Album Review: Kanye West - Yeezus

Kanye West
Yeezus
Rating: Grrrr

Despite Kanye West being one of the most controversial and egotistical artists of his generation, there truly is no denying that he is also one of the most brilliant producers out there, backing up his boldest statements and eccentricities with jaw-dropping backing tracks, never satisfied to do the expected. Following up his masterpiece My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy would be no easy task, and instead of repeating the maximalist tendencies of that record, he has changed directions entirely, moving back to the rigid structures of 808's & Heartbreak, making his harshest, most in your face record yet. It sounds like Kanye has been listening to acts like Death Grips, Nine Inch Nails, and Marilyn Manson for inspiration, and has practically made a proto-punk/industrial record. Beats are harsh and unforgiving while synths frequently are used aggressively and atonally. And once again, Kanye is definitely on his soapbox again, both politically and personally. It seems even being married and having a child has not tempered his views on relationships, seeing them as still rife with betrayal and negativity. While My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy kept to a consistent thematic conceit, here, Yeezus' whiplash changes in tone and viewpoint are frequently jarring which keeps it from reaching the high that was achieved with that landmark record.

With that said, however, Yeezus is still a breathtaking record. Opening with the Daft Punk assisted "On Sight," the album blazes forth with clattering drum programming and acid house synths that are a far cry from Daft Punk's Steely Dan-tinged new record, showing an edge that has been missing from them for awhile. Kanye spits his verses out with as much venom as possible.



Yeezus contains his harshest backing tracks ever, frequently going into speaker damaging territory, not afraid to be ugly or confrontational. From the air raid siren cacophony of "Send It Up,"



the dark electro of "I Am A God,"



or the rumbling, trap influenced "I'm In It," these tracks are fearless and intense.

Often, Kanye's vitriol meets up perfectly with his all out sonic assault. "Black Skinhead," which appears to draw influence from both Marilyn Manson and The Timelords, is another Daft Punk assisted track that bangs and clatters with breathless percussion, low synth rumbles, and Kanye commenting on race and modern culture, spitting out verses like "They see a black man with a white woman/At the top floor they gone come to kill King Kong."



"New Slaves" attacks racism, corporate consumerism, and the prison system with bile and venom, as the backing track moves from stark electronic dissonance into an outlandish, over-the-top finale.



There are a couple of missteps on Yeezus that keep it out of the running for another Kanye masterpiece. His puzzling use of Nina Simone's anti-lynching poem "Strange Fruit" to back his divorce tale "Blood On The Leaves" is out of place, and quite frankly insulting,



while closing track "Bound 2" appears to be his one concession at a radio-friendly hit that just feels completely out of place within the confines of this dark and haunted record.



Sonically, Yeezus is a marvel of aggression and harshness, perhaps one of the most anti-pop records ever released from a major artist. While on person level I find a lot of what Kanye does and says abhorrent, I have to give him respect for never doing the same thing twice and always going for broke with his music. I don't think you can ever say Kanye phones it in. While I can't put it on the same shelf as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, a couple of rungs below it is still high praise.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.