Yeezus is the sixth solo studio album by American hip-hop recording artist and producer Kanye West. It was released on June 18, 2013, by Def Jam Recordings. The album was primarily recorded in Paris, with West enlisting various artists and close collaborators for work and production. Just a week before its release, West brought in producer Rick Rubin to strip down the record’s sound, resulting in a minimalist and raw approach. Musically, Yeezus is darker and sonically experimental, combining elements of Chicago drill, dancehall, acid house, and industrial music. The album marked a significant departure from West’s previous works by Read more on Last.fm.
Oh sweet baby Yeezus! Unlike anything I’ve heard come out of the Hip-Hop community in awhile. I just really wish it wasn’t from Kanye.
Minimalism on the radio? You can say what you want about West as a societal nuisance, but there’s no denying the fresh, intensely brain rattling music contained here. It’s top shelf indifference, served up with surprisingly little garnish, just the elementals. Truly epic stuff.
I can’t stop listening to it. This is the kind of confrontational, complex, cerebral stuff that BELONGS in the mainstream.
‘Yeezus’ is one of the most creative, entertaining, and impassioned things to come out of hip-hop in the last decade; the music and the production and the delivery are above reproach.
Unfortunately, Kanye West is on it, and his lyrics are absolutely unbearable. He espouses insurmountable levels of hypocrisy, and the only way around it is to assume he’s so clever that he’s created a caricature of himself on purpose to make a point. I would not take that bet.
It’s still awesome, though.