Kanye West: Yeezus Review

Album: Yeezus
Artist: Kanye West
Genre: Industrial Hip-hop

3.9/10





UH HUH HONEY!!

     It's actually pretty funny how Kanye could go from making one of the best pop-rap records ever to a complete mess in a short 3 years.  I've always respected Kanye West's unique ability to inject a true R&B/soul flair into his music.  It was something the industry definitely needed in the early 2000s.  But here we are in 2013, with hip-hop reaching new heights in both popularity and quality, and it seemed as if Kanye would be one of the leaders.  With his new record Yeezus, however, everyone's favorite rapper has brought messy sample splicing, hollow synth leads, and some of the worst mixing/mastering I've ever heard.
     From the very beginning Yeezus seemed doomed, even with help from all-stars like TNGHT, Daft Punk, Justin Vernon, and Rick Rubin.  Opener "On Sight" begins with laser-synths and overblown drums contrasted unpleasantly with Kanye's smooth flow.  Halfway through the song "Sermon (He'll Give Us What We Really Need)" begins to play by itself with no context, and then is abruptly cut off seconds later.  This messy sampling style is rampant throughout the record.  Tracks "I Am A God" and "Bound 2" both feature heavy samples.  "Bound 2" utilizes the track "Bound" (probably why it's called Bound 2) by Bobby Massey as the entire beat for the verses.  "I Am A God" contrasts  "Forward Inna Dem Clothes" with Kanye's weak screaming.  "Send It Up" actually breaks out a dub track to work as an outro.  
    And this leads me to the next criticism: the vocals.  Kanye does everything from vocoder crooning to outright screaming, but each line and flow seems tired and undynamic.  Even Kanye's screams on "Black Skinhead" and "I Am A God" seem forced and even gimmicky.  Chief Keef's vocals get a good little autotune, but are way too slow and unrhythmic to be enjoyable.  Vernon shines on "I'm in It" however, as well as Assassin.  Both bring their unique styles to the track.  
     There are some redeeming qualities, even if each track has glaring issues.  "Blood On The Leaves" samples the incredibly dark "Strange Fruit", a song about a slave hanging by his neck from a tree.  Kanye executes this sample alongside the amazing brass line from TNGHT's live-only track R U Ready.  The result is something dark and captivating, even if only for part of the track.  "Bound 2" has a great soulful chorus that is cut mid sentence by the "Bound" sample.  "New Slaves" boasts an actual synth line and chord progression that serves as the only solid instrumental for Kanye to work off of.  These small blessings prevent the total flop of this record.
     Yeezy has tried something different, something that casual listeners may believe is fresh.  But if you take the time to check out truly great industrial hip-hop artists like Death Grips, dalek, or Techno Animal, you'll find that Kanye has merely grazed the surface of the true darkness, and cohesiveness, of the genre.  It's not the worst hip-hop album of all time, but it's the worst industrial hip-hop album of all time.  3.9 gods out of 10.

Fave Track: Blood on the Leaves