‘Yeezus’ is, in my entirely biased opinion, the best album in contemporary hip-hop music till date. The reason I say my opinion is biased is probably because of my affinity towards all things Kanye (including his overpriced Yeezys, which honestly just tells me a lot about my maturity with money matters). Nonetheless, Kanye has pulled out all stops and produced an album that can be ranked in that coveted category of ‘Greatest of All Time’, right next to ‘Straight Outta Compton’ or ‘Enter the Wu-Tang’.
What I want to bring to notice is the competitive edge Kanye has today, being at the pinnacle of rap, trap, and hip-hop (I would’ve like to end that with a rhyme, but today isn’t my lucky day!). Our opening track tells us that “Yeezy Season is Approaching”; this one gets a bit crazy, with a dubstep backdrop in his production, suddenly dropping into a soul sample somewhere in the middle. Throughout the album, you can see the ease with which he manipulates the different sounds native to hip-hop and trap. My personal favorite was “Blood on the Leaves”:
Further down the tracklist, we get to “I’m in It”: an absolute banger with an abundance of bass tones to start off with, rounded off with just the right amounts of autotune and reverb to his verse. I absolutely love his use of exotic drums, most notably used in ‘BLKK SKKN HEAD’. One of the most controversial yet genius tracks on the album is “New Slaves”, where Kanye restrained his usage of traditional instruments, making his production simple yet complicated with complex overlays and effects. He may be the star of the show, but ultimately he does share the spotlight with the likes of Mike Dean, Rick Rubin and Gesaffelstein in the phenomenal production and execution of Yeezus. This album definitely pushes all boundaries, and I maintain to this day, the primary reason I make music the way I do today.