Music Review: Kanye West – Yeezus

Kanye is the habitual envelope pusher. No album that he has created sounds the same as the previous. One can go from College Dropout all the way down to “Dark Twisted Fantasy” album and see the differences. With that said, after releasing “performances” for “New Slaves” and “Black Skinhead”, we knew that his new album was going in a different direction. With the upcoming participatory buzz of Yeezus, many were wondering whether or not his album would be worth the wait.

I have news for you all: Yeezus is nothing more than a considerable artistic shamble. Most artsy hip hop listeners will give him some credit. Many regular listeners, however, will write this off as an expensive coaster.

Don’t get me wrong, I get the direction that Kanye was trying to go. Infusing sounds of industrial rock, “Black Skinhead” wins because it has a coherent feel and a worthwhile message. The same can be said for “New Slaves”. On this track, Kanye (ironically and hypocritically) speaks out against the materialism and profound shallowness of Black culture. Thus, I can understand his movement and where he was trying to go.

Yet, Kanye missed one thing about making music: it has to have cohesion and it has to sound good. At least half of this album misses the mark in those respects.

The biggest issue, which leads to the lack of cohesion and gratifying sound, is that many of the songs seem to serve no functional purpose. “Hold My Liquor” sounds like a bathroom recording of autotune and utter madness. “Send It Up” seems to send up absolutely nothing due to Kanye’s rambling and King L’s uninspired verse. “Guilt Trip” seems to linger on and on as if it was a Kid Cudi throw away. For all of the art that was made, Kanye didn’t give us much to appreciate.
By the time the sample-heavy heaven known as “Bound 2” is broken up by Charlie Wilson’s vocal arrangements, many listeners see what the issue is. As ambitious does with some of us, it leads many down a path of failure. Many don’t understand that ambition is best served in control and moderation. Kanye West took the time to bring in a new approach to hip hop. What he did not do was work to make an overall alluring experience.