Tag Archives: Yeezus

VIDEO: Kanye West Clashes w/ TMZ Paparazzi at LAX

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TMZ recently released footage of Kanye West running into paparazzi outside of LAX and becoming instantly upset after one tries to spark up a conversation.  Yeezy can be seen in the clip exiting his vehicle and immediately is approached by the paparazzo who begins asking him questions and informs Ye that he’s a big fan.  West doesn’t even entertain his comments and proceeds to instruct the cameraman to never talk or ask him questions again but also tells him to send the word out.  Within his hand blocking the camera lens, Yeezy walks away but not before being pursued once again by the TMZ paparazzo. Check out what happened next and what Yeezy had to say after he was asked about Watch The Throne 2.

VIDEO: Jay-Z Says He Doesn’t Need Money, Obama’s Inauguration Got Ratchet + More

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Jay-Z who is currently promoting his new album Magna Carta Holy Grail, stopped by Hot 97 for a one-on-one interview with the lovely Angie Martinez.  In this first clip above, Hov opens things up by revealing that he prefers to stay off social media platforms and enforces a certain code of ethics in his chosen circle, however, he admits to giving Lenny S. the exclusive green light to post what he desires.  Jay also opens up about his memorable Q&A session with fans on Twitter, the Brooklyn Nets, and tells Angie he no longer needs money.

In part two of Hot 97’s exclusive interview with Jay-Z and Angie Martinez, Hov gives his opinion on the growing public backlash towards Miley Cyrus and the recent album releases from J. Cole, Wale and Kanye West.  Jigga man also praises Kanye’s latest effort with Yeezus and explains why he feels the album is artistic and great for hip hop.  Continuing with the interview, Jay enlightens Angie to the fact that Beyonce has a vault of hit records they enjoy listening to privately and also shares his experience with attending President Barack Obama’s inauguration which apparently ended up getting ratchet.

 

VIDEO: Kanye West – Black Skinhead

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While the world tunes into Big Brother’s (Jay-Z) social media takeover on Twitter, Kanye West decided to unleash the official video treatment for “Black Skinhead” off his new album Yeezus.  Staying in tune with his unique and recent creative direction, West delivers an animated music video for his new single.  Featured in the video is a digitized 3D version of Ye doin’ his thing primarily in the dark alongside visuals of ferocious dogs and images of black KKK hoodies.  In the event the video below gets taken down be sure to CLICK HERE to watch Kanye’s latest offering.

UPDATE: So it looks like the video was pulled from the internet, however, in the provided link above you can still see what appears to be perhaps an early version of the visual that was prematurely leaked without authorization.

VIDEO: Kanye West – American Psycho | Yeezus Trailer

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Kanye West continues his artistic promotional run for his upcoming album Yeezus with a new teaser which has recently hit the net.  The trailer which serves as a teaser to the album features Scott Disick portraying actor Christian Bale’s character and reenacting a scene from the 2000 film American Psycho.  Also starring the in the trailer as a gullible victim is Kim Kardashian’s friend Jonathan Cheban.  

In the clip above, Disick is seen behaving strangely, pacing back and forth, praising Kanye West’s Yeezus album while “New Slaves” plays in the background, and wielding an axe to which he eventually uses to gruesomely kill Cheban’s character.  For Kanye, this type of outside the box promotion works simply because it’s different and will prompt a discussion among viewers.  

FULL ALBUM REVIEW: Kanye West – Yeezus

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In typical digital fashion these days, Kanye West’s anticipated album Yeezus has found its way onto the internet and subsequently has taken over since as the topic of discussion.  Musically, the album is a far cry from any of West’s past work and not only stands out sonically but lyrically as well.  With disturbing screams and yells, the Chicago rapper breathes new life with a unique sound all his own and spits his soul over hard hitting production.  In other words, Yeezus is sure to go down as a classic and one of Kanye’s most impressive bodies of work from his album catalog.

On the Daft Punk produced opening track “On Sight”, the heavy electronic and futuristic vibe is inviting and sets the appropriate tone to kick things off with.  The track showcases Yeezy lyrically doing his thing over heavy synthesized production and pauses once for what feels like a brief sample based bridge or short hook.  Needless to say, Kanye’s wordplay and delivery syncs well with the tracks rough edges and gritty feel.

Next, “Black Skinhead” follows suit and continues the futuristic theme of the album.  Produced by Daft Punk, Travi$ Scott and Mike Dean the bouncy track falls right into place with heavy drums, hard bass, rough guitar riffs and a distinctive eerie sample reminiscent of a woman screeching.  With an aggressive delivery, Kanye spits and screams controversial lyrics that oppose and challenge social norms and expectations.  The MC embraces his rebel mentality and confronts the status quo.  The brutal honesty in his verses commands your attention.  This is definitely a standout track off the album.

Track number three on the album and controversially titled “I Am A God”, apparently features God and highlights Mr. West’s braggadocious side in all its glory.  Kanye is most certainly feeling himself and rightfully so.  Accompanied by banging 808’s and some haunting synth work, The G.O.O.D. Music front man credits himself for bringing real rap back and dismisses the overwhelming lack of faith and hate he suffered early on in his career.  Comparing himself to Michael Jordan, Ye speaks on his current position in the game and claims he and his crew are the freshest of them all.  The tone and feel of “I Am A God” is different and dark and even has West yelling and sounding out of breath as if he recorded the song while running for his life.  Production credits on this track go to Daft Punk, Kanye West, Hudson Mohawke, Travi$ Scott, Mike Dean and Rick Rubin.

Previously heard and seen across different building locations around the world is track number four titled “New Slaves”.  Singer Frank Ocean accompanies Kanye with a feature towards the end of the dark track with some soft vocals for melodic balance.  Kanye dishes thought provoking rhymes and again engages socio-political norms in the hopes of waking listeners up from a slave like mentality.  Challenging the powers that be like big corporations and lucrative privately owned prisons, Ye spits revolutionary raps over some bouncy synth and solid bass provided by Daft Punk, Travi$ Scott, Hudson Mohawke and Mike Dean.  “New Slaves” clearly demonstrates why Kanye would much rather prefer to be a “dick than a swallower”.

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“Hold My Liquor” is the fifth track featured on Yeezus and features Chicago knucklehead Chief Keef.  Surprisingly, the young rapper finds a nice auto-tuned pocket to fit in on the track and confesses he can’t hold his liquor on the song’s infectious hook.  Justin Vernon from Bon Iver also makes an appearance and offers up some soothing and calm vocals along key portions of the track.  Produced by Young Chop, Mike Dean, Arca and Rick Rubin “Hold My Liquor” finds West doing his thing over dark, relaxing and laid back production sporting a fitting bass line and catchy effects.  The stand out song appears to showcase Kanye contemplating over a past relationship with deep introspective rhymes and the role alcohol played in it all.

Next up, track number six “I’m In It” picks the tempo back up and helps the album transition nicely into its second act.  Ye spits raw sexual raps and brags about pleasuring his woman over slapping drums, gritty synth and hard hitting bass alongside recent production signee Travi$ Scott.  Produced by RZA, Travi$ Scott and Mike Dean the explicit nature of the track also features female moaning samples to set the appropriate mood.  Though personally not a big favorite on mines,  “I’m In It” has the potential to be a fan favorite and set any late night function off right with its upbeat appeal.

Track number seven, “Blood On The Leaves”, finds Kanye cutting up and incorporating a sample from Nina Simone’s cover of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” which addresses racism and lynchings.  Over soothing keys and pounding bass, Kanye offers up strong opinions and more societal critique raps.  Armed with auto-tuned conscious rhymes and a feature from singer Tony Williams, Ye tackles the struggles of relationships, thirsty side chicks, and even touches on abortion.  “Blood On The Leaves” is deep and thought provoking to say the least.  Production credits for “Blood On The Leaves” go to TNGHT, Kanye West and Mike Dean.

“Guilt Trip” comes in at track number eight and features former G.O.O.D. Music artist but still good friend KiD CuDi.  Produced Symbolyc One, Arca, Travi$ Scott, Mike Dean and Ackeejuice Rockers the track takes a page out of Pusha T’s book and utilizes some of the same elements from his “Chief Rocka” sample selection that was used on his hit “Blocka”.  Though the production on the song provides a nice change of pace sonically with the use of violins and different effects, the only one that feels right at home on the track is KiD CuDi.  It almost seems like this could have made the cut onto Indicud.  It would have been great to see a little more effort go into the hook as well rather than simply chopping the sample to repeat itself.   Though far from horrible, “Guilt Trip” feels more like a filler like “I’m In It”.

Next, “Send It Up” hits number nine on the track list and is sure to be a smash hit in the club.  Chicago artist King L adds his touch on the high energy “Beenie Man” sample laced joint along with rapper Iamsu .  Infused with heavy drums and high pitched synth horns, the song is infused with different elements from dance hall to hip hop and is sure to end up a fan favorite.  Intended for a night life audience, the two rappers respectively hold down their verses and offer up rhymes about women, club life, and living the boss lifestyle.  Had West went the conventional radio route, perhaps this could have been the promotional single for the album.  Production credits for “Send It Up” go to Gesaffelstein, Arca, Daft Punk, and Hudson Mohawke.

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For the final curtain call on the album, “Bound 2” comes in at track number ten.  A short intro snippet of “Bound 2” was recently released and had the internet going nuts with its infectious sample.  Produced by Kanye West, No I.D., Symbolyc One, The Heatmakerz and Rick Rubin the track serves as a great reminder to listeners on just why they became fans of the Louis Vuitton Don in the first place with its soulful College Dropout sound.  Singer and long time collaborator, Charlie Wilson, also makes an appearance as a feature on the track and sets up the hook nicely on the song’s bridge parts.  Armed with a catchy hook, “Bound 2” showcases Kanye spitting honest raps about the up’s and downs of relationships and loving someone enough to stick it out to the end.  If you’ve been a fan of Kanye from the beginning “Bound 2” has to be considered in your top favorite three songs off the album.

Yeezus was well worth the wait.  Though the album only delivers a total of 10 songs and feels a bit short it definitely offers something different not only for West’s catalog but for hip hop fans and the genre in general.  Kanye’s creative abilities and desire to be innovative should be commended and appreciated in an industry where moments can become very stagnant and complacent.  It’s easy to see why Kanye would seek out Rick Ruben to participate in delivering a project which from the beginning has embodied a rebellious platform, purposely strayed from conventional methods and sets out to expand on the growth of the genre.  Overall, Kanye brings the content, lyricism, and crazy production all to the table with Yeezus and once again delivers a unique experience that solidifies his position at the top.

-Luie Carrion

VIDEO: Kanye West In The Studio w/ Rick Ruben & Mike Dean Recording “I Am God”

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Here is some weird looking and short footage of the self proclaimed “God” rapper Kanye West in the studio working on the controversially titled “I Am God” track off his upcoming Yeezus album.  It appears as the final stretch before the release date approaches we are seeing more and more from West in a possible effort to do some sort of promotion at least online for the project.  The edit shows West in the studio with everything blacked out around him except Rick Ruben and Mike Dean who are seated right next to Ye as he records in the middle of the room.  I wonder what it is they don’t want us or didn’t think was important to see in the studio?  Yeezus drops on June 18.

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VIDEO: Kanye Says His Slave Name Is West & His God Name is Yeezus

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During Kanye West’s Monday Night Listening session, the controversial artist decided to say speak out and share his creative vision on his upcoming album Yeezus.  Yeezy opened up about his intentional rebellious direction for the project and thanked a handful of people that assisted him in the process including producer Rick Rubin who appears to have played an essential role.  Miss Info TV was live in attendance to capture the honest moment as Kanye addressed the crowd of supporters and before putting the microphone down clarified that his slave name was West and his God name was “Yeezus”.

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VIDEO: Kanye West Previews “Send It Up” ft. King Louie

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Kanye West recently held a star studded official listening session last Monday at Milk Studios in Manhattan for his upcoming album Yeezus and decided to treat the crowd with a new track off the project titled “Send It Up”.  The bouncy club record includes a distinctive Beenie Man sample and features rapper King Louie.  From the looks of the footage that was captured, the new cut had everybody excited that was in attendance which included the likes of Jay-Z, Beyonce, Busta Rhymes, and more.

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NEWS: Kanye West Interview w/ New York Times

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kanyeyeezusKanye West recently sat down with Jon Caramanica of the New York Times for a rare Q&A session that lasted off and on for a period of three days.  Held up in Malibu, California recording studio Shangri-la, Ye has been in the process of finalizing and completing his sixth studio album Yeezus with legendary producer Rick Rubin.  This recent interview comes as a surprise to everyone due to the fact that Kanye has not participated in any for a few year years and has stood firm on his reluctance to do so.  However, Yeezy decides to open up on a number of topics including his upcoming album, past bodies of work like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the MTV incident with Taylor Swift, Yeezus, evolving as an artist and much more.  Check out some excerpts from the article below and click HERE for the full interview.

You’ve won a lot of Grammys.

“[My Beautiful] Dark [Twisted] Fantasy” and “Watch the Throne”: neither was nominated for Album of the Year, and I made both of those in one year. I don’t know if this is statistically right, but I’m assuming I have the most Grammys of anyone my age, but I haven’t won one against a white person.

But the thing is, I don’t care about the Grammys; I just would like for the statistics to be more accurate.

You want the historical record to be right.

Yeah, I don’t want them to rewrite history right in front of us. At least, not on my clock. I really appreciate the moments that I was able to win rap album of the year or whatever. But after a while, it’s like: “Wait a second; this isn’t fair. This is a setup.” I remember when both Gnarls Barkley and Justin [Timberlake] lost for Album of the Year, and I looked at Justin, and I was like: “Do you want me to go onstage for you? You know, do you want me to fight” —

For you.

For what’s right. I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things. So when the next little girl that wants to be, you know, a musician and give up her anonymity and her voice to express her talent and bring something special to the world, and it’s time for us to roll out and say, “Did this person have the biggest thing of the year?” — that thing is more fair because I was there.

But has that instinct led you astray? Like the Taylor Swift interruption at the MTV Video Music Awards, things like that.

It’s only led me to complete awesomeness at all times. It’s only led me to awesome truth and awesomeness. Beauty, truth, awesomeness. That’s all it is.

A lot happened between “Graduation” and “808s,” obviously: a lot of struggle, a lot of tough things for you. [Mr. West’s mother died in 2007.]

Creative output, you know, is just pain. I’m going to be cliché for a minute and say that great art comes from pain. But also I’d say a bigger statement than that is: Great art comes from great artists. There’s a bunch of people that are hurt that still couldn’t have made the album that was super-polarizing and redefined the sound of radio.

Do you feel like “808s” is the album of yours that has had the most impact?

There are people who have figured out the exact, you know, Kanye West formula, the mix between “Graduation” and “808s,” and were able to become more successful at it. “Stronger” was the first, like, dance-rap song that resonated to that level, and then “808s” was the first album of that kind, you know? It was the first, like, black new wave album. I didn’t realize I was new wave until this project. Thus my connection with [the graphic designer] Peter Saville, with Raf Simons, with high-end fashion, with minor chords. I hadn’t heard new wave! But I am a black new wave artist.

On “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” there’s a really affectionate scene where you go and help Kim sort through her clothes.

That was from a place of love. It’s hard when people read things in a lot of different ways. You know, the amount of backlash I got from it is when I decided to not be on the show anymore. And it’s not that I have an issue with the show; I just have an issue with the amount of backlash that I get. Because I just see like, an amazing person that I’m in love with that I want to help.

Did you think differently about family after your mother passed?

Yeah, because my mother was — you know, I have family, but I was with my mother 80 percent of the time. My mom was basically — [pause]

Was your family.

Yeah, that’s all I have to say about that.

Birthing ‘Yeezus’

One of the things I thought when I heard the new record was, “This is the anti-‘College Dropout.’ ” It feels like you’re shedding skin. Back then, you were like: “I want more sounds. I want more complicated raps. I want all the things.” At what point did that change?

Architecture — you know, this one Corbusier lamp was like, my greatest inspiration. I lived in Paris in this loft space and recorded in my living room, and it just had the worst acoustics possible, but also the songs had to be super simple, because if you turned up some complicated sound and a track with too much bass, it’s not going to work in that space. This is earlier this year. I would go to museums and just like, the Louvre would have a furniture exhibit, and I visited it like, five times, even privately. And I would go see actual Corbusier homes in real life and just talk about, you know, why did they design it? They did like, the biggest glass panes that had ever been done. Like I say, I’m a minimalist in a rapper’s body. It’s cool to bring all those vibes and then eventually come back to Rick [Rubin], because I would always think about Def Jam.

 

 

AUDIO: Kanye West – Bound | Snippet + Yeezus Official Artwork

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YeezusLooks like Def Jam has finally released and confirmed the official artwork for Kanye West’s upcoming Yeezus album.  The artwork is similar to the decoys that were circulated throughout the internet a few weeks ago.  Here we have a simple blank CD with the album’s track list around the edges placed in a clear jewel case.  The only thing that really stands out is what appears to be a piece of red tape with the album title written across it very sloppy in black sharpy.

Below is also a recent snippet that was released for a track titled “Bound” which will be featured on Yeezus.  I can’t lie, I’m very excited to see what Kanye has in store for hip hop fans with this album.  Yeezus will be in stores and digitally available on June 18.