In Mixed Emotions, the writers of GoldenPlec discuss the marmite music that splits our opinions, leading to heated debates at 3am on a Monday night.
In this edition we discuss Kanye West's 'Yeezus'.
In the red corner, representing Kanye West is Cork’s Fionnuala Jones.
In the blue corner, representing an alternative view is Danny Kilmartin.
Each writer puts forward their case and has one right of reply.
First up, a party political statement from the nay side.
Hate It
‘Yeezus’ is considered by critics to be one of Kanye’s finest albums, particularly praised for its bold sonic direction.
If “Ye” was trying to create popular music’s equivalent to Tommy Wiseau’s disasterpiece The Room, an opus truly worthy of being touted as “so bad that it’s good” then mission accomplished but truth be told; there are those of us who are to this day unsure whether or not the album was in fact a practical joke.
Take, for example, opening track On Sight which opens with a heavily over-modulated bass loop that doesn’t really go anywhere. Lyrically, the track is just as futile. West had at this point in his career cemented himself as hip hop’s egoist extraordinaire but there’s little to be found in terms of witticism or sharpness (“Soon as I pull up and park the Benz / We get this bitch shaking like Parkinsons”).
It really doesn’t get any better. On I Am A God we have random stop-starts and an obnoxious synth bleep that doesn’t add anything of value to an already over the top, melodramatic instrumental and even worse lyrics (“In a French-ass restaurant / Hurry up with my damn croissants… I just talked to Jesus / He said, "What up, Yeezus?" / I said, "Shit I'm chillin' / Tryna stack these millions"). Kanye’s bars were reportedly written and recorded with two weeks to spare until the album’s release and it really shows.
With that said, Yeezus has its moments. Black Skinhead is undeniably catchy. The outro to New Slaves, with its Hungarian prog-rock sample and Frank Ocean’s ever-soulful croon, is simply sublime and TNGHT’s banger-riffic production on Blood On The Leaves is another highlight. But for every moment of fleeting genius, there is a vocoded Chief Keef or Kid Cudi here or a dumb, outlandish lyric there or a really distracting sample all over Bound 2 (let’s not even discuss that music video).
While Kanye can be commended for drawing inspiration from leftfield hip hop artists like Saul Williams, Odd Future and Death Grips and trying to take it to a mainstream audience, the effort comes off as both contrived and half-baked. Everything from the abrasive, minimal production, to the album artwork or lack thereof, to the rushed lyrics and forced vocal delivery (we’re used to the Auto Tune but the screaming is weak) show a rap icon totally out of his depth.
Love It
And the Lord Yeezus said, “let there be industrialised rap”, and it was so.
‘Yeezus’ descended from heavens on June 18th 2013, changing the course of Kanye West’s artistry and legacy forever.
West traded avant-garde R&B for something wholly more abrasive, giving us the first real and raw glimpse of his inner workings.
At the time, yes, it was lightyears away from what we associated with West, or with the wider genre, but what was a difficult transition resulted in one of the most exciting and innovative records of the year.
While feelings of fear manifest and an ego broods on the record, ‘Yeezus’ is rage personified - a statement of intent; an internal reflection of how West perceives black excellence.
What he might have gotten wrong on ‘808s And Heartbreaks’, he gets it so, so right on ‘Yeezus’. But undoubtedly, one couldn’t have happened without the other.
Is it a comfortable listen? Initially, no.
But why wouldn’t someone want to challenge how they interpret an artist who they’d seen it all with?
In fact, ‘Yeezus’ alternative sound, embodying acid house and sharp electronic flourishes probably gained him a new troupe of fans.
And who could deny its impact on pop culture? Consider the video for Bound 2 - even the moniker of ‘Yeezus’ has had its iconic status solidified.
‘Yeezus’ is a shock to the system, but a welcome one at that.
More Hate
If it was Kanye who said ‘let there be industrialised rap’, then trust me; he was paraphrasing a whole litany of artists who said so before him.
Artists have been blending hip-hop beats with harsh and threatening sounds since way back in the 1980s to varying degrees of commercial success and sonic accessibility.
While there have been some landmark albums in the years since then (1992’s ‘Satyricon’ by Meat Beat Manifesto was definitely a reference point for Kanye on this album), the fact of the matter is that industrial hip hop, or ‘noise hop’ if you like, had really been picking up steam in the late-Noughties and early 2010s with the likes of Dälek, Saul Williams (another reference point), Death Grips (probably the biggest reference point), Blackie and Clipping releasing relatively successful and highly regarded albums in the years running up to 2013. Even long-time hip hop iconoclast and now one-half of Run The Jewels, rapper/producer El-P dipped his toes into this pool of sound on his most recent solo effort, ‘Cancer 4 Cure’ in 2012; just one year before Yeezus was released.
Is ‘Yeezus’ is experimental? Sure. For him, but given the global magnitude of his audience and his status within the music industry he should be commended for trying to take this sound to the mainstream.
Is ‘Yeezus’ is an uncomfortable, challenging listen? It is, in two very different ways. One, is that for Kanye fans it’s entirely different to everything he has done before. That and, y’know, it not really being very good with thanks to the brittle production and weak bars.
Most importantly, is it innovative? Nope. Sorry. Absolutely not, and this is where the biggest issue can be taken with the album. It’s been done, and it’s been done better, and if we’re going to be totally honest; listening to ‘Yeezus’ really does feel like Kanye heard some up and coming artists who are truly pushing boundaries in hip hop and simply decided that he wanted to be ahead of the curve and put out a contrived, half-assed take on a trendy sound that gets a pass… because it’s Kanye.
Who can deny its influence on pop culture? Industrial hip hop is still very much a niche sound, and the Bound 2 video was a source of amusement and parody. The experiment failed. Kanye would return to pop-rap on the largely unfinished but infinitely more rewarding ‘The Life of Pablo’.
More Love
It would be naive to suggest that Kanye reinvented the wheel with this album - even more so to suggest that he was responsible for creating the aforementioned genre. But consider where Kanye was in 2013. Kanye was at a crossroads - musically and artistically. He was back on the upswing, having gone from being one of the most revered artists to one of the most quickly derided artists with the snatch of a mic.
Within his own sphere, what he did next was extremely important. Kanye was widely regarded at the time, for the most part, as a TV rapper. He had his diehards in pink polos and shutter shades, but a larger majority of his audience were fair weather fans. They recoiled at the use of autotune on '808s And Heartbreaks', and rolled theirs eyes at the loftiness of 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'. And Kanye gradually grew not to care about fake fans (or friends). But he still wanted to give them something new.
This core group would have been largely unaware of the artists mentioned in the previous response (a generalisation here, admittedly, but perhaps not an entirely unfair one). It's important to consider as well how influential he remained in what he did sonically. At a time when he was expected to dole out another 'MBDTF' or 'The College Dropout', Kanye said no. Instead of appeasing the masses, he sought to educate them on what can be achieved beyond the perceived boundaries of genre.