Well...here we go. Kanye West. Arguably the most polarizing figure not only in hip hop but in all of music today. While there are people worldwide that love and worship him, there are those who despise him for so many obvious reasons. But despite his over-bearing arrogance and narcissism, it's easy to see that today he is hip hop's most brilliant mind from a musical stand point. From production, concepts, creativity and originality. No one does it quite like Mr. West. With five damn near classic albums already under his belt, it's easy to understand the level of anticipation for Yeezus. His sixth album. Now I myself had doubts about this. Mostly because of his last album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. That album was one of the best I've heard in years and I felt like Kanye may have set the stakes high and/or raised the bar too high even for himself. That album was so triumphant that I believed that it would be difficult to follow that. This along with a lot of early low praises from fans and internet bloggers (due to the album leaking) had me in serious doubt about this album. You would think after dropping so many good albums that wouldn't be the case. Well I can honestly say for the first time since I started doing these album reviews, I am at a complete lost for words about this album. It's not that the album was bad but man, this was a major decline from his last album. As I predicted. Before I begin breaking down all the songs I gotta address the overall vibe I get from this album. In short, this album is basically one big "fuck you" to everybody. To critics, haters, doubters, all of the ones who despise him like I mentioned before. I feel like he no longer gives any fucks (not that he gave any before but it's blatant this time). That's probably why it's only ten tracks and why the CD is a completely clear case with no art work or anything. He doesn't care anymore about what people want. We all know very well about his arrogance and cockiness and him just being a straight up asshole but on this he was all of that times 1,000. Majority of the lyrics on here (which majority of them sounded rushed) are rude, sick, ignorant, blasphemous and extremely over sexual. In a way I feel like he's trolling the media by purposely rapping about things he know will piss them off. All of this was said through what sounds like an angry and frustrated Kanye West. Could it be that he's fed up with all the b.s. surrounding him? Like for example the media and tabloids constantly worrying about him and Kim Kardashian maybe? Who knows. But it's quite clear after listening to this that he is bothered. Well with all of that said, here's my likes and dislikes with this album. First off, the way this album started off was very, very bizarre. Within the first three to five tracks he tries experimenting with somewhat of a dance/funk/techno sound on his beats and that mixed with the over the top lyrics I mentioned left a bad taste in my mouth. The overall sound of the album in general is much different but that beginning part of it was just too much to take. I suppose people who like that sound might like it. The first track "On Sight" is the definition of what I just said. The beat sound like some 70's techno funk that just sounds messy. "I Am A God" pretty much sums up everything I said about this album. This song alone is enough to makes religious folks swarm Best Buy and Target protesting that this album gets removed from shelves. He raps about all the trends he started, all the awards and accomplishments in a bragging manner. Thus explaining why he is "God". "Black Skinhead" has this uptempo clap heavy beat that really just sounds so awkward. Not only that it takes away from what he saying. I had to listen to this about three times so I can hear the lyrics. "New Slaves" I think would have been a much better song if the beat was better. It was way to flat and boring. But the message I got clearly. Speaking on modern day slavery and all of that. He had a line on here that goes back to what I said about his whole "fuck you" attitude towards critics and such that went like "you see there's leaders and there's followers/but I'd rather be a dick than a swallower." There was one name I saw on the track list and I got worried immediately. Chief Keef. He's on "Hold My Liquor" and thankfully, he's only on the hook. But still sounds horrible because he's on auto tune. The song in general is weird because the song ends with nothing but instrumental for over a minute and a half. As if he didn't feel like adding any more lyrics to the songs. This could be him not giving a fuck again. Now usually I don't mind sexually explicit songs but lord did he over do it on "I'm In It". The lyrics on this are not the least bit attractive. He's rapping about sex but in a perverted rapist kind of way. He even does it in a demonic like voice in the first verse. Here's some of the awkward cringe worthy lines: "eating Asian pussy all I need was sweet and sour sauce", "your pussy too good I need to crash/your titties let them out free at last", "black girl sippin white wine/put my fist in her like a civil rights sign". Bottom line...I could have did without that song. "Blood On The Leaves" was actually not that bad of a song. He goes back to his 808's & Heartbreak theme with the auto tune here. The beat sounds similar to C-Murder's "Down For My Niggas". He even sings the hook from that song. If I had to pick, "Send It Up" would probably be my favorite track on here. I like King L's verse on there. It sound very dark and haunting and he kinda sounded like Frank Ocean when he raps. The beat was kinda cool to with all the screeching horns and weird siren sounds. "Bound 2" may be the only song on here that doesn't sound like blatant arrogance and sounds like what we heard on previous albums. Well I'ma finalize this by saying that for me and probably die hard Kanye West fans, this was a disappointment coming off of what is to me a classic album. I give this a poor grade (by his standards) of a C. Some people may see some creativity in the overall sound but for many others, they probably won't see that at all. It's clear that Kanye has a lot bottled up inside him and is haunted by past tragedies and such. In some cases it's understandable why he has the attitude that he has. But he also needs to realize that he has hardcore fans world wide that care about him and what he does. By releasing this, I don't believe Kanye cares that they care and that's sad. I feel like he should publicly apologize to his fan base for doing this (wishful thinking I know). Bottom line...he needs to get it together. I would have given this a better grade but...I guess I don't give a fuck either. End.
Final Grade: C
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