Today Kanye West released his 8th album, simply called “ye.” It’s the second in a barrage of albums releasing throughout the summer that he produced in the mountains of Wyoming.
Last week we got Pusha T’s “DAYTONA,” and will get releases from Nas, Teyana Taylor and a collab between West and Kid Cudi in the coming weeks. A Cruel Summer indeed.
This album is musically similar to “The Life of Pablo.” However, unlike “Pablo,” this is a short, concise album with seven tracks that clock in at a little over 23 minutes. None of the songs on this album feel incomplete, and all the concepts were fully realized.
While “Pablo” attempted to sound like a culmination of West’s previous work, “ye” succeeds at it. At certain points the album’s sound harkens back to elements found on “808’s and Heartbreak,” “Yeezus” and a little “Graduation” thrown in for good measure.
Yet while the album is short, there is much to take away from these tracks. The album’s theme seems to be a fight between the demons Kanye has, either due to addiction or his bipolar disorder, and the man that he wants to and sometimes struggles to be.
The first half seems like an acknowledgment of his demons and is the usual braggadocious Kanye we know and love. Starting with “Wouldn’t Leave” the album goes to a more heartfelt place, and we hear more from Kanye the man, and the bravado is somewhat left behind.
But let’s start dissecting “ye” track by track with “I Thought About Killing You.” West opens up the album by having a conversation with himself in spoken word, talking about the dark thoughts in his mind which are both homicidal and suicidal and can be attributed to his opioid addiction. His voice gets deeper and deeper as his thoughts get darker.
Two and a half minutes in and the track then turns into an actual song where he raps about these struggles and his efforts to fix them. While the lyrics aren’t the best here, the production is immaculate, and it is auditorily pleasing to hear, as is most of the album.
Next is “Yikes,” a song that goes more in-depth on West’s demons, including his addiction and bipolar disorder, both of which fuel his fears of suffering the same fate as Michael Jackson and Prince. This is the most rapping we get on the album, and it’s a solid listen. As usual the production is fantastic, and it ends with West embracing his disorder, and proclaiming it as his superpower.
“All Mine” is a song that sounds like it could be featured on “Yeezus,” with a very solid, haunting beat. The lyrics focus on infidelity and how men and women struggle with it. Kanye name drops several celebrities that cheated on their significant other such as Chris Rock, Kobe Bryant and Tristan Thompson. The lyrics are misogynistic, and can be off putting to some.
“Wouldn’t Leave” is essentially an apology from West to his wife Kim Kardashian, and to all women who have to deal with men that aren’t the best. This song has a soulful quality to it that would help it fit right in with “Graduation” or “The Life of Pablo.” It touches on the many controversies West has been a part of in the last month and the negative effect it’s had on Kardashian. A very good song.
“No Mistakes” is a solid song with upbeat production that touches on the many mistakes West has made in the past, while West also claims he makes no mistakes. Once again, the song is filled with soul and wouldn’t sound out of place on “Graduation.” In addition, it includes a diss at Drake, who is currently feuding with West’s fellow G.O.O.D. Music label mate Pusha T.
“Ghost Town” is probably the most interesting song on the album and feels like the combination of “Wolves” from “Pablo” and “Runaway” from West’s fifth album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” It is epic in scope and deals with the internal struggle one feels to just let all their feelings go and enter back into a state of childlike bliss.
West gives most of the singing duties in this song to Kid Cudi and 070 Shake, a new signee of West’s label. John Legend also sings the intro to the song, albeit sloppily. The production is great, as while the lyrics of the song seem triumphant, the beats and mixing seem to create a sense of dread, and things falling apart, especially in the end when Shake’s last lines echo in the background, the guitars fading away.
The singing leaves a little to be desired, as Cudi is really off key, but it isn’t a deal breaker. But if this is a teaser of what’s to come from the West/Cudi collab album next week, I’m interested.
“Violent Crimes” is the final track of the album, and ends it on a heartfelt note. In this song West muses about how his four year old daughter North will live her life as she grows up. He mentions how his attitude towards women has been affected since having a daughter, and mentions the way the entertainment industry sexualizes and takes advantage of young women.
He also talks about how his previous nature may come back to haunt him, and how men who have daughters fear the karma they may face due to being reckless towards women in their past, West included. It ends the album on a thoughtful and even hopeful note and is a nice cap to the project.
Overall, “ye” a good album with some of West’s most personal lyrics to date. The production is great and every song is at least pleasing to hear. If I had one complaint, it would be that this album doesn’t have any bangers, there aren’t any songs you’ll likely be hearing in the club, and maybe that was by design, as this is a more intimate album than previous efforts.
The runtime is also very short, but I’ll take quality over quantity, and I hope this means shorter wait times in between albums.
This is a solid outing from West, and if you’re a fan of him, you’ll find a lot to like in this album. For newcomers it might be somewhat off putting though, and you should listen to some of his earlier work before diving in.
Rating: 4 Hands bleeding due to touching stoves out of 5
Henry Wolski
Executive Editor