http://www.morningpickup.com/yeezus-album-review/
Kanye West is an egomanic. Let’s be honest Lex Luger seems like Taylor Swift in comparison to Ye’. He’s a narsassist’s narsassist. Kanye clearly has an exaggerated sense of importance.
Mr. West is a prisoner of not only his own success but his stunts that constantly propel his name into the limelight. In a sense his aggravation with media and paparazzi is self-inflicted. Its almost comical to watch a person crave for so much attention and yet reject it once it comes his way.
This Yeezus project is nothing more than a soundtrack for Kanye and his “cult of me”. It’s a public toast to self-indulgence from a man high off power, status, and wealth. Ironically, the attention and fame that he has worked so hard for and longed for as a young artist now aggravates him.
If his last album was titled My Dark Twisted Fantasy then this should’ve been labeled My Dark Twisted Reality. From the marketing, visuals, and lyrics or lack there of Kanye has sent a message. Kanye believes Kanye doesn’t have to provide his fans with a music video or even a single for the radio. Kanye can just sell a clear CD case with red tape, he doesn’t need album art. In this digital age Kanye and his team believe that marketing and promotion are beneath them. The message is basically “Hey,if you don’t know about Yeezus dropping you don’t matter anyway.” Some might label this marketing strategy as an heroic attempt at challenging the music industry’s standards of practice. I disagee. Kanye’s not “changing the game” or “breaking the mold” He’s just being an ***, while his big brother Jay-Z and Samsung are in fact changing the game.
Not only did Kanye skip out on promotion, marketing, and visuals on this project he failed to deliver in the lyrics department also. No matter how huge an icon or superstar Kanye has becomes he has always been an respected lyricist. From his debut College Dropout to the recent Watch The Throne, Kanye has always put forth equal effort in lyricism and the production of his albums.
The new guy rapping on Yeezus wasn’t the soulful artist of substance delivering verses with amazing views on American culture and witty humor. The messages and pictures painted on this album were scattered and shallow. It’s soulless. Real recognize real and Yeezus ain’t looking familiar. With all the ridiculous rumors of Illuminati association this album is definitely more fuel for those crazy conspiracy theorist out there. At times I found myself thinking “What the $%&@ is this guy talking about?” Where’s the guy that made Watch the Throne? Where are you Yeezy?
Song after song is filled with explicit, misogynistic sexual imagery. Over and over we are pelted with angry demands of menages and croissants. We know you’re rich and have access to beautiful women. We get it. Now if you can actually stomach the lyrical content Kanye and his friend Chief Keef attempt to sing…..sing with autotune. Wasn’t just a phase Kanye? Didn’t we put that to rest with 808′s and Heartbreaks?
This album credits 17 producers the most ever for a Kanye album and has no rap features. Kanye isn’t Nas and this wasn’t illmatic. I wouldn’t have minded a verse from Jay-Z or any artist to offer a change of pace. While the production was experimental it was the highlight of this album. Sounds of dance hall to punk rock are integrated to create some amazing, progressive beats. Yeezus gave us a different Kanye and that was to be expected since he is an ever evolving artist. Too bad this time change wasn’t for the better.
My favorite two songs from the 12 track album are Blood on the Leaves and Bound 2. Both songs remind me of a Kanye West I once knew and hope comes back soon. The production on both songs is simply amazing and lyrically he shows up as well.
Is this album horrible? No. But I expect more from a self proclaimed musical genius. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe we should just run out and buy anything and everything Kanye decides to bless us with. I mean he is a God right?
There’s no doubt that Kanye is a trend setter and his influences have pushed pop culture and mainly the hip-hop genre into new directions. This project just didn’t deliver.
he's redeemed himself multiple times since then. This is Kanye's 6th album. This is where he stands, unfortunately.
