Music Review: “Ye” proves that Kanye West is not a god

Kanye West has made his mark in hip-hop culture as an innovative producer, rapper, fashion designer and entrepreneur. The Chicago-raised producer has been in the rap game since 1996 and finally gained success in the early 2000s as an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records. From there, he would take on his long awaited goal of becoming a rapper and release his first studio album “The College Dropout” in 2004.

 

The collaborations, studio albums, praises and Grammys followed.

 

But with his success came an inflated ego. Kanye as the visionary and enthusiastic producer has had countless controversies weighing over him. His ego damaged his character and has separated the art from the artist.

 

From Kanye’s pro-Trump Twitter rants and antics to the controversial TMZ interview in which he described slavery as a choice and elaborated on his reason for wearing a Make America Great Again hat. The 45 minute interview-turned-meltdown caused a great divide between those who supported Kanye for his politics and those who dismissed him because of his idiotic declaration on slavery.

 

Based on history, we know that slavery was a horrific practice inflicted upon the African people by brute force. Kanye is entitled to have his opinions, although history proves he is completely wrong on this subject.

 

I felt a divide within myself about whether or not I should continue to support Kanye as an artist. Was he losing it? Or was this all to grab attention and relevance leading up to the release of his 8th studio album “Ye.”

 

Either way, when he tweeted in April about his venture on “hand producing” five albums: Push-T’s “Daytona,” Kanye’s own “Ye” album, “Kids See Ghosts” a joint project with Kid Cudi, Nas’s album and Teyana Taylor’s album, I was curious to hear what Kanye would come up with.

 

Taking on five separate projects simultaneously is a great feat for Kanye as a producer.

 

A Kanye album has been long overdue. He has teased projects since his last studio album, but nothing stuck as it has been about 2 years since “The Life of Pablo.”

 

So there I was, periodically checking Spotify to stream the album.

 

“Ye” starts in a spoken-word segment from Kanye himself. “The most beautiful thoughts are always besides the darkest.”  

 

His philosophical, thought-provoking first words are a prelude to, “Today I seriously thought about killing you.”

 

This is a definitive connection to “I hate being Bi-Polar its awesome” which is written on the front of the album cover.

 

Kanye uses what sounds like a pitch-shift effect on his voice to emphasize the bipolar nature of his conversation that he is having with himself. The song was an attention-grabber and was like a dream turned nightmare. The harmony and humming in the beginning are juxtaposed against the dark and unsettling spoken-word segment. As the listeners grow accustomed to the dreamy harmony, the beat change-up in the middle of the song brings the listeners back to a more aggressive mood.     

 

The next two songs, “Yikes” and “All Mine,” still follows the aggressive sound of Kanye which can be heard in previous albums “Yeezus” and “T.L.O.P.”

 

The second song off the album, “Yikes,” goes on about his struggle with his recent addiction to opioids and how it caused suicidal thoughts. The title of the track is fitting in that “yikes” would be a comment to make when reflecting on the dark times and the struggle with addiction and temptation.

 

“Yikes” alludes to hallucinations, his interview rant with TMZ and again to his bipolar disorder, which is brought up at the closing of the track.

 

“That’s my superpower, n—a, ain’t no disability. I’m a superhero! I’m a superhero!” Kanye comes to terms with his claimed mental disorder and is more accepting of it, claiming it is his “superpower.” An interesting side note; the track’s melody is very similar to “Wolves” which was on Kanye’s previous album “T.L.O.P.”

 

The track “All Mine” tackles the issue of infidelity and lust. The song opens up with chords played on an organ. The organ abruptly stops and the chorus jumps in. This is the first song on “Ye” to have contributing vocals.

 

R&B artist Jeremih and rapper/R&B singer Ty Dolla $ign contribute to the chorus and the first verse. Name drops are prominent on Kanye’s verse in which mentions actress Kerry Washington, model Naomi Campbell, ex-porn star Stormy Daniels and the Cleveland Cavaliers athlete Tristan Thompson. Kanye is no stranger to calling out names as he has taken jabs at other celebrities and artist before. An example can be heard on in his song “Famous” in which he claims Taylor Swift’s popularity derived from his interruption during Taylor’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video at the 2009 Video Music Awards.   

 

The last five tracks have a completely different energy than the beginning of “Ye.” This switch-up compliments the mood swings Kanye wanted to mimic in the album. The listeners are moved from the darker messages and themes of addiction, fear and thoughts of cheating to a more somber and peaceful mood. We see a more sensitive and contemplative Kanye West which is a stark contrast to his past activities this year.

 

“Wouldn’t Leave” is a beautifully crafted song in its production, chorus and surprisingly, the lyrics. The track is definitely gospel inspired and has a similar vibe to not only his previous album “T.L.O.P.” but also fellow Chicago lyricist Chance The Rapper’s album “Coloring Book.”

 

The fourth song, “Wouldn’t Leave,” is a dedication to Kanye’s wife Kim Kardashian-West. This track alludes to Kanye’s previous controversial encounters and how she has still decided to stay by his side and at times even defended her husband through some of the rough patches of their relationship.

 

The song “No Mistake” further elaborates on his appreciation for his wife through the ups and downs in their life together. Kanye reflects on the financial and mental health issues he’s struggled with. This track and the next, “Ghost Town” has an accompanying feature from Ohio-based rapper Kid Cudi.

 

These two works of art are really the highlights of the album as we not only hear astounding singing abilities from his guest features Kid Cudi, Charlie Wilson and New jersey artist 070 Shake, but we also hear Kanye flex his singing ability.  

 

“Ghost Town” is like an explosion of pleasing sounds. My first impression was that this sounded like a hit-song.

 

The song invokes a positive, anthem-like vibe. The beginning of the song starts with contributing artist PARTYNEXTDOOR singing with a sample from Shirley Ann Lee’s “Someday.” Kid Cudi takes on the chorus while 070 Shake ends the track in a stellar performance.

 

The closing track, “Violent Crimes” adopts vocals by 070 Shake and Ty Dolla $ign. “Violent Crimes” taps into Kanye’s identity as a father, a side of him fans rarely get to see. This track is an ode to women and his daughters North and Chicago West. He opens up to his fears about his daughters growing up in a world in which they may be treated unequally.

 

The album ends on what sounds like a phone call from fellow pop artist Nicki Minaj reciting a reference she gave to Kanye to use on the outro. The last time we heard from Nicki on a Kanye track was on the song “Monster” from Kanye’s 2010 critically acclaimed redemption album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”

“Ye” is not a perfect project. It is not brand new and innovative like “808s & Heartbreaks” or “Yeezus,” but that is fine because there is beauty in imperfection. The only real shame is that the album is following this seven track trend which is technically only an EP. Listeners are left with wanting more than just a 23 minute endeavour.
If Kanye’s 2013 album “Yeezus” was him elevating himself to god status, then “Ye” was him grounding himself back with humanity. It showed that he was a flawed human and vulnerable just like everyone else.