Turns out I wasn’t quite excited enough. Because West’s Yeezus is far more subtle, and reflective, than a simple journey through the art of self-destruction (I’m not judging TDS, which is essentially my favorite album of all time.)
I wanted to write a little bit about Yeezus, but not too much, so I figured I’d listen to the album through (for about the fiftieth time already) and make a note at random enjoyable moments.
How much do I not give a fuck / Let me show you right now ‘fore you give it up
You give us what what we need / It may not be what we want
On Sight, 1:08
It was awesome to listen to the first track and already feel that my entire prior diatribe on JT and Kanye was fully validated within 10 seconds. Kanye demands of himself that he push the direction of popular culture forward. So, one minute into his album, by which point we’ve already been sonically assaulted by his jarring, aggressive, minimalist synth beats, he abruptly breaks to give us a glimpse of his old Kanye sound, then promptly tell us that a) that sound is dead, and b) he is going to force us to like what he’s doing now.
You see a black man with white woman at the top floor / they gon’ come to kill King Kong
Number 1 question they asking / Fuck every question you asking
I’m aware I’m a wolf / Soon as the moon hit
I’m aware I’m a king / Back out the tomb, bitch
God / God / God / God / God / God / God / God / God / God / God
Black Skinhead, 0:36, 0:46, 1:53, 2:46
When Ye drops that incredible line about a black man being with a white woman, its understandable that everyone reacts by expecting a socio-politically conscious diatribe to follow, and when it doesn’t, to feel let down. But that is stupid. Kanye’s interest here isn’t racism – its how racism affects Kanye West. He’s become this transcendent figure and entered every culturally elite circle – and yet he still feels the sting of not quite belonging. His perception is that he is still being viewed as a menace – and so he decides to own it. He’s a wolf. He’s a king – but an undead one. He’s a God – from the Old Testament. And if you have questions – fuck them. I actually like his version from SNL better – his telling us to “just close [our] eyes and enjoy the crash” is brilliant – shades of Dave Chappelle telling us to remember as we looked as Michael Jackson’s freakish, ghoulish face, that “he did this for you, somehow.”
Fuck you and your corporations / y’all n****s can’t control me
Meanwhile the DEA teamed up with the CCA
They trying to lock n****s up / they trying to make new slaves
See that's that private owned prison / get your piece today
They probably all in the Hamptons / braggin bout their maid
I’m not dying and I can’t lose / I can’t lose, no, I can’t lose / Cause I can’t leave it to you
New Slaves, 0:43, 1:38, 2:14, 3:02
First of all, this is probably the most sonically awesome song I’ve ever heard in my life (the first 15 seconds destroy my life). How is it possible that the heaviest rap song I’ve ever heard doesn’t even use an 808?? Him saying “new slaves” as that goth choir kicks in carries the same incredible threat that his 11 repetitions of “God” at the end of Black Skinhead did.
He follows that threat with a verse that almost seems designed to ensure that he could not possibly get any corporate sponsorship (and highlighted in his SNL performance in which he stared directly at the camera with his anger visibly growing over the course of the song). This in direct contrast (and in my opinion delightfully so) to Jay-Z’s pending release of Magna Carta Holy Grail (the dumbest album title since FutureSex/LoveSounds) in collaboration with Samsung, or JT’s collaboration with Budweiser (which, in the tradition of JT copying other people’s moves, replicates Jay-Z’s prior collaboration with Budweiser). Ye makes it clear – he does not want your input. You will not control his message (much like you will not control the threesome). As he said at his release party, his plan to sell music is to make better music. This track also earns criticism because some feel that it (like Black Skinhead) is dismissive on issues of racial inequality. But again, I think that’s besides the point. It’s just my opinion, but I think that what he’s again talking about is his inability to outgrow, or socially climb beyond, racism (he’s now subject to “rich n**** racism”) – and he’s sending out a warning to those who might tolerate him in their echelon without actually including him – that he does have something threatening inside of him – a part that is well aware of the military industrial complex; a part that could quite easily… become entangled with your Hamptons spouse. A part that isn't going anywhere - he isn't dying, and he can't lose.
Then her auntie came over / skinny bitch with no shoulders
Tellin' you that I'm bogus / Bitch you don't even know us
Baby girl, he's a loner / Baby girl, he's a loner
Late night organ donor / After that he disown ya
After that he's just hopeless / Soulmates become soulless
When he's sober it's over / And bitch, I'm back out my coma
Hold My Liquor, 1:51
If I have to pick a favorite verse, its this one. It encapsulates everything I love about Kanye. His self-righteous indignation is fully on display (he thinks little to nothing of mocking a girl’s aunt), and he fumes at the idea that he would be disapproved of. He then provides the aunt’s argument, but rather than being dismissive, he proceeds to eviscerate himself with her words. When he describes himself as “a loner” twice, you once again get a sense for how depraved he is, how much of his bravado is a front – but what’s most impressive is that he willingness to put that on display.
Now I know you naughty / so let's get on with it
Remember we were so young / when I would hold you
Main reason cause your pastor said you can't abort that
Now your driver say that new Benz you can't afford that
All that cocaine on the table you can't snort that
That going to that owing money that the court got
Till death you do your part / unholy matrimony
And live and learn / and live and learn
Blood on the Leaves, 0:56, 1:35, 3:43, 5:08
This is my favorite song. Again, I think the backlash about it is completely absurd. Yes, of course it is ridiculous to equate lynching with having to pay alimony for a child you had out of wedlock. But that’s what makes this song so amazing – not just the emotional impact that this story has on Kanye, but that he recognizes it, chooses to talk about it, and chooses this particular sample for its emotional weight, knowing full well that everyone will respond by wondering how self-absorbed he can possibly be. Those are all conscious decisions by him.
But onto the song itself. The emotional shifts in this song are fantastic. In the first minute he pretends to tell the story dismissively – as if the only reason that the story is worth telling is because he is being extorted (“so let’s get on with it.”) But as the horns kick in at 1:07, it becomes quite clear that, like so many times before, his relationships are much more emotionally tangled than he would want them to be – otherwise, why would he be telling us about how she was “screamin that she loved [him]” and how he “would hold [her]” – note in the latter phrase the AutoTune cuts out and you hear his voice unfiltered for just a few seconds – just enough to know that the emotion is real. He then does his rap in which he attempts to reset things – focusing almost to a silly extent on the perks that alimony payments are depriving him of – but the end of the rap abruptly changes, as he comments on his “unholy matrimony.” If this relationship gone bad was so meaningless, then why does he sound so trapped? I don’t think its because of the money. You further get that sense in the outro, as he sings to himself, over and over again, to “breathe,” and to “live and learn.” His tone is so mournful, so desperate, that you start to share his fear – that this is a cycle that he’s doomed to repeat, and from which he won’t escape.
Reliving the past? / Your loss
Memories don't live like people do /they always 'member you
Whether things are good or bad /it's just the memories that you have
Send It Up, 0:05, 0:56, 2:34
Yeezus Christ, Kanye. Even the one club banger he tries to gift us – “the hottest shit in the club / since In the Club” and its bookended with stark reminders that none of his hedonism can erase, or overcome, his loneliness.
I know you’re tired of loving, of loving / with nobody to love, nobody, nobody
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
Just grab somebody, no leaving this party / with nobody to love, nobody, nobody
Bound 2, 1:22, 2:40, 3:03
I think most people correctly peg his last track as a hopeful one. He revives his prior use of R&B samples, but the track remains relatively sparse and intermittently has a thundering baseline. His tone is both weary and honest – rather than ignore the person described over the last 9 tracks, he confesses honestly that he has emerged from it tired, and with nobody to love. He maintains hope, although a realistic amount, and issues a plea for acceptance (rather than forgiveness). It’s the kind of closing thought that we can appreciate from a 36-year old new father (despite his wondering whether he can “ask his bitch for other bitches.”) And then he ends the entire album with a Martin reference - the kind of thing that makes you wonder if this entire album was a true cathartic experience for him, and he's preparing to return to his roots. That's the great thing about him, though. His next move could be even more radical, or he could pull another Cruel Summer and give us an album full of stadium smashes. I can't predict him. But he certainly has my attention.
