Kanye West - Yeezus

[Janszoon]

Originally Posted by duga

What do you find more likable about Yeezus?

I like the more interesting, stripped down style of the music. On Yeezus I feel like he's imitating a lot of my favorite UK electronica of the past decade and half, as opposed to MBDTF where it sounds like he's channeling Glee.

[Scarlett O'Hara]

Originally Posted by duga

It's not weird at all...those are just my opinions. I could actually see defending the album if you came at it objectively (I mean...I've defended some horrible albums from some of my favorite artists), but just the attitude I feel he has really puts me off the music.

Oh D, that's totally fine. His attitude is very strange sometimes so I can understand why you feel that way. I tend to ignore what artists are as a person and just use them for their music. I don't tend to worry about what they've done or said, it's not my problem.

[duga]

Originally Posted by Vanilla

Oh D, that's totally fine. His attitude is very strange sometimes so I can understand why you feel that way. I tend to ignore what artists are as a person and just use them for their music. I don't tend to worry about what they've done or said, it's not my problem.

Most of the time I'm able to get past an artist's personal stuff and just enjoy their music (hell, I enjoy Burzum from time to time and that dude killed people) but Kanye and his music are so tied together that it's hard for me to do that. I've tried, though. I will say, however, that I can see how people would enjoy it... It's not one of those horrible messes people will defend just because it's Kanye. It's just not my cup of tea.

[Surell]

The music is extremely solid. Kanye is at his whackest.

[TheUnusualMusical]

Originally Posted by duga

I didn't read through all 21 pages of this thread, but thought I'd go ahead and give my impressions.

The album just really pissed me off. I'm convinced now every release of Kanye's is his attempt to see what he can get away with. This is the polar opposite of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Where that album was huge, layered, extensively advertised, had multiple covers, and was generally just as overdone as possible (don't get me wrong...I really liked it) Yeezus is sparse, minimal, there is NO cover art, the advertising was minimal, and it is generally as monotonous as can be. The whole time I felt like he was saying to himself "well I got away with big...I can do whatever the hell I want and people will eat this **** up"...and I kind of felt insulted by the whole thing.

His last album was good, but honestly the guy just makes me mad now. I think I'm done with him.

pretty much agree with everything you have said there

[Soda Pop Fu]

Good points of the album: Production is very good (technically speaking), the album has an overall concept and a powerful energy to it, and it's definitely unique to what Kanye or other mainstream rappers do so it gets points for being different.

Bad points: Ye went experimental with the beats but not with the vocals (Kind of like when Lil Wayne went rock but sang about having sex with white girls over the guitar riffs). The vocals are really bad and it was very difficult for me to make it through this album listening to Kanye in his most egotistical and misogynistic work to date. And one of the main themes is racism, which though it still exist, is hard to take serious as one of the main themes for an album in a country whose media and majority of the population adores Obama, Oprah and Beyonce as if they were royalty. Also, he goes back to singing with his voice drowned out in auto tune which to me is the antithesis of what I call "art."

If you like Kanye and experimental music you will like this album. If you like one but not the other you won't like this album but will be able to appreciate some aspects of it. If you like neither, this will be the worst album you've ever heard. Personally, the big downer for me was Kanye himself. If we are comparing this to other expirimental rap albums (which we should rather than comparing it to J. Cole), Exmilitary's MC Ride comes off as a psychedelic nomadic street prophet "And I know soon come my time, For in mine void a pale horse burns, But I fear not the time I'm taken, Past the point of no return" while in Yeezus Kanye comes across as a spoiled rich kid with a chip on his shoulder and authority issues...or either just a misogynistic douche bag, "Black dick all in your spouse again, I know she like chocolate men, she get off more n*ggas then Cochoran, HUH!"..."I'll f*ck your Hampton spouse, came on her Hampton blouse, and in her Hampton mouth"..."I put my d*ck in her mooooouuuuuuth!"

[Jamesfredette]

It was nice i guess..great job..

[djchameleon]

Originally Posted by Soda Pop Fu

And one of the main themes is racism, which though it still exist, is hard to take serious as one of the main themes for an album in a country whose media and majority of the population adores Obama, Oprah and Beyonce as if they were royalty.

That doesn't make any sense to me. You feel like we are in a post racial america just because a few black celebrities has some fans? Majority of the population adores Obama? Which country are you TALKING about? If someone stubs their foot they want to blame it on Obama. Racism is still every present for the common everyday person that has to deal with it but I guess if you aren't dealing with it then out of sight out of mind right?

Originally Posted by Soda Pop Fu

Also, he goes back to singing with his voice drowned out in auto tune which to me is the antithesis of what I call "art."

There is an art to auto tune even if you can't see past your hatred of auto tune as a whole. It's not only meant to auto correct someone's singing. It's also used for the sound effect that it produces. You may not like it but it actually fits the songs that he uses it on pretty well.


Also, I didn't quote part of your post but you feel like Yeezus should be compared to J. Cole? What? How? Especially if you are talking about J. Cole's most recent release. J. Cole's latest album sounds like one of Kanye's album that would have come out between his first and second albums.

[Arya Stark]

He even talks about how he experiences racism AS a celebrity.

I can think of a couple of situations already where he's experienced racism.
How about when he wore studs at a concert and all of the idiot punks out there (I say idiot punks because punk is meant to be liberal and open, not a club) were freaking out that he was ruining rock and that he shouldn't be wearing that style. Racism at its finest.

Beyonce and Oprah and Obama ALL experience a lot of hatred, often for their race, so just because you (Soda Pop Fu) choose to be blind to it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[Surell]

Originally Posted by djchameleon

Also, I didn't quote part of your post but you feel like Yeezus should be compared to J. Cole? What? How? Especially if you are talking about J. Cole's most recent release. J. Cole's latest album sounds like one of Kanye's album that would have come out between his first and second albums.

No he said the opposite of this, that we should compare it to experimental rap.

Arya, i could see the idiot punks (i do agree that it's dumb) as being mad because he's mainstream while jocking their style or some shit, did they state or imply a racial undertone to their freakout?