scene and other spritual songs. I felt that because this holiday represents the resurrection of our lord and Jesus Christ, I wanted to post several of my favorite hip hop songs that represent the spirit of Christianity. So without further interruptions, here are some of my favorite Christian/Christian theme hip hop songs. Happy Easter everyone!

“I Ain’t Crazy, I’m Just Not Satisfied” Kanye West Declares His Reign

 

Last weekend, Grammy award winning producer/rapper, Kanye West performed three shows in Atlantic City at the Revel Resort & Casino.

On Saturday’s show, after performing the song “Clique”, he goes on in a rant about several topics.

He beings by stating that it won’t be long now until him and his empire has a greater involvement in the arts and entertainment and that although the media may depict him as crazy or deranged he says “I ain’t crazy, I’m just not satisfied” and says that he’s not satisfied about the music, movies, and television shows being presented to the general public and expresses his disdain for them.

He also talks about the negative criticism about his fashion shows, being snubbed several times at the Grammys, and adresses the death threats he’s received on his Twitter page

Here’s the link to the video to see the rant

(Side Note: Could the “freestyle” with all the nahmeans be a new song in 2013?)