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I'll say this for the lyrics: at least the groaners are stupid enough to be memorable. It's like he just doesn't care what stupid phrase he turns into an anthem anymore. "It doesn't mean anything! It's provocative! It get's the people going!" The best thing about this album is that anything goes. It goes stupid and it goes hard. I almost see "Swaghili™" Copyright 2013© Kanye West
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 11:42 |
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# ? Jun 4, 2024 09:56 |
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I'm not a devoted fan of Kanye but I have to admit Yeezus is a great album. In a world of followers, going in a slightly different direction is an act of rebellion. Someone with Kanye's clout can and should push the boundaries of his music just for the music's sake. And he pulls it off. He got solid reputable producers to make a really solid album that doesn't sound like any other hiphop album. In the context of music in general, I'm not too impressed because I've heard all this before in different genres. But Yeezus sounds good and sounds different without too much pomp or pretense. The minimalist and dark mood is done well and cohesively. Kanye has a lot of practice doing this on his past albums but that doesn't take away from how good Yeezus is. He balances his experimentation and what people expect from him a lot better here than on MBDTF IMO. I think it is credit to his and his collaborators talent to keep the tone of the album consistent without bening samey. Yeezus is a legitimate contribution to hiphop without making any hyperbole. However, its hard to hear old Kanye rhymes over new Kanye production. The rapper and the producer feel out of sync. At Kanye's core, he's a student of RZA and Pete Rock and he sounds way more comfortable over soul samples and 808s. I could feel his emotions on 808s and heartbreaks. But Yeezus feels like a A+ produced album with C+ lyrics. I don't think this takes away from Kanye's accomplishments as a producer but it holds the album back for me. I think Pusha T or Common or a lot of people would sound way better on this production than Kanye himself. temple fucked around with this message at 15:58 on Jun 16, 2013 |
# ? Jun 16, 2013 15:53 |
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temple posted:But Yeezus feels like a A+ produced album with C+ lyrics. I don't think this takes away from Kanye's accomplishments as a producers but it holds the album back for me.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 15:55 |
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Don't judge 'em Joe Brown
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 16:16 |
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Hanks Lust Cafe posted:Kanye...ugh. That poo poo is amazing what are you ughing about? I love this ignorant poo poo from Kanye.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 18:18 |
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Digital deluxe edition might be dropping Tuesday, with four extra tracks apparently, but then again who knows anymore at this point?
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 18:18 |
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I just learned that Rick Rubin dropped like 150 pounds a couple of years ago. I had no idea. What happened, jolly fat man? Also, Tuesday can't come soon enough.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 18:39 |
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I wonder what rappers are going to come up inspired by Yeezus? you know, like how 808's created Drake and all that.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 18:48 |
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Is... Is Kanye parodying himself? It honestly feels like that sometimes. This album is bizarre, in some good but mostly bad ways. Black Skinhead is real good but I can't help but groan at a lot of the tracks.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 18:49 |
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The production is out of this loving world. Just incredible. The second half of the album, especially, gets very dark and the atmosphere is something few (hip-hop) producers could ever pull off. The lyrics are mostly terrible and there are some seriously embarrassing verses. It doesn't matter if it's about him not giving a gently caress, or parodying himself, or whatever bullshit excuse the critics will make up for it. Basically, it's overall how I felt about My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, except I think the production is 'better' (obviously different, hard to compare) on Yeezus, and the lyrics are even worse--bad enough to be distracting. ^burtle posted:So bizarre that the guy paraphrases Gold Digger at the end of Blood on the Leaves a few weeks before his kid is about to be born. At the end of "On Sight", he almost repeats the words from Stronger ("I need you right now") except without the "you". Hip Gelatinous Cube fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Jun 16, 2013 |
# ? Jun 16, 2013 19:26 |
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apophenium posted:Is... Is Kanye parodying himself? It honestly feels like that sometimes. This album is bizarre, in some good but mostly bad ways. Black Skinhead is real good but I can't help but groan at a lot of the tracks.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 19:48 |
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Although I think Yeezus and MBDTF are very different albums, I think the only thing holding back Yeezus from being as good as MBDTF is the few lines that he really botches. "I be speaking swaghili"? really? still really love this album though. Just doesn't have that perfectionist feel that MBDTF had, but it seems like he wasn't trying to achieve that with Yeezus
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 20:01 |
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FuzzyWuzzy posted:Just doesn't have that perfectionist feel that MBDTF had, but it seems like he wasn't trying to achieve that with Yeezus I'd say the entire album has a thrown together aesthetic going on, production and lyrics. I like that about it, but to each their own. I think Kanye would like to be a perfectionist but the only way he knows how is to add more, never to take away. MBDTF was great but I like that Yeezus is relatively less belabored and more unified. Also I find that the guest stars on this album fit in better, often being used as background textures or almost as samples, compared to MBDTF which got exhausting at times with giving each guest their own little moment to shine (or just kinda be there).
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 20:15 |
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FuzzyWuzzy posted:Although I think Yeezus and MBDTF are very different albums, I think the only thing holding back Yeezus from being as good as MBDTF is the few lines that he really botches. Those are my favourite parts! Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I am listening to Kanye for excellent production (check), and the cheesy lyrics are just something my friends and I can laugh about. "I be speaking swaghili" is easily one of my favourite lines. Not to say it's good, just... fun? Eh. Regardless, I enjoy the poo poo out of this album, as I said above. It just gets better.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 20:17 |
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A Kanye album without some godawful lyrics is like a McDonald's without fries.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 20:21 |
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sethsez posted:A Kanye album without some godawful lyrics is like a McDonald's without fries. Do people really think his early albums have subpar lyrics? College dropout and late registration have pretty good lyrics and are pretty funny at some points (phd: pretty huge dick). Sure, those lyrics aren't revolutionary or amazing, but there pretty catchy and fun to listen to with the A+ production.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 20:37 |
I think most modern rap lyrics are pretty bad. At least Kanye's are bad in a way that's so ridiculous that they nearly loop back around to being clever again. E: And not all music or art in general needs to be "fun." There's value in ugly, angry, raw things as well. And that's where a good portion of this album falls.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 20:39 |
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Heard on another forum... "909s and Homicide"
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 20:48 |
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Kanye's lyrics strike me, a relative newcomer to rap music, as extremely honest. No bullshitting, trickery or trying to seem cool, just whatever happens to come to his mind, totally raw and brutal and straight to the point. Almost like a stream of consciousness, freestyle rap kind of thing. e: Especially on this album!
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 20:51 |
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CAT rear end now!!! posted:Kanye's lyrics strike me, a relative newcomer to rap music, as extremely honest. No bullshitting, trickery or trying to seem cool, just whatever happens to come to his mind, totally raw and brutal and straight to the point. Almost like a stream of consciousness, freestyle rap kind of thing. Welcome to rap!
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 21:45 |
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TheJoker138 posted:E: And not all music or art in general needs to be "fun." There's value in ugly, angry, raw things as well. And that's where a good portion of this album falls. Oh of course, don't get me wrong. I was just talking about those instances of over-the-top cheesiness. I totally agree, the best parts of this album are the darkest and rawest parts.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 22:00 |
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What happened with Kanye and fashion?
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 22:08 |
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quote:Start a fight club, brad reputation Worst line of the album, imo.
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 22:29 |
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Bown posted:What happened with Kanye and fashion? Diplo I think
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 22:38 |
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I like Kanye's lyrics because while they definitely can be extremely cheesy and ridiculous, they just have a way of sticking around in your head. On this album, I like the juxtaposition of the almost nonsensical rambling vocals mixed with the nightmarish atmosphere of the music. I feel like after him crafting his big, crescendo-filled, all-star cast magnum opus in MBDTF, this is in many ways the complete opposite like others have already said. It feels disjointed, thorny, pulsating, and at times it almost makes you a little uncomfortable as the listener. "Black Skinhead" sounds like getting chased by a serial killer, and there is something deeply unsettling about Bon Iver crooning in a haze backed by barking dogs in "I'm In It".
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# ? Jun 16, 2013 23:05 |
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Bown posted:What happened with Kanye and fashion? http://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-fashion-collection-reviews-2012-9?op=1 Then he had this to say later quote:So when I used to go to fashion shows with my boys and we’d be eight deep, it was almost like a civil rights, like a sit-in. They wouldn’t even let us in. They had no idea what rap would mean to this world, what rap would mean to the art world. Before the Kendrick Lamars and the A$AP Rockys, it was Kanye West in a hotel room at the Le Maurice getting a ‘no, no, no, no’ to every single fashion show.
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 00:02 |
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sethsez posted:A Kanye album without some godawful lyrics is like a McDonald's without fries. I'd say it's more like McDonald's fries but without the salt - the main item is there but it's not the reason you enjoy it.
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 00:34 |
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"Swaghili" is awesome and shame on you all for not liking it. Kanye has a lot of great lines on this album, I don't really get the complaints.
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 00:38 |
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an skeleton posted:"Swaghili" is awesome and shame on you all for not liking it. Kanye has a lot of great lines on this album, I don't really get the complaints. It's been stated by Rick Rubin that Kanye, an already middling lyricist, rushed a couple songs to meet the deadline. The fact that he compared it to scoring 40 points in the fourth quarter leaves him open to criticism.
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 01:41 |
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I think his awful lyrics and singing are kind of endearing. He makes albums with incredible production and themes, but ultimately in the end it's Kanye's voice on top of them, with hit or miss lyrics, decent rapping, and pretty awful singing, that makes him so great. Part of the appeal to me of 808s and this album, though, is the fact that he's putting himself out there a little. By comparison, some of the more straightforward tracks on Dark Fantasy felt a bit more calculated - I like the slightly unhinged Kanye that's full of energy and passion. I think the rush to complete the lyrics maybe forced his hand a little bit, but it's great because he makes up for talent with raw energy. Blood on the Leaves is a great example of this, I can just imagine him warbling over it at the last minute with about half the lyrics finished, but the emotion really makes the song what it is. I can get carefully thought out lyrics and flow from other artists, but I Kanye's stream of consciousness semi-singing/semi-rapping/semi-ranting, even with a lot of rough edges, certainly has its own appeal. NicelyNice fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Jun 17, 2013 |
# ? Jun 17, 2013 01:48 |
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Only on my second listen, but I'm not hugely loving this so far. There's a few cool tracks but it's just so dark and oppressive that it's difficult to love. That said, big thumbs up to Ye for doing something different - this is a very different album to MBDTF and Watch the Throne. I'd be interested in exploring further what someone was saying a page or so back - what leads someone to make such a dark and angry album at what's otherwise a happy time in their life?
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 01:48 |
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Doesn't sound like a happy time.
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 02:12 |
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Yeah that religious post was mocking that dude that said he didn't like the language on a loving kanye west album. UH HUH HONEY
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 02:13 |
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At 40 minutes, 4 more bonus tracks is gonna be like another 20% of an album and I have no clue what to expect.
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 02:17 |
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NicelyNice posted:I think his awful lyrics and singing are kind of endearing. He makes albums with incredible production and themes, but ultimately in the end it's Kanye's voice on top of them, with hit or miss lyrics, decent rapping, and pretty awful singing, that makes him so great. Part of the appeal to me of 808s and this album, though, is the fact that he's putting himself out there a little. By comparison, some of the more straightforward tracks on Dark Fantasy felt a bit more calculated - I like the slightly unhinged Kanye that's full of energy and passion. I agree with pretty much all of this. This album is hilarious and great because it's this sludgy, experimental mess with house beats and Billy Holiday samples and songs that literally turn into other songs for 4 bar sections before reverting to one of the biggest popstars alive rapping over Bobby Lee about trying to avoid getting semen on his carpet. It's also brilliantly produced to sound like it's poorly produced, with deliberate rough cuts and sections of one-beat-long radio silence. I can't really rank it against his others just yet, although it's probably closer to the bottom, but I still think it's fantastic.
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 02:22 |
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Does anyone else love I'm In It? The song goes so many random directions. A few tempo changes. Horrible, over the top lyrics. It's kind of breathtaking and puzzling.
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 02:42 |
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echronorian posted:Does anyone else love I'm In It? The song goes so many random directions. A few tempo changes. Horrible, over the top lyrics. It's kind of breathtaking and puzzling. I loving love it and i think it's straight up distilled kanye
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 02:49 |
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The leak is 40 minutes long, its easy to listen to the album multiple times. I would dare to say some Black skinhead and New slaves could a be a minute shorter and work just as well. The length is an improvement over MBDTF to me because I know when a Yeezus song ends and begins instead of an intro, musical break, song, epilogue, intro for the intro type production. It doesn't sound as rushed as it sounds brief and I enjoy that. I don't need Kanye pouring out every influence he had on every album. The lyrics aren't as bad as I took them on Friday but they seem like they belong on a different album. Black Skinhead/New slaves being the exception. I wish the whole album leaned more in that direction but also appreciate that Kanye made traditional raps or whatever people expect from him. Still, On Sight is my jam and feels fresh (something I haven't felt about hiphop for a while). temple fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Jun 17, 2013 |
# ? Jun 17, 2013 03:02 |
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Really missing Pusha on the album.
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 03:14 |
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# ? Jun 4, 2024 09:56 |
KVeezy3 posted:It's been stated by Rick Rubin that Kanye, an already middling lyricist, rushed a couple songs to meet the deadline. The fact that he compared it to scoring 40 points in the fourth quarter leaves him open to criticism. Yeah I yearn for the days of humble Kanye as well
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# ? Jun 17, 2013 03:40 |