Yeezus by Kanye West Retrospective | The Anti-Rap Album
Retrospective is a series where I take a look at albums from years prior, and revisit them with a 2021 lens. Examining production, lyrics, and other interesting tidbits.
It’s still hard to believe that this year will be the 8-year anniversary of Mr.West’s sixth studio album Yeezus. Released on June 18th, 2013, Kanye would take a sharp turn away from the maximalist, rap opera sound he showcased on 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in exchange for something never before seen in mainstream hip-hop. Yeezus was, and still is, Kanye’s most polarizing body of work to date. Characterized by its visceral production, braggadocious/appalling lyrical content, and divided response. Yeezus was the album that would mark a shift in Kanye’s career, foreshadowing the direction he would follow in the years to come.
As I’ve revisited this album time and time again since 2013, it’s slowly earned its place as one of my favourite Kanye West albums. By no means is it his best, but it’s certainly an album that I feel has been overlooked and overhated. The abrasive production and minimalist lyrics were overwhelming the first time I heard the album, but over time I’ve come to appreciate its elements as I’ve become more musically diverse. So after careful consideration, Yeezus is, in my opinion, not just another great Kanye album, but the only project that truly embodies who Kanye West is. It’s bold, brash, unapologetic, and is something that only he could deliver. It’s a shining example that nobody controls Kanye West, as he says in his own words “you can’t tell me nothing”.
Working with the likes of respected producers such as Daft Punk, Rick Rubin, Mike Dean, alongside experimental household names like Gessafelstein and ARCA among others, Kanye set out to create an album devoid of the excessive grandiose sound that he was known for. Stripping the album down by cutting out the fat until it was nothing but a skeleton would be the best way to describe the production process. Even the few live performances and music videos exhibit this minimalist, abstract approach. Even down to the album artwork, or rather its lack thereof. Yeezus has been described as an experimental, industrial noise rap album. Heavy use of distorted bass and synths with samples ranging from dancehall, punk rock, drill rap, and electronica blend together to create a sonic world that grabs you by your neck, refusing to let go. Sonically speaking, Yeezus was a big risk for a widely recognized artist such as Kanye, while the underground noise rap scene might not see this as inherently new as groups such as Death Grips and Clipping were just on the come up. For a mainstream artist like Kanye to subvert expectations with an album like this was a big move. Yeezus is the anti-rap album acting as Kanye’s proverbial middle finger to the industry.
From the moment the album begins, listeners are met with the blaring synths of “On Sight” right out of the gate. No build-up or anything, just an ear-piercing macabre that had me wondering if my speakers broke. The bouncy, tribal influenced “Black Skinhead” brings about the same energy of a punk rock track, and may or not have sampled Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People”. (Even Manson himself isn’t sure of it.). He dips his toes into acid house with songs like “I Am a God”, “New Slaves”, and “Hold My Liquor”. Kanye goes full-blown electronic with “Blood On The Leaves” and “Guilt Trip”, before taking it back to his soul sampling roots on the album’s closer “Bound 2”. The album is an intense ride from start to finish.
Lyrically, this is as “Kanye” as it gets. West has been known for being an outrageous individual who will say and do whatever he wants, and not give a damn about what you think, but here that persona is showcased to the absolute extreme. Yeezus was Kanye’s punk moment, he doesn’t give a single fuck about you, critics, or what the public thinks about him at this place and time as he professes in the opener “On Sight” because regardless of how you feel, you’ll still tune in. (“Yeezy season approachin’, fuck whatever ya’ll been hearin.”). On “Black Skinhead” he reasserts that message even further while also criticizing modern rappers who aren’t pushing the boundaries like he is, (“Stop all that coon shit, these niggas ain’t doin’ shit, them niggas ain’t doin shit!”). It’s a line that compares his contemporaries to the stereotypical and racist portrayal of African Americans, only Ye’ could get away with a verse like that. It’s bold and cutthroat, Kanye’s pissed.
“New Slaves” sees Kanye delve deeper into materialism, arguing that the concept of materialism has made society into slaves for high-end fashion and luxury cars by comparing institutionalized racism to the habit of spending money, if the “old slaves” were shackled by racist leaders and ideologies then the “new slaves” are controlled by the big corporations, wanting us to spend our dollars. Kanye becomes vulgar as he vividly depicts his darkest sexual fantasies with “I’m In It” whose lyrics are worth checking out for the sweet and sour sauce line alone. “Send It Up” lavishes in his lifestyle, expecting those to treat him like the superstar he is.
Despite the brash and at times, offensive themes. Kanye does become a bit more contemplative on tracks such as “Hold My Liquor”, where he battles his inner demons with Justin Vernon and Chief Keef. Waking up from being blackout drunk, Kanye looks into a night of drunken madness. From crashing his car to crashing at his ex’s place, to being judged for his reckless behavior. Kanye’s lost love permeates “Blood On The Leaves” as he discusses their choice to make their relationship public in autotune drenched melancholy. (“We could’ve been somebody, thought you could be different bout it, now I know you not it, so let's get on with it.”). “Guilt Trip” keeps up the heartbreaking vibe as Kanye feels guilt for being unlovable, before lightening things up with “Bound 2”, as he expresses his love of being bound to only one person.
However, if there’s one song on here that epitomizes Yeezus and just Kanye as a whole, “I Am a God” would be that song. Seemingly written as a response to a designer’s negative reaction to him entering the fashion industry, Kanye angrily compares himself to the most high as he expects royal treatment throughout the chorus: (“Hurry up with my damn massage, hurry up with my damn ménage, get the Porsche out the damn garage.”). He attacks those who’re quick to adore his music but criticize his demeanor and fashion sense. What makes the track stand out among the rest is because it couldn’t better depict who Kanye West is. As stated numerous times before, Kanye runs by his own rules. Tell him to sit down and he’ll stand up, you say yes, he’ll say no. If he wants to call himself a god, he’ll do it. As if that wasn’t enough, he had the audacity to list “God” himself as a feature. Who does that?
While the album became a critical darling for a number of publications, fan reception was divided. “we want the old Kanye” was a phrase I kept seeing and hearing at the time of the album’s release as many found this abrasive sound to be a stark contrast from his previous works. Even more so when his last album was considered to be his best work period. On the other hand, you have numbers of fans claiming this album to be ahead of its time and that naysayers will come to appreciate it eventually. For a while I found myself caught between both camps, I liked a few songs from the album but overall I felt it was inferior to Kanye’s other works, but I kept revisiting Yeezus every so often, and which each listen I started to appreciate its elements more and more.
There’s also the notion of the direction Kanye would go in following Yeezus, as from this point onward Kanye would continue to polarize the public both with his music (most recently his heavy switch to Gospel with 2019’s Jesus Is King.) and his increasingly outlandish actions, the latter of which could be attributed to his struggles with his own mental health. If there’s anything to take away from this, I’d say if it wasn’t for Yeezus, we most likely wouldn’t get the Kanye West we have right now.
Overall Yeezus is a daring album from one of mainstream hip-hop’s most prolific artists. As a testament to challenge the genre and push boundaries, Yeezus engulfs its listeners with distorted sonics and rebellious lyricism that could only be done by Kanye West himself. It’s an album that truly embodies its creator by exemplifying his persona to its darkest extremes. Where it stands among Kanye fans is still debatable, but one thing is certain: Yeezus is a statement against the norm that only Kanye could accomplish.
