It’s been a turbulent month to say the least for Kanye West. After going on a tear of rants and tweets everyone seemed to have an opinion (good or bad), about the often controversial rapper. He dominated headlines so much with everything he was saying that the fact that he had an album coming out almost got lost in the conversation. Personally, I didn’t have a strong opinion about what he was saying but I do always have a strong opinion about what his actual music is saying; and with such strong talking points he’s laid out in the weeks leading up to ye I was expecting some of his strongest messaging to date. But…that couldn’t be further from the truth. For all of that talking and ‘free thinking’ he was doing, ye is shockingly devoid of any substantial follow-up or clarity – merely alluding to the various headline worthy moments. It’s about as shallow as any album he’s put out yet, relying on his usual method of self-aggrandizing lyrics and occasional moments of vulnerability for the women in his life. That’d be fine if he didn’t do what he did leading up to the album, but he did. It’s not a bad album – the production is good, although not as good as Daytona, and more of an extension of TLOP – but ye was a major letdown for anyone looking for something more behind the self-centered, PR shtick we’ve gotten for the past month.
They say, “Build your own”—I said, “How, Sway?”
I said, “Slavery a choice”—they said, “How, ‘Ye?”
Just imagine if they caught me on a wild day
Now I’m on fifty blogs gettin’ fifty calls
My wife callin’, screamin’, say we ’bout to lose it all– “Wouldn’t Leave”
Have you heard ye? What’d you think about it? Did it answer any questions you had leading up to the album? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave your own ratings and reactions for the album.
