’Ye. Photo: Scott Dudelson/FilmMagic Good Friday! Almost everything to do with Kanye West these days is seemingly sporadic and lacking thought, but not his release schedule. Kanye’s new album, YE, has arrived just like Kanye declared that it would. It features everyone from Kid Cudi to Nicki Minaj (via voice message), touches on mental health, #MeToo (particularly the Russell Simmons allegations), his wife Kim Kardashian’s loyalty, Stormy Daniels, and drugs. Also, its album art, which reads “I hate being bi-polar. It’s awesome,” was photographed by Kanye on the drive to the album’s listening party, per Kim. This is a tight ship ‘Ye is running this release season, promising five albums across his label, GOOD Music (and Nas), within the span of a month. Up first was Pusha-T’s Daytona last week; now, the spotlight is turned to Kanye, with his self-produced, seven-song eighth album. And then it’ll be Kanye’s turn again in another week, when he and Kid Cudi release their collaborative album Kids See Ghosts. Just, you know, mark all your calendars, set Google alerts, put sticky notes all over your desk, your bedroom, your bathroom, everywhere. YE first premiered at a listening party in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where it was livestreamed on a mobile app. But it has since hit streaming services. Now go forth and chatter!<doc-sep>UPDATED: After throwing a listening party for the ages in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Kanye West dropped his latest album, “Ye,” Friday at 12 a.m. ET. The party itself was streamed via the WAV app. Aside from the usual suspects like Apple and Spotify, the philosophizing Twitter user also invited fans to head to Stationhead for a “communal listening session and discussion” to “weigh in” on the rapper’s latest music venture. Via an app called Stationhead, West held an exclusive listening session that aired live at midnight. Considered a “social radio” app, Stationhead offered fans the ability to participate in a live public discussion after listening to the album. To join, listeners were required to download the app and simply launch it at midnight. The app can be accessed through Spotify and Apple Music accounts, once logged in. For regularly scheduled listening sans discussion, fans can head to Tidal, Apple Music, or Spotify. ﻿ As far as tracks are concerned, West tweeted in April that his new album would feature seven songs. Guests on the LP include Nicki Minaj, Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Cudi, and Jeremih. my album is 7 songs — ye (@kanyewest) April 19, 2018 The rapper also took to Twitter in April to announce his upcoming album with Kid Cudi — set for a June 8 release. me and Cudi album June 8th — ye (@kanyewest) April 19, 2018<doc-sep>Kanye West has released his eighth studio album, ye. The lower case feels like a climbdown after the self-aggrandising title of his sixth, Yeezus, and is launched during perhaps the most turbulent moments of a turbulent career. This time around at the listening party there was no Madison Square Garden grandeur as with The Life of Pablo, Kanye gathering friends, collaborators and press around a bonfire in rural Wyoming. According to his wife, Kim Kardashian-West, Kanye shot the album cover - a snap of the surrounding Rocky Mountains - on his iPhone en route to the listening session. He scribbled 'I hate being Bi-Polar its awesome' (sic) over the top. Loading.... What follows isn't technically reactions on a first listen - as I was scrabbling for a recording of the party live stream like everyone else last night - but represents the first time the 7-track album has reached my ears in high quality. Let's go. Post updated as I listen. 1. 'I Thought About Killing You' We open the album with the processed vocals of Francis and the Lights, a low key melody somehow evocative of the artwork's view of the mountains at dusk. Kanye West (spoken word): The most beautiful thoughts are always besides the darkest Today I seriously thought about killing you I contemplated, premeditated murder And I think about killing myself, and I love myself way more than I love you, so... Following on from that album cover scrawl, this would seem to be Kanye talking to the mirror (a little like Kendrick Lamar on To Pimp A Buttefly's 'u'), a schizophrenic discussion with himself; Kanye unsure whether it's his true self he wants to destroy or merely the conceptual one. It sounds kinda ad-lib. "I think this is the part where I'm supposed to say something good to compensate it so it doesn't come off... bad," he says awkwardly, laughing sheepishly. "But sometimes I think really bad things," he continues, the pitch of his vocals shifting down and down, "Really, really, really bad things". This is pretty raw. Kanye switches to rapping and delivers the first verse as a bass line arrives, detailing his depression and how he "done had a bad case of too many bad days" spent using the floor for ashtrays. But then he pivots, suggesting he wants to clear his name following the intense criticism he's come in for lately, as the beat completely switches. It presents a wholly difference space, you can almost imagine the mountains on the cover crumbling away. Okay, this is a deceptively brilliant song. The way his flow switches from on to off the beat between the lines "How you gon' hate? N***a, we go way back" and "To when I had the braids and you had the wave cap" sounds so good on the ear. The whole track does in fact. Lyrically, it's not Kanye at his best, but then he hasn't been in this regard since My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. 2. 'Yikes' The kind of pop opening to a track we haven't heard Kanye since his 808s and Heartbreak days. Ye said recently that he was disappointed that The Life of Pablo wasn't playing on the radio, so perhaps this is an attempt to recapture some of the mainstream pick-up he enjoyed in the 'Stronger' and 'Gold Digger' days. The hook doesn't stick around for long though, as we move into a chopped-up beat that reminds me of TLOP's 'Famous'. Riffing on different abbreviations (which isn't particularly smart/artful, admittedly) he discusses experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs, suggesting that perhaps it was these experiences that led to the stream of consciousness thought he's preferred of late and which has been so divisive. Referencing the nadir - him suggesting that "slavery was a choice" on TMZ - he then brings up #metoo: Russell Simmons wanna pray for me too I'ma pray for him 'cause he got #MeToo'd Thinkin' what if that happened to me too Then I'm on E! News Russell Simmons has publicly defended Kanye, claiming he is "suffering" and "unravelling in public". Simmons was also accused of sexual assault. Kanye fretting over being implicated by the #MeToo movement perhaps isn't surprising as he has been brutally honest about verbally abusive past relationships in previous songs, along with his promiscuity. On TLOP's 'FML' he promised to "Give up the women / Before I lose half of what I own," perhaps alluding to infidelity within his marriage. Ye must have been working on this album right up until its release, or else did some very last minute re-records. He's already referenced scandals from just a few weeks ago and on this line appears to nod to one from just a couple of days ago: "Hundred grand will make your best friends turn to opps" he spits, which sounds a lot like a reference to the $100k that Pusha T just claimed Drake has offered up for dirt on him as part of their ongoing beef. The rest of the verse Kanye spends stunting, kinda unremarkably, and espousing his 'love everyone' mantra, claiming he could chill and smoke with Wiz Khalifa, who he previously had a very public argument with. The third and final one gets quite bleak, as Kanye discusses how the same demons and addictions he experiences ended up killing Michael Jackson and Prince. Mentioning these spirits all around him, he says the "devil been tryna make an army / They been strategizin' to harm me / They don't know they dealin' with a zombie". What with all the drugs, prescribed and recreational, and mental health issues, Kanye feels like he's walking dead. The outro takes a positive spin however, West describing his apparent bipolar disorder as a "superpower". A nice thought, but more of an inspirational tweet than a piece of poetry. Damn we're not even at track three yet. Onwards! 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes Show all 10 1 /10 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes "I was the best new artist this year" Kanye asserted this after losing the New Artist of the Year award at the 2004 American Music Awards Getty Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes “I am the number one human being in music. That means any person that's living or breathing is number two.” Kanye made this claim while appearing on the Wendy Williams show in 2007. He had recently released the album 'Graduation' to critical acclaim Getty Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes “Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish, but Beyoncé has one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!” In arguably the most famous incident of his career, Kanye bravely stole the microphone from then 19 year old Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for the Female Music Video of the Year at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards REUTERS 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes "I walk through the hotel and I walk down the street and people look at me... like I'm Hitler" Kanye said this during a mid-set rant while on stage at the Big Chill festival in 2011. Despite releasing the acclaimed 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' in 2010, he was still widely disliked following the Taylor Swift incident PA Archive/PA Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes "I am Picasso. I am Michelangelo. I am Basquiat. I am Walt Disney. I am Steve Jobs" Kanye compared himself to these visionaries in a mid-set rant on stage in Paris, 2013 AFP/Getty Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes “My greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live.” In 2013, Kanye opened up to reveal more Kanye.<doc-sep>
Kanye West's brand new album is now available on Spotify and Apple Music Kanye is back. The man who hasn't been able to keep out of the news for the past few months has released his album. Yesterday, a mural of Kanye popped up in Temple Bar, which would have got his fans in the mood for the new album. Ye is a seven track album, with features from Kid Cudi, Young Thug and Jeremih. Fans of the Chicago rapper will be delighted to hear that the album is available on all major streaming platforms - including Spotify, Apple Music and TIDAL. Kanye has been on a lot of people's minds for a number of reasons lately. He came out in support of Donald Trump, rocking a Make America Great Again hat which was signed by the President of the United States. He also made the claim that "slavery was a choice", which is a strong contender for most ridiculous statement of 2018 already. The artist had a listening party in Wyoming last night, with the general reaction to the album being a positive one, but with a character like Kanye, the album is bound to split opinion. The track list for the album is as follows: 1 - 'I Thought About Killing You' 2 - 'Yikes' 3 - 'All Mine' 4 - 'Wouldn't Leave' 5 - 'No Mistakes' 6 - 'Ghost Town' 7 - 'Violent Crimes' Kanye addresses his mental health issues on Ye, as well as his drug use, and his marriage with Kim Kardashian. No mention of Trump, though... Ye is only 23 minutes long, which may disappoint fans of the 21-time Grammy winner, but that's what the replay button is there for.