Yeezus

Kaynye at the peak of his powers. A force of nature.

Amazing album. The first time I ever listened I was very mixed, especially jarred after the intro On Sight, and gave it like a 5/10. But now everything has clicked and I love this like his earlier work. Bound 2 is top 3 Ye songs

I Dont really like rap, but this is a great surprise

6 Yoooo!!!! De productie van elk nummer is gewoon iconisch man! ik moet toegeven dit album stijgt echt in waarde elke keer ik het afspeel, wordt beter en beter. Ik verwacht nog veel kanye in deze lijst maar dit is al een zeer goede start hoho genieten! Ook even shout out naar kid cudi op guilt trip! kijk ook uit naar Dries zen disection

ja waar begin ik haha... laat me zeggen dat dit één van mijn all time favorite albums off all time is (daarom dat het in verpakking op mijn kast staat). Het is de afgelopen 2 jaar ook wel mijn favoriet Kanye album geworden, heel lang mijn minst beluisterde. Kanye was hier ook in zijn meest creatieve periode (tot nu toe). Hij kwam net van mbdtf en de watch the throne en de tour. Hij begon met zijn eerste stappen in de fashion industrie (waar toen veel vragen bij waren maar waar we nu van weten dat hij het gewoon helemaal veranderd heeft en ook daar één van de grote namen is geworden). You aint got the answers sway! Maar nu Yeezus: een album met zoveel betekenissen zowel in de lyrics als het geheel en daartussen. Zo sexueel getint is wat me het eerste opviel, dit is vooral omdat het een uitvergroting is van Kanye als persoon (yeezus) Laat me gewoon nummer per nummer bespreken en genieten. Wil je echt weten hoe next level deze plaat is: dissect podcast! ON SIGHT: YEEZY SEASON APPROACHING. oorspronkelijk niet als eerste nummer op het album maar wordt nu gezien als één van de beste album openers ooit (zie frodo zijn twitter). Ye zet dit als eerste op het album omdat hij wou choqueren, hij wou ook geen radioplay en wel dit ga je daar niet horen. (productie met daft punk) favoriete lyric: het koor natuurlijk met Oh, he'll give us what we need, It may not be what we want. want zo voelde vele zich na het eerste keer te luisteren naar Yeezus. BLACK SKINHEAD: aanrader de live snl versie. Ultieme workout track. De energie en rage die ik hiervan krijg kunnen enkel wat denzel curry nummers benaderen. favoriete lyric: aaaaaaah I AM A GOD: kanye is een god. Justin Vernon is een engel en de combo is hemel (later meer hierover) . featuring god himself. favoriete lyric: In a French-ass restaurant Hurry up with my damn croissants; is gewoon iconisch NEW SLAVES: Dit nummer hoho één van de beste van de afgelopen 20 jaar. Kanye laat zien dat er nog steeds racisme is in USA en dit niet enkel tegen de iets minder bedeelde. Also hier praat hij al over hoe dat de gevangenissen in USA gewoon een grote business zijn, later gaat hij en Kim er ook echt voor vechten om mensen die fout in de gevangenis zitten eruit te halen, walk the talk bro. En na deze geweldige politieke lyrics, krijgen we een stukje muziek dat zo mooi is dat ik er altijd kippenvel van krijg en soms (vaak) een traan bij laat. NEW SLAVES OUTRO: Strooi mijn assen uit op deze muziek! Dit is zo mooi, geweldig sample van een geweldig hongaars rock nummer, een prachtige frank ocean stem en kanye die zegt dat je het gewoon zelf moet doen cause i can't lose and i can't leave it to you! Als ik ooit gehoordschade krijg dan is het door deze 1 minuut 26 van next level muziek. HOLD MY LIQOUR: ooooh hier is de hemel weer, Deze plaat maakt me droevig en hype tegelijkertijd. Deze luister ik het liefst om 3 uur snachts na wat teveel gedronken te hebben en me wat alleen te voelen. chief keef gaat zo hard op deze! favoriete lyrics: "Baby girl, he's a loner, baby girl, he's a loner" Late-night organ donor, after that, he disown ya After that he's just hopeless, soul mates become soulless "When it's over it's over," and, bitch, I'm back out my coma. IM IN IT: yo this is nasty, kan ik niet spelen op luidspreker. naast de sexuele handelingen die kanye hier zeer duidelijk beschrijft, krijgen we weer een heerlijk Justin vernon stemmetje en een nummer gevuld met politieke boodschappen. favoriete lyric: Time to take it too far now Uh, Michael Douglas out the car now; kanye loves movies BLOOD ON THE LEAVES: Wat is die drop hoho?? Aretha Franklin I love you. Deze maakt me weer droevig en hype tegelijkertijd. favoriete lyrics: Now you sittin' courtside, wifey on the other side Gotta keep 'em separated, I call that apartheid en ook wel het begin: I just need to clear my mind now It's been racin' since the summertime GUILT TRIP: Weetje: kid cudi en kanye hadden niet echt een goede relatie op dit moment en kid cudi wist niet eens dat hij op het album stond tot hij het hoorde. maar toch goed dat kanye hem stiekem op het album gezet heeft, favoriete lyric daarom ook: If you love me so much then why'd you let me go? (minst favoriete nummer van het album) SEND IT UP: oooh deze maakt me weer hype en droevig op het einde damn. yeezus you are tearing me apart She say "Can you get my friends in the club?" I say "Can you get my Benz in the club?" If not, treat your friends like my Benz Park they ass outside 'til the evenin' end -toxic level 9000 De outro heb ik minstens 1 keer per dag in mijn hoofd. BOUND 2: Jerome is in the house watch your mouth Prachtige videoclip nocap, Charly Wilson is hier efkes de koning. deze is zo geniaal, het heeft weer van die vieze lyrics maar ook weer van die mooie en romantische? En oh de muziek op zich is zo mooi. Kanye begon na dit album ook gewoon zijn gezin te stichten want hij en YEEZUS vinden de vrouw van hun leven...maar Jerome is back in the house (Jerome wordt gezien als nasty vrouwenzot Kanye) favoriete lyrics: What you doin' in the club on a Thursday? She say she only here for her girl birthday They ordered champagne but still look thirsty Rock Forever 21 but just turned thirty Start a Fight Club, Brad reputation One good chick is worth a thousand chickens - kanye live (weer een aanrader) en natuurlijk Charlie Wilson zijn bridge die next level is. Deze had ik zo graag live gezien, zeer goede tour show waarvan de rants ook zeer interessant zijn om live te bekijken (zeker opzoeken) Ik heb hier vooral mijn eigen mening gegeven maar er zit nog veel meer achter dit album youtube staat er vol van dus ik raad aan om er meer over op te zoeken! Danku Kanye voor dit album!

Liked this much more than I expected. 3.5/5

This is littered with psychosis but the man knows how to write a quality album. Bound 2 such a banger

Wow. I did not expect to like this as much as I did. Because I detest the man. But I can't deny, this was a great listen. Don't care for a lot of his lyrics but, musically it was an awesome, surprisingly experimental experience.

3.5/5

I think this album is a bit of a step down from *My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy*, but it's still pretty cool. I think this is around the time that Kanye started getting a little questionable as a person and his lyrics are a little cringey at times here, but the production still sounds like a million bucks, and there are some cool ideas here, for sure. Highlights for me are "Black Skinhead", "New Slaves", and "Bound 2". 4 stars.

Shocked to see this album make the list but in a good way. Peak production from Kanye and Mike Dean and so many iconic songs. Some not-so-great songs and cringe bars but the personal connection I have with this album warrants a four star.

This thing kinda sucks and that’s why I love it. The beats are abrasive, the lyrics are QUESTIONABLE, and it all comes together to form something beautiful. Shame he died in that car crash back in 2021.

Leave it to Kanye to make some BULLSHIT sound so fuckin beautiful. Not my favorite Kanye album because this is when the coonery started to come in full effect but this is still some good shit. I definitely think Graduation deserved to be on the list instead of this, but still good stuff

I had never listened to this album from Kanye, and it would have stayed that way if I hadn’t ripped the CD I found recently at the thrift store to my NAS. Since I knew I wasn’t giving any money to him I decided to check it out. It’s honestly really good, and it’s sad that someone with his musical vision went off the deep end that is deeply troubling, and sadly isn’t getting the help he needs.

pretty chill for an experimental record. fav track new slaves 8/10

*this review is for the music and the music only, absolutely nothing related to this man other than the music.

When it comes to Kanye, I can separate the art from the artist (and some of the lyrics). This goes too hard for me to lowball it.

Favourite Songs: On Sight I Am A God Send It Up

Ok, I went into this fully expecting to hand out a 1 or 2 star rating at the end...but I liked this. I am not sure I will ever listen to it again, but it was pretty darn good while I was listening to it this time.

I saw Kanye live in 2015; Yeezus was at the time already in the rearview mirror. Me and my friends loved The Life of Pablo, and we -loved- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but our opinion towards Yeezus was: yeah, that has some funny songs. (According to the invaluable archivism of setlist.fm, at that Oct. 15, 2016 show, we saw these songs off of Yeezus: Black Skinhead, Blood on the Leaves). This album, to me, was the miss sandwiched in between two direct hits. I knew Daft Punk was involved with the record. I thought the Black Skinhead performance on SNL and thought, oh my god, this is the future. And I knew a lot of the lines made me go 'oooohhhh can you even say that?!?' Listening to it now, it's clear to me that the two absolute titanic songs - New Slaves and Black Skinhead - are still as good as they were the first time I heard them. "On New Slaves, "You throwing contracts at me/you know that fellas can't read?" is still an unbelievably funny thing to hear. And then you go straight into that extraordinary, beautiful Frank Ocean outro? What are you supposed to say to that? And that's saying nothing of the vulgarities of Hold My Liquor or I'm In It. Re: Hold My Liquor - I still can't understand how this is one of the critical darlings of the record! This song is insane! And hearing Justin Vernon's voice in I'm In In... dog, did you realize what you were signing up for? Much has been made by the subsequent lyric, but what did he mean by "black girl sipping white wine"? These are the questions 2013 Kanye West asks us to contemplate. Pop the wheelie on the zietgiest, baby!!! Star Wars fur, I'm rocking Chewbacca. What am I supposed to say about this? When I was (checks note) 17 years old, Bound 2 hit. I'm sorry! I wish that wasn't the case!

before Jesus is King released, this was one of my least favorite Kanye albums. and my 4-star opinion on it has not changed that much. which is kinda crazy, because this is where the cracks start to form and the path to the nazi shit starts. i guess the souring from that has been offset by my love increasing for the absolutely insane energy on this album. Yeezus is at 110% the entire time. it feels like going off your meds, fittingly. listened to this after reading a review that mentioned how the guys from Daft Punk spoke about the sessions working on this going well, but being mildly perturbed by the constant porn in the background. goddamnit Ye. deserves to be one of the 1001? mmmm. well. ok, naziism and allegations aside i would swap this for like. 2 different ones. ditch this for two of the following: TLoP, Graduation, and 808s. or keep it in too. Kanye West regrettably is in the tier of artists that you can add 5 albums from and it not be gratuitous. this is a really inspired addition I gotta admit, super abrasive and uncompromising. but im leaning no. toss on something industrial that informed this, like The Money Store or From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots

This album has some jams.

Yet another classic I heard already, one of Kanye's most underrated projects more than a decade after its first release, beyond all the memes and sound clips this album will stand the test of time for its innovation

Album #103, Kanye West, Yeezus ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I have a gripe with this album. It has less to do with Kanye West or the music on it, and more to do with the reception and reputation around it. People at the time were acting like this album was unbelievably groundbreaking because Kanye moved into a more experimental, electronic and aggressive direction. And to be fair to him, I commend him for doing that. I think it was a really bold move. But I don’t think this album is groundbreaking at all. There was loads of experimental hip hop around at the time already, and honestly, a lot of it was more interesting to me. Artists like Death Grips were already doing this kind of abrasive industrial hip hop sound. They explored this kind of thing in much stranger and more challenging ways. So I don’t really see Yeezus as revolutionary. It feels more like a mainstream artist taking influence from more underground scenes and filtering it into a huge pop record. With that out of the way, I do think this is a great album. It’s arguably my favourite Kanye West album. I don’t think it’s as experimental or as heavy duty as it thinks it is, but it is still very catchy. Kanye is an amazing producer. He’s able to get massive hooks out of the simplest sounds and synths, for example ,On Sight. He’s a pop star through and through in that regard. As for his rapping, he’s not the greatest rapper of all time technically, but his lyrics on this album are fucking outrageous. Some of the lines on this thing are just nuts. As I said, it’s a really bold album in every regard. My favourite thing are vocal contributions from Justin Vernon and Frank Ocean, especially the latter on New Slaves. That’s probably the peak of the album for me. There’s only a couple of songs I don’t really like, such as Hold My Liquor. I also think it sags a little bit towards the end. Blood on the Leaves kind of takes a bit of momentum out of it, even though I still think it’s a good song. But the first half of this album is exceptional. So yeah, not groundbreaking. probably overrated, but still a good album.

Very good boundary-pushing hip hop album. Despite the innovation I feel it's a little too stylistically sporadic (unsurprising from Kanye), but there is a lot to appreciate and enjoy here. Overall solid. Top tracks: Black Skinhead, New Slaves, Blood on the Leaves

A solid 7.2 from ye good songs already familiar with some of the songs not his best album but it good

Voordat ik het aanzet ben ik wel bezorgd. We kennen het karakter van meneer West en tot welke tekstuele uitspattingen dat vaak leidt. Het eerste album dat we voorgeschoteld noemde ik al matig. En nu meldt Wiki dat meneer dit album zelf omschreef als een protest tegen muziek. Aan de andere kant: hoe serieus moete je deze wiki-pagina nemen als ze bijvoorbeeld in zin schrijven dat de lanceringscampagne met wereldwijde video-projecties en optredens minimalistisch was. Wiki lijkt de ironie van meneer slecht opgepakt te hebben. Maar tja, wie kan nu wel goed inschatten in welke fase meneer zit. En wiki schrijft ook over interessante producers en een stevige house / dubstepbasis. Dat nodigt mij wel weer uit. Dus laat ik maar ophouden met de voorstudie en gaan luisteren. Die digitale basis is overduidelijk. Dat is zelfs vrij sterk gedaan. De teksten, die kan ik normaal vrij goed negeren. Maar zelfs ik ontkom niet aan de informatie wie er neerkijkt op de mensheid en welk lichaamsdeel van deze grootheid het meest van belang is. Het is echt jammer, want zonder de puber-compensatie-grappen kan ik erg fijn naar dit album luisteren. Het is zelfs het beste van ik van deze meneer heb gehoord.

Everyone has artists they can separate from their art and some they can't. Kanye comes down ever so slightly on the side of the former for me. "Black Skinhead" and "New Slaves" are fucking bangers, and "On Sight" and "Bound 2" are great as well. The album gets a little meandering in the back half for me though.

I’m not proud of loving his music but here we are

I may like this more now than I did when it came out.

Uh-huh, honey

The strong tracks are some of his best. This definitely is his most cohesive album in terms of its texture. It still sounds fresh and unique like a war is going on in a marble room. Putting Bound 2 at the end does remind me of Motion Picture Soundtrack at the end of Kid A. Maybe not my favorite of his, but it raises my heart rate every time. Rating: 4.2

I know Kanye is, and will be, remembered for his opulence. The huge, hour-plus slabs of music like Dark Fantasy or Life of Pablo, but this is probably his most interesting album. Yeah, you can say it's Death Grips lite, but there's a lot more to this album than that. The modular sounding distorted synths, the influences from everything from Marilyn Manson to dancehall, everything here combines with Kanye at his most combatively megalomaniacal to produce an album that could only have been made by this man at this point in his career. Maybe this came out at the right time for me, sandwiched between my two favourite of his records, but maybe this is actually the Kanye album that people will one day acknowledge for the classic it is.

Man what do I even say here. I'm not even that big on Kanye and I felt that way before he imploded his career in the past few years, but if there's one record from him I particularly enjoy, it's this one.

I’m not sure how much I’d like this album without the context of Kanye’s career but with that context it’s a fascinating album. The screeching, industrial sound is such a departure from his trademark soul sample background and the lyrics are so overtly depraved that it sounds more like a horror movie than a Kanye album, that is until the last song that’s back to old school Kanye soul. A popular reading of the album is the first 11 songs are supposed to represent the person the music industry has turned Ye into and the last song is his salvation due to his relationship with Kim Kardashian. That may have been his intent but now knowing how that relationship and Kanye’s career/life turned out it now just feels like a descent into madness with a tragically misguided Hail Mary at the end.

The most apt comparison has been the beginning of the downhill on a roller coaster. MBDTF was his zenith. A perfect album, this is that skill distilled down to punk nature with the Kanye tongue-in-cheek prose. Kanye has been disappointing as of late in both music and general persona. However there is an argument for mental illness, car crash leading to nitrous addiction, and the loss of his motor and guiding light. He is at worst, no worse than many troubled musical geniuses. If you can’t separate that from the art, then most art is going to be inaccessible. Kanye’s last real great album. Production and lyrics paving the way for a decade of rap and hip hop to follow.

As much as it sucks that "Late Registration" and "Graduation" aren't on this list, I can kinda see why this album was chosen over them. It's more revolutionary in the hip hop scene and it definitely helped introduce lots of people to industrial rap. Kanye is awful of course, but his run from 2004-2013 is one of the greatest in hip hop history and nothing can change that. Favorite track: Blood On The Leaves

It's a weird, disjointed album that thrives on chaos just as much as it suffers from it. That feels like a trite summary, partly because the same thing could be said about most of Kanye's career, but it's really exemplified on this album. Most of the tracks on this album have at least one really abrupt shift in tone or tempo, which I don't normally like, but Kanye at least always does something interesting with it. Any Kanye work after this album really isn't worth caring about and part of what makes this album interesting is that he was clearly starting to step into that next era when he made it. If MBDTF was when the roller coaster was at the peak of the hill, this is when you're staring down and speed's staying to pick up but you haven't fully dropped yet. This should go without saying but Kanye is a bad person and he doesn't deserve your money.

man, I remember buying this the day it came out and being absolutely sucker punched by Blood on the Leaves this one has some real high highs but even before we knew about the whole Kanye Loves Nazis thing it was obvious this was where things were going downhill. I don't love this one the way I loved MBDTF or 808s but I do find it fascinating. giving this a four with some reservations. I was hovering around a three but the highs on this one won't let me. now back to not listening to Kanye; we've done the three list albums, I'm mad all over again he had to ruin his legacy, and I am ready to leave him buried in the past

It sucks that I like this album, because Kanye is a POS individual. But, he's very talented creatively and his manias create albums that appear to be new and different from what he has created before. There are 10 tracks and it never overstays its welcome. It does get a bit dreary towards the middle of the album but picks up again towards the end. I don't know if this is Kanye's best album, but man, at least when he puts an album out you know he's going to probably try something different. My favorite tracks: On Sight Black Skinhead I Am a God (somehow the song lyrics are less humble than the song title) New Slaves Send It Up Bound 2

Great album by a troubled dude

Goddammit I liked this even though he's a garbage human. 4/5

Onhan tää nyt hyvää. Nää instrut on hyviä. Hold My Liquorin instru erityisen hyvä. Nää instrut on tosi erilaisia, outoja ja raakoja. Nää kappaleet on siinä erikoisen ja omituisen rajalla, mutta pysyen hyvänä. Vokaalit ja autotunen käyttö ei aina iskenyt. Parhaat: Hold My Liquor, Black Skinhead, Guilt Trip, I Am A God

how you gonna be mad on thursday

Excellnt

I remember this coming out and the reaction to it online was controversial as the man himself has become. I was and still am a fan of 'Black Skinhead' and think it is one of Kanye's strongest tracks due to the infectious, pulsating beat. I wasn't a fan of this album initially, but listening to it over a decade after its release, you can see the influence it had. Instantly unsettling the listener with a confrontational sample, 'On Sight' starts the album and lets you know what they are in for. Taking an industrial and abrasive turn from his previous album, West sounds like he heard a Death Grips record and wanted to clean it up so it could be played on the radio. It feels ahead of the curve. West's braggadocious attitude may drain on the listener and it does detract from the listening experience, but the beats are so brave that its hard not to respect the balls of Kayne for coming out with this.

Unique and creative

In 2009, Chris Cornell released a solo record called 'Scream' that was a sound divorced from what we expected from the Soundgarden frontman. It was like a mashup of Timbaland beats and Alt-Rock, and while critics loathed it, I thought it was interesting, brave, and pretty damn good. All that to say 'Yeezus' follows that same exact format. A mashup of EDM, Thrashing guitar and one of the best rappers of my generation. It's also very interesting, brave, and a helluva good listen.

Not the strongest, but this still counts as old Kanye

I think this is a very representative 1001st album. Great artist, arguably overrepresented. Hard to fully enjoy nowadays

2026.04.02.

Such a famous album, instantly recognizable from the cover, and yet, I've never heard this. I've never listened to a single Kanye West album. This should be fun. Ok - the tracks are fantastic. I've never heard Kanye before, apart from "Gold Digger," but I can tell how innovative this is musically, and how wild it is - it sounds dangerous and paranoid and out of control and that is incredibly engaging. Kanye's rapping and lyrics leave a lot to be desired. He is VERY repetitive in his flow, relying on some stylistic crutches all throughout the album. The lyrics are occasionally revealing but mostly are just - shit. Does he really think the Romans were the 300? I'll also say that one thing he and Taylor Swift have in common is an enormous persecution complex. He's convinced of his own genius and yet - everyone hates him and is out to get him. Possibly why he identifies with Jesus on this record so much? This is a hard one to rate, because I genuinely believe it is fantastic. Except for most of the rapping. Which is sort of the whole point of this genre. So. I don't know. FOUR STARS

I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. And honestly I'm sort of ashamed to say that ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Did not think I would like it as much as I did. Creative, lyrically captivating, and some great beats

Like many of Ye’s records, this one jumps between transcendent productions and lyrical trolling with dizzying speed (“Hurry up with my damn croissants”). As frustrating as this combination can be, I think it’s central to his success, and ultimately his records don’t disappoint.

The soundtrack of the 2013 summer. Man, what a great utilization of auto tune

I stand by Kanye West being a disillusioned Nazi and antisemite, but "Yeezus" is pretty good.

Released on June 18, 2013, *Yeezus* represents one of the most radical sonic departures in Kanye West's discography. Coming off the ornate, maximalist *My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy* (2010), West deliberately stripped away excess to create a raw, industrial, and confrontational 40-minute experience. The album was famously described by West and creative director Virgil Abloh as an "open casket funeral" for the CD format—minimalist packaging with no artwork, just the physical disk . --- ## Production & Sound The production on *Yeezus* is its defining characteristic. West collaborated with an eclectic team including **Daft Punk**, **Rick Rubin**, **Gesaffelstein**, **Hudson Mohawke**, and **Arca** to forge what critics described as a "wiry mess of bassy synths and sinister samples" . **Key sonic elements:** - **Industrial aggression**: Tracks like "On Sight" and "Black Skinhead" employ distorted synthesizers, primal drums, and abrasive textures that draw from industrial rock, EDM, and experimental electronic music - **Minimalist approach**: Unlike the orchestral grandeur of *MBDTF*, *Yeezus* embraces starkness—often just drums, synth, and Kanye's voice - **Genre-blurring**: The album incorporates dancehall, reggae, trap, and soul samples, often within the same track - **Raw, unpolished feel**: West reportedly worked on tracks until the last minute, resulting in a spontaneous, unfinished quality that became intentional aesthetic The opening track "On Sight," co-produced by Daft Punk, immediately signals the album's confrontational nature with what one reviewer called "a recreation of Ragnarök on a Moog" . --- ## Lyrics & Themes *Yeezus* presents a complex, often contradictory thematic landscape: ### **Race & Power** "Black Skinhead" and "New Slaves" deliver scathing social commentary. The latter attacks consumerism, racism, and the prison-industrial complex with lines like "Fuck you and your Hampton house" and "I'd rather be a dick than a swallower" . "Black Skinhead" explores the struggles of being a Black artist in the entertainment industry with primal intensity . ### **Ego & Divinity** The controversial "I Am a God" embodies the album's central tension—West proclaiming deity status ("I am a God / Hurry up with my damn massage") while the production reveals a "tortured and full of regret" figure behind the bravado . The track uses deathly screams and dark synths to suggest that godhood isn't everything it's cracked up to be . ### **Sex, Love & Vulnerability** Tracks like "Hold My Liquor" and "I'm In It" explore desire and emotional recklessness. "Hold My Liquor" features Chief Keef and Justin Vernon in a woozy meditation on drunken regret and failed relationships . However, some lyrics—particularly the "sweet and sour sauce" line on "I'm In It"—have been criticized as tasteless or objectifying . ### **Fame & Isolation** The album chronicles West's psychological state at the height of his celebrity. "Guilt Trip" and "Blood on the Leaves" reflect on past mistakes and the weight of regret, with the latter sampling Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit" to juxtapose historical trauma with personal betrayal . --- ## Track-by-Track Highlights | Track | Notable Elements | |-------|------------------| | **On Sight** | Daft Punk collaboration; aggressive industrial opener with jarring choir samples | | **Black Skinhead** | Primal drums; social commentary; Gary Glitter "Rock and Roll" sample | | **I Am a God** | Deathly screams; dancehall influences; explores cost of fame | | **New Slaves** | Frank Ocean feature; transforms from minimalist aggression to soulful Auto-Tune | | **Hold My Liquor** | Chief Keef & Justin Vernon; woozy synths; emotional vulnerability | | **Blood on the Leaves** | Nina Simone sample; TNGHT horns; bridges *808s & Heartbreak* and *Yeezus* eras | | **Bound 2** | Soulful sample of Ponderosa Twins Plus One; love song to Kim Kardashian; stark contrast to album's industrial sound | --- ## Influence & Legacy *Yeezus* has proven remarkably influential on subsequent hip-hop and pop music: - **Travis Scott**: His 2023 album *Utopia* and earlier work openly draw from *Yeezus*'s "sonic experimentation, autotune vocals, and genre-blurring soundscapes" - **Industrial hip-hop**: The album paved the way for more aggressive, electronic-infused rap production - **Minimalist aesthetics**: Its stripped-back approach influenced artists to embrace rawness over polish - **Genre boundaries**: *Yeezus* demonstrated that mainstream artists could embrace experimental, non-commercial sounds without sacrificing cultural impact Critics noted that *Yeezus* was "yet another radical departure" that kept West "a step ahead of his contemporaries" . --- ## Critical Reception Critics nearly unanimously praised the album's innovation. The UCLA Ethnomusicology Review called it "one of the tightest, most original works of pop music released in the past several years" . However, audience reception was more polarized—casual listeners often struggled with its lack of radio-friendly singles and accessible hooks . --- ## Pros & Cons ### **Pros:** - **Groundbreaking production**: Successfully merges industrial, electronic, and hip-hop in ways rarely attempted at this mainstream level - **Emotional authenticity**: Despite (or because of) its arrogance, the album offers "a more genuine look into the mind of the Chicagoan than there has ever been before" - **Brevity & cohesion**: At 40 minutes with no filler, it's "West's most complete start-to-finish album" - **Cultural bravery**: West deliberately sacrificed commercial appeal for artistic vision - **Influence**: Reshaped the sonic possibilities of mainstream hip-hop ### **Cons:** - **Lyrical inconsistency**: Contains some of West's "lowest lyrical points"—vapid, tasteless, or simply cringeworthy moments - **Accessibility**: No real hit singles; "the only thing accessible about Yeezus was Kanye West himself" - **Uneven quality**: Tracks like "I'm In It" and "Guilt Trip" are considered weaker by some reviewers - **Jarring transitions**: The constant sonic shifts can feel disjointed rather than innovative - **Final track placement**: "Bound 2"—while beloved by many—feels sonically disconnected from the album's industrial aesthetic --- ## Conclusion *Yeezus* stands as one of the most audacious albums in modern hip-hop—a deliberately difficult, abrasive work that sacrificed commercial appeal for artistic integrity. While its lyrics don't always match the sophistication of its production, the album succeeds as a "startlingly individualistic reflection of its creator" . It captures Kanye West at his most unfiltered, wrestling with fame, race, sexuality, and divinity over some of the most adventurous production of his career. A decade later, its influence on artists like Travis Scott confirms its status as a forward-thinking, if divisive, masterpiece .

fuck kanye west lowkey

Didn't realize so many iconic songs were on this album. also very of it's time

Not quite one of my favorites, as it once was (the crass narcassicism often seems more bathetic and silly than anything else), but it's still an album without a lot of great sounds and contrasts.

You can really begin to identify Kanye starting to fall apart here. Still some cracking tracks though

I still remember this album dropping. It was such a transcendent thing at the time. Like the new era of hip hop for me. Blood on the leaves, Bound 2, Black skinhead.. all bangers that sound like they could have been released today. This album is ranked so low because of things outside of the music itself. There’s reasons so many younger artists cite this album as such a big influence.

One of the first albums I listened to in its entirety. Some of these tracks still pop up for me on Spotify to this day. If I rated with bias, I'd give it a 5 purely because of nostalgia. I'm content with accepting it as a 4 since I've heard quite a few albums from this list that I enjoy more.

OK, I'm giving props here. Not my genre and don't love his message, but this is a solid album. Way better than the others I've heard from him. Radical departure stylistically but he keeps it together. It's not just different for difference, it is genuinely fun to listen to.

The album started off rather aged, but it kind of grew on me. I think Kanye is a real piece of work, but this is good stuff. I think he was a pioneer for techno produced rap? I haven’t heard beats quite like these.

This album feels very aggressive but has some of the best production of any of Kanye’s albums, the songs almost get better through the album which is a nice change of pace from other albums front loading the only good songs

Still remember when this album came out listening with my friend/roommate at the time and after we finished he turned to me and said "I dont even know who I am anymore". Crazy left turn from Kanye, somehow both minimalist and way over the top/indulgent. I liked it immediately and think it holds up.

Cet album m'a agressé et j'ai quand même pas détesté ça.

What happened to Kanye West man. He went from being the undisputed most prominent figure in hip hop to a literal self describing nazi. And as much as I love the vast majority of his early work, it does still feel a bit tainted by who he is now. But on the whole, I still love this album, it's very harsh electronic production style was really unique for its time, and is a huge part of the reason that so much modern hip hop is very electronic leaning. But you still have the very melodic and soulful vocals just like on any Kanye album, which does keep the album from being too harsh and abrasive all the way through. This is just a super influential project that stands the test of time surprisingly well given how it was the first to do many things. A part of me almost feels dirty having listened to this and giving it such a positive review, but I remind myself that there are many other horrible people that have made great music both now and throughout history, but Kanye is just a particularly notorious example right now.

God, what an influential album. Feel like you hear sounds influenced by Yeezus today still, and you probably will decades from now.

bound 2 makes the album

Review - much better album than I expected. Only really remember enjoying Bound 2 when it came out but there's a lot more to it. Industrial, abrasive, surprising at times. Black Skinhead has a glam rock vibe to it. Disappointingly good album given the way he's gone since. Review - 8.5/10 Need to listen? YES

Wow. How talented do you have to be to have Daft Punk and Mike Dean (to name a few) to produce your record? Kanye is truly one of a kind

Kept me wrapt front to back. Not always lyrically the most interesting (lots of dick-sucking and pussy-fucking) but really fun musically.

Gear: Fostex TH610 Artwork: 💽🟥🏴‍☠️ Production: 🧃💪💯 Music: 🧠😵🗣️ Rating: 🚩🚩🚩(🚩)/5

Love Kanye’s music, this is good but it has a really aggressive vibe that makes it hard to listen to on a casual basis. Blood on the Leaves and Bound II are the best tracks

look, i know he's controversial but the dude knows how to make an album. i absolutely do not condone what kanye has said over the past few years, and i think it's awful even if you buy that he blames it on his mental health conditions. but just like a bunch of other albums in this project, i am going to separate the art from the artist. if you listen to this album just as an album with a generic artist, there's no way you think this is a bad album. the beats and production are innovative and unique. the album sounds great. his rapping is as great as ever. despite everything, it is a pretty good album.

As my girlfriend said, there are better Kanye albums. This one was a shift toward his more current sounding albums, at least I think. Its a tough album to review, because Kanye himself is so polarizing. Its a battle of art vs the artist. I don't "love" Kanye enough to tie the two together. He's clearly mentally unstable but he can still put together a collection of songs. Do I still want to go back and listen to College Dropout? Sure, its a classic album. Do I like songs from this album and other Kanye albums? Yes Do I believe in what Kanye believes? Hell no. Biggest Hit - Black Skinhead Biggest Miss - I Am A God Underrated Gem - Blood On The Leaves

There's a reason this guy was such a force in the late 2000s and early 2010s

It surprised me, wasn't that bad but like eh

Obsessed when it came out, and it undoubtedly made waves across a lot of music genres, influencing countless records that followed it. Now, sadly, the reality of who Kanye truly is has bubbled to the surface and eclipses so much of his music for me. This is still important noteworthy music, but primarily for the production and some thematic ideas. Lyrics were then (and still are) Kanye’s achilles heel, and he’s at his worst on this record.

8/10

Listened previously. Expectations: High - Verdict: Great - This might be my favourite Kanye album. The sound is so out there and abrasive but formed into something accessible and I love it. Bonus points for one of the greatest samples ever on the New Slaves outro.

shi might be too experimental but i fw it cuz its kanye

I mitt hode har jeg alltid puttet Kanye West og Lady Gaga i samme skuff. Lady Gaga, i likhet med Kanye West, er en artist som er kjent for å revolusjonere popmusikken i sin samtid. I Lady Gaga sitt tilfelle forsto jeg aldri hvorfor hun fikk den merkelappen, for når jeg hørte på musikken hennes låt det som ganske vanlig popmusikk. Jeg skjønte senere at i Lady Gaga sitt tilfelle handlet pioneringen mer om image og fremtoning, enn om det rent musikalske. Så når Lady Gaga og Kanye West er i samme skuff, regnet jeg forståelig nok med at dette gjaldt Kanye West også. Så feil kan man altså ta. Dette er jo faktisk ganske kult, og overraskende eksperimentellt. Det er hardt og skittent.

This is absolutely one of the most influential albums in the 21st century, when it comes to hip-hop at the very least. It's got maybe 1 or 2 songs that aren't as strong as the others, but it's hard for me to deny the pure lasting effect on popular music. 4.5/5

i guess the joke is on me that even after kanye has done everything in his power to burn all his goodwill and throw away all his chances, he's still got me fretting over my relationship to his art. i do not perform my morality as a public pageant, i remain close to art made by worse people than kanye, so when i say i cant call this one of my faves anymore i do mean it in an authentic, emotional way. yet it also doesn't feel like its fallen enough in my estimation for the fall to feel like a really meaningful statement, which is frustrating!!! my biggest barrier in revisiting kanye is that, for all the power of his ability to execute a vision, he truly doesnt have, and maybe NEVER had, anything interesting or meaningful to actually SAY about anything other than Maybe his own psyche, the voyeuristic fascination with which he had once cultivated to make him essentially uncriticizable and get away with abuse, incoherence, antiblackness, and shallow artistry. i really just cant put myself in that position again, given how obvious all the machinery was in hindsight and how he used to to both become a worse person and eventually completely stop giving a shit about his mania-fueled art. so then, if yeezus constantly fails to engage with anything outside itself, then its own existence as a self-describing object must be the only explanation for why i undeniably still like it...it is the first of many kanye albums to be the product of obvious laziness, but the initial spark burns so bright and produces so many world-swallowing sounds and instantly unforgettable moments that its validation was inevitable. blood on the leaves is so powerfully solipsistic that it just Destroys everything else while its playing, creating one of the most blatantly antiblack moments of kanye's discography while not losing one once of immediate power, and i think that vibe of minimalism as Destruction is what carries me through the record still. its highly unproductive, truly a type of album no one should make (i dont think i have to explain why Kanye Fans might easily overlook antiblackness), but my authentic reaction still has that recognizable awe in it. bound 2's mastering in the transition between the charlie wilson part and the verses is still the greatest thing ive ever heard...it almost justifies rick rubins whole career! definitely not kanye's tho.

Kanye is one of my favorite musicians ever, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed this album. I will admit though that it took me a long time to truly appreciate it. It comes off so harsh and abrasive, so minimalistic and electronic. The lyrics and subject matter are offensive, and the public's view of Kanye as a human being doesn't help whatsoever. But it is damn good. It flows well and tells a cohesive story. The production is top notch, something that became an expectation for Kanye. I don't really know how to explain why I enjoy it as much as I do, but I do.

Amazing 🤩! I can see why the album 💿 is held in such high regard. I added many to my playlist bc many of them were fun and beats 🎧 went crazy 😝!

Not allowed to listen to Yeezy any more

9/10

Better than I remember it being

He might be a piece of shit but he’s a musical genius whether you like it or not

So this is kinda my favorite Kanye album, because while it has flaws it kinda turns them around to make them strengths. The album doesn't really take himself too seriously like MBDTF does, there is a lot of goofy moments (well, lyrically at least) but they're so absurd that they work. And om the other hand you have the more serious songs which are among the best he has ever written. But let's face it, no one listens to Kanye albums for the lyrics, it's really about the production which is just right up my alley here. It's got those elements of industrial and electronic music delivered with such finesse and attention to detail. Like on Black Skinhead, that beat is absolutely insane. The touches of synthesizers on I Am a God are nuts. Another thing that is amazing is how these beats evolve. New Slaves comes from industrial madness to one of the most eargasmic climaxes in music history, Blood on the Leaves has so many layers and switchups that there is constantly something to look for and even I'm In It which is not really the best song here has some crazy production. The whole album culminates into Bound 2, which between the chipmunk soul production, the endless quotables and humour is in many respects the ultimate Kanye song. While I don't think this would convert any Kanye haters or even appeal to all his fans, it's still a really amazing album to me.

-1 for nazi

Always a very interesting listen, I feel like its totally unique in his discography, and arguably in rap as a whole, both for some good and some bad reasons. I don't think really any album I can think of is more aesthetically consistent and done well. I love the 8bit distorted stuff, which is often heavily contrasted by old dusty samples, which I think is really cool. I think he might be peak funny bars on here, of course makes me sad he fell off so hard, as I think he just cared so little that he sort of plays a character which is also probably a bit of how he actually is. The featured singers and stuff are great (as always). I'm pretty sure Chief Keef is on blood on the leaves, which is ok I guess, I don't really like that song, as the sample is chopped up really badly and its too loooong. Favourite songs: on sight, black skinhead, I am a god, New Slaves, hold my liquor, guilt trip. Overall around 8/10

Weird guy even back then. Never listened to a Kanye Album ever before. But it's quite good

Reluctant 4*

This dude is unhinged and the lyrics are wild. Despite public opinion of him, this album is certainly a work of art. Very high 4.5 for me.

Some great bangers on this one

Pretty good from the Genius

Dope

There are many reasons I shouldn’t like this: the obnoxious beats, jarring samples and offensive lyrics. But for some reason it all works so well.

Kanye at his best, second only to TCD

I wasn't happy seeing this album come up on the list. The College Dropout was heavily praised in some quarters, but I found it tedious, overlong and self-indulgent. Also, Kanye West is a grade A tod warrior. However, I was very surprised to find myself enjoying Yeezus from the get go. Musically, it's far more interesting the The College Dropout and the whole album feels focused and tight. Kayne isn't a great rapper and his lyrics stray into being mildly cretinous at times, but the rhymes didn't get in the way of me enjoying the music. A surprising four.

Really good, still don't grt why Kanye's labelled a "genius", whatever 4 stars

Incrivelmente bom!

4/5 - A record with an attitude - A+ Production Who knew he'd take Black Skinhead so far? 😭

This man went straight from living in the future to the 1940s

In a struggle to part the art from the artist I did like this album. I found it was closer to College dropout, late registration and graduation trilogy than the later work. I loved that early trilogy at the time and still enjoy the songs when I hear them today. It was the Kanye music I like.

Is Kanye West actually insane? Yes. Is Kanye West actually insanely talented? Also yes.

i dont want to like it but i like it

Its alright by Kanye standards, which means a really good album by normal standards.

Very angry album. "Eating Asian pussy all I need is sweet and sour sauce" is quite a line. Definitely a lot of unhinged lines on this album. Great production and sampling which is expected out of any Kanye album. Starts and ends with bangers in Black Skinhead and Bound 2.

Pretty wild and dark album where it is kind of easy to see that Kanye was turning into current day Kanye. Some of the most unique backing effects and noises for a rap album I have ever heard. Was really quite awesome though and in a rare occasion while doing these albums I found it really hard to concentrate on work because of how gripping this album was. Not as good as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy but still way up there in the high 4s

Fuck Kanye West! That being said I'm reviewing the music not the person on this one. I remember this being so incredibly polarizing when it was first released, and looking back definitely seemed like Kanye was ahead of the times per usual. All of the Daft Punk produced songs bang, but Black Skinhead sticks out the most. Banger of a song. Blood On The Leaves is one of Kanye's best, and is one of the best live performances I've ever seen. Only knock is that it goes on too long at the end there. Bound 2 is also a jam of a song. Only a lyrical savant could pen - Have you ever asked your bitch for other bitches???? Definitely loses me on some songs on this one, but overall its a pretty great album all things considered.

This is Album that was Ye’s Fall Off still a Good Album but it Ain’t Graduation or College Dropout still good tho’

Yeeezus. Call that sweet n sour sauce

Kanye comes in with raw, angry electronic beats, all capped off by a 'romantic' ballad. Big ego can be jarring to some, but I enjoy Kanye revelling in it. Whether he was pushing the envelope or not, I think it's a very listenable album and keeps things fresh and interesting until the end.

Damn this guy is too controversial to rate in the modern era. This is the tour I saw him on though and this album has some amazing tracks on it. I also did see him on this tour and it was such a good show. This does not condone his current state of being by any means but a solid industrial/pop hip hop crossover done by a ostracized (rightfully so) artist.

4.4

It really is too bad he is a dog shit human being because this album is iconic

Very inventive, if a little haphazard

Controversial, but some really great beats and hooks. Guess this was the beginning of the end.

Kanye making a rap album inspired by 90s Electro-Industrial is the most surprising and most Kanye thing imaginable, double points on the latter for the album title. I love how socially conscious this album is when he isn't saying stupid stuff like "I keep it 300, like the Romans." Maybe he should've rewatched the first 15 seconds of 300 before writing that down. Still, I think this album has Kanye's absolute best instrumentals paired with lyricism that can get a little all over the place quality-wise. While I prefer Late Registration, I can't deny that this is one of Kanye's better albums by far.

4 stars. This is still his good era but some of it I wasn't vibing it

I love this album - the samples are insanely good and I love how they switch off with the crazy amount of synth. There are better Kanye albums though..fav songs: on sight, new slaves

This is painful because I despise him but this album is very good.

I should clarify that Kanye’s a horrible person, and I think we all know that. This was the first Kanye album I’ve ever heard, and I’m pretty surprised by how much I like it. In fact, if the quality of the lyrics were more consistently good, it would probably have gotten a 5. I love the creativity present throughout the album, the samples and instrumentation create such unique sounds throughout the album, and I really like Kanye’s passionate delivery, even if some of the lyrics aren’t great in places. I do have to wonder how much of those lyrics were written with the intention of being funny or were meant to be taken seriously. 4/5

I am annoyed at how good this is.

I did it. I strapped on the headphones, I plugged in the audio cable to my old school audio apparatus, I installed the binary digits on my electronic content delivery device, positioned my digit over the spot on the touch-sensitive screen, gritted my teeth, and pressed play. I had never before countenanced, or whatever the term might be for adulterating my ears, with the sounds from Kanye megalomaniac West. You should get it, I have an extreme bias against this ego-cancer of an actual living human being. Yet I overcame my small penis prejudice against this fucking guy and actually gave this godlike MacGuffin a platform in my perineum. If I may humbly convey my own conundrumical confoundation... For the sake of the fucks, this ... egomaniacal abortion ... is not a lazy, numbly, auto-tune degenerate. He's a crafty, tirelessly innovative, unwaveringly puerile, imaginatively phonetically phaluctive phenomenon. A most vile human being, but this record is not a rip off, FFS. Please forgive me Satan.

"I keep it 300 like the Romans" has been haunting me since I first heard it. Like, it's such a great song otherwise. Why did no one point this out to him during the whole recording process? But there's so much completely nonsensical writing on this album that it might even be intentional (the exact intentions are unclear to me, though). But for me, an album being stupid doesn't matter if it's entertaining, and Yeezus is fun as hell. It is very inconsistent and all over the place in both lyrics and production, but there’s a lot of variety and every song has something enjoyable about it. Ignoring his more recent work, Kanye West proves that if you throw all of your genre's preexisting conventions and cliché out of the window and just focus on having fun, it can still result in some incredible music. He’s not a great writer, which would usually mean almost certain death in the hip hop scene (unless your name is Drake; I think his music is generally terrible, but he’s undeniably popular), but what he lacks in penmanship he more than makes up with his lush and varied production. Kanye used to make hip hop for people who don’t like rap (and now he makes hip hop for his schizophrenic hallucinations… and Candace Owens, apparently), and I, as a person who doesn’t enjoy lyrics or vocals all that much, prefer this. I used to strongly dislike hip hop before I listened to some Kanye. The original idea behind rap was to deliver as much information as quickly as possible in a less restrictive than singing way, so, of course, tracks that chose rapping as their vocal vessel traditionally turned out to be very vocal-driven. And, like… I just don’t care about vocals and don’t enjoy analyzing lyrics. I don’t have an explanation why, but they don’t really bring me much enjoyment compared to just rhythmic structures and nice-feeling frequencies and their combinations instruments and electronic plugins produce. So I thought that this genre was not for me. However, I always knew that hip hop with high effort production is possible and was always curious how it might sound, and Kanye’s music is where I found it. And as it turns out, the rhythmic nature of rap can greatly enhance well-produced electronic beats. Yes, there is a lot of painfully basic and repetitive beats on one side of hip hop and unbearable auto-tuned mumbling on the other, but he proved that there’s a little something in this genre even for me. Of course, a track can have both good writing and production (e.g., Kendrick), but Kanye is so good at the latter that his less-than-stellar lyricism barely hurts. Modern hip hop is very far away from where it was in the 80s and 90s. When I listened to some of it, I found out that there’s a significant amount of hip hop albums that don’t have the problems I used to associate with this genre. Recent releases put a lot more emphasis on production, and I think Kanye’s music is in no small part responsible for it. I don’t have a conclusion or a clever segue into an outro. Fuck Kanye, but this album is nice—listen to it.

New Slaves is dope!

Really good album, just lacking an indescribable element for me to give it all 5 stars. It might need a couple more listens. Top Track - Blood On The Leaves

I had to listen to his debut earlier and it was basically shite all around, while this one's actually got a lot of genuinely great stuff in it, musicwise. Shame that the lyrical content is still mostly about how he's got a big dick and fucks sluts.

7/10

He has mental “health” issues lol but his music is unique

I really like all Kanye. Hadn’t heard this yet. I like it. But I like the other ones I’ve heard more. 4 *

Not my favorite from Ye. Still a solid production, with a few bangers in there, but his older work stands out much more for me. 'Bound 2' is a certified banger though.

The last great Kanye album. I wasn’t ready for this when it came out, I thought it was bad. But it is a fantastic album that follows the hero’s journey. Or does it? The Dissect podcast does a full season on this album, breaking it down song by song and I highly recommend everyone check it out. They do terrific work and help me fully appreciate the albums they cover.

Filled with industrial electronic beats and typical Kanye lyrics I would say this album is great listen with standouts on the album being On Sight, Blood on the Leaves, and Bound 2.

No denying the sonic goodness and production on this album, it sounds amazing (though auto tune is used way too much). Despite how grating he can be and the misogyny ever present, the man's an amazing talent and the use of samples on "Bound 2," the occasional gospel choir, and good use of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver make for an interesting and adventurous listen all around.

I hate that both of the Kanye albums we’ve had so far have both been kinda absolute bangers. I really enjoyed Hold My Liquor and then I discovered Justin Vernon did the backing vocals and it all made sense. Awesome experimental album, horrible awful man.

I have trouble giving this four stars, since I'm Jewish and also not a fan of attention whores. But, I have to vote the music, and the music surprised me with how well-made and entertaining it was. He sings and composes pretty good for a man with his head up his ass.

Wow, okay I’m going to give this one a shot. Now I’ve never been in the camp that hailed Yeezus as a masterpiece, but 'Black Skinhead' is one of the most hype songs ever and probably my most listened to track from Ye (seriously, how could any of us had any idea that he was a literal black nazi?). The first half is indeed a masterpiece and with a stellar production to boot, it might just be the best five-song-stretch in his discography. But the fact is, the second half is less tight and much weaker. Kanye also goes on way too long on outros and sort of misses sight of what he’s trying to convey. Of course, he ends on a home run with 'Bound 2', but the damage is already done. Also, fuck him - being bipolar is no excuse for being a nazi fuck.

2013 Kanye: “I am a god” 2025 Kanye: “I am a nazi” I miss the old Kanye. Yeezus is a stark contrast to his previous effort, the grand MBDTF, but it still shows Kanye on top of his game - both as a songwriter, producer and innovator. There’s a few weaker songs on the second side of the album, but it’s more than made up for by the fact that it also contains “Blood On the Leaves” and “Bound 2”. Yeezus is another testament as to why Kanye was on everyone’s lips back then - that being totally different reasons than they are today.

4.5/5

Ugh, fuck Kanye & all, but this still slaps. Such an absolute disappointment of a human.

Uhhhh..don't really want to review Kanye since he is a terrible person who desperately needs help (swastika shirts).....3.5/5.....

We all know what a huge piece of shit Kanye is, but I’ll be damned if this isn’t a great album.

This album is definitely polarizing. Some nights I listen to the album of the day on the balcony with my wife enjoying some beer and THC. Last night was one of those nights. I figured she's always been a fan of rap, so she'd probably enjoy this one. She did not. I, however, did. I enjoyed it quite a lot. The verses are stupid a lot of the time. Childish a lot of the time as well, but they're done with such earnestness that it still hits hard. The beats are great when they're great, but sometimes the songs have very strange arrangement choices. I don't know that I'd listen to this album again, I definitely wouldn't want to support Kanye any more than I have to, that said, I really enjoyed my time with this album.

One of my favourite lines from any Kanye song is "Keep it 300, like the Romans", because it just says a lot about Kanye. Given this is Kanye, I went in with pretty low expectations. Especially because his recent music has been.... less than ideal. Some would say straight up bad, and I would agree. Something I respect from Kanye is that he doesn't just create music, he creates his art. He is his own sound, his own style, and does whatever the hell he wants with his music. Some of it is good (Black Skinhead, Bound 2) some of it, strange (some of the lyrical choices, the beat switches in On Sight are so drastic). Whether it works or not, I always appreciate trying to push music forward.

However you feel about Kanye, he is still a musical genius.

Sounds so good. Don’t love the offensive and immature lyrics. Too bad all of his albums aren’t Christian-based. I’d be more likely to listen.

Highlight Song/s: New Slaves and Bound 2 I haven't listened to Kanye at all, so this is from completely fresh ears. The production is absolutely amazing, my god. I'm really unsure if I like the rapping style he has, but it's catchy in some parts. It really is a shame how much talent was lost; way before he started spreading hate.

Firstly, I appreciate how controversial Kanye is and how disgusting his recent comments have been. However, I have chosen to review this album based on the music alone. There are some real career highs on this album (“Blood on the Leaves”, “Bound 2” and “Black Skinhead”). The production on the album was arguably ahead of its time and there is a real cohesive throughline that pulls the full album together sonically. The samples on this album are next level, especially the Nina Simone sample from “Strange Fruit”. I like that this album isn’t afraid to try something new but not everything hits the mark and it does scream of ego at times.

Quite a change up from College dropout. The songs lean more toward conventional hip-hop/rap. Still an enjoyable album for me.

what a tragic fall this person had

This album surprised me...I didn't really like it when it came out, but in hindsight seeing this as right around the time when the wheels started to fall off for Kanye, I'm kinda into it. Now that we've seen the wheels come all the way off, the lines that used to strike me (and probably most people) as arrogance and bravado now just feel like clinical delusions of grandeur, which for some reason is much more interesting and fun. Get em, you crazy bastard Musically, the production on this album is pretty nuts. Such huge sounds on some tracks, some minimalist production on others Hold My Liquor fucking slaps, Blood on the Leaves is sick, Bound 2 is unique. There's no one like Kanye

rather be a dick than a sucker

its a solid 4, not a 5. It could be better, but its not. zbut there are some good songs.

Bound 2, New Slaves, Black Skinhead are all Kanye at his best. I love On Sight + Blood on the Leaves too argue with a wall. Not a perfect album but so creative, nothing really sounds like Yeezus Shame Kanye retired on the day Donda dropped and we never heard from the guy again 😢

It’s good. Too bad Kanye became an even bigger asshole

Kanyen viimeinen oikeasti hyvä levy. Tummempisävyinen ja entistä elektronisempi eikä paljon mitään turhaa. 4/5

One of the last worthwhile albums from this artist. Despite his recent buffoonery and off-his-meds behavior, this one still holds up as a departure from his initial sound and is a wild exploration into experimental sounds. Production from Daft Punk is always a plus for any album. Fav tracks: On Sight, Blood on the Leaves, New Slaves, Bound 2

MY GOAT KANYE.

I wish the guy was not so absolutely fucking nuts. I hope he gets help.

Decent

Production, and sound is great albeit the lyrics can be off putting. This is the artist intent, to make you look at these things. What I cannot reconcile is the absolute abhorrent behaviour this person exhibits. You may make good music, but can be garbage.

MUSICALLY I am super ambivalent on Kanye. I loved a lot of the production and instrumentation. There's no way that knowing the lyrics will improve this for me so I am happy in my ignorance. ADDENDUM: I will look into the lyrics one day. Happy 420 Easter everybody.

4/5

I love how original this sounded and it still stands its place. I would probably rate it a 5, but I don't think it's as good as MBDTF, so I'm gonna keep it a hiiigh 4. Love this one. Get the volume up, set the bass high and just enjoy it!!

Perfect album!

3.75

positiivinen asenne, persoona.. olen jumala.. mitä tämä tarkotitata.. Sen sijaan, että olisin suoratoistanut Yo La Tengon "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass" ja "I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One" (onneksi miksei tämä albumi ole listalla????) suoratoistin tämän! this motherfucker sampled Gyöngyhajú Lány ok on pakko antaa plussaa siitä... haters gonna hate hate hate hate players gonna play play play play im gonna shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake sheke it off.. shek it off uu oo... seksija ja huumeja new slaves

Fuck Nazis though

Hate to support kanye given his recent antics. But he is iconic and legendary for a reason. I remember when this came out in college and not liking it at all. Wanted the old soulful sounds and this was so abrasive. And I hadn't really gotten into electronic music myself. But years later I keep coming back to this album (pre most recent antics). He delivers some of his best verses over some hard beats. And there are still snippets of the soul sounds throughout the record. Love Yeezus the album hate kanye the person

Bon, on va poser les couilles sur la table deux minutes car on s’attaque à l’album qui a fait chialer les puristes et mouiller les critiques en manque de sensations fortes. Yeezus. Le disque où Kanye West a décidé qu’il en avait officiellement plus rien à foutre de tes oreilles, de ta radio préférée et de ton confort acoustique. En 2013, le mec était au sommet et il aurait pu nous sortir un My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy bis, avec des violons, des refrains de stade et du champagne à tous les étages. Mais non. Le mec a préféré s'enfermer dans un loft à Paris pour accoucher d'un monstre. Un truc qui ressemble à un mixeur en train de s'enculer un synthétiseur Moog dans une cave berlinoise. Ce qui me frappe dès la première écoute, c'est cette absence totale de politesse. Habituellement, un album de ce calibre cherche à te séduire, à te brosser dans le sens du poil avec des refrains accrocheurs et une production léchée. Ici, on est dans l'épuration totale, dans une sorte de minimalisme punitif qui te hurle au visage. On sent la main de Rick Rubin qui est passé par là avec une tronçonneuse pour élaguer tout ce qui ressemblait de près ou de loin à de la complaisance. Le résultat ? Une espèce de carcasse métallique, froide et abrasive, qui ne laisse aucune place au doute. Une agression sonore qui te force à sortir de ta zone de confort, que tu le veuilles ou non. Musicalement, on est sur un terrain vague électro-industriel. Les synthés sont saturés jusqu'à la moelle, les rythmes sont déstructurés et les samples sont balancés avec la subtilité d'un pavé dans une vitrine. J'aime cette radicalité, j'aime quand un artiste prend le risque de déplaire souverainement. Kanye explore ici des sonorités qui grincent, des textures qui rappellent plus les usines de Détroit que les studios de Los Angeles. On est dans le hip-hop de combat, celui qui ne cherche pas à faire bouger les culs en boîte de nuit, mais qui cherche à faire vibrer les tripes de manière inconfortable. C'est strident, c'est parfois insupportable, mais c'est d'une puissance créative assez phénoménale. On sent que l'expérimentation est le seul maître à bord. Kanye se fout de la structure couplet-refrain-couplet. Il s'amuse à briser le rythme, à insérer des silences oppressants ou des cris primaux qui te glacent le sang. C'est une oeuvre qui respire la noirceur, une sorte de cauchemar éveillé où la technologie semble se retourner contre son créateur. Les samples audacieux, souvent déformés au point d'être méconnaissables, ajoutent une couche de mystère et d'agressivité. C'est un travail de design sonore avant d'être un album de rap. On est dans l'art brut, dans la matière sonore travaillée au burin et à la masse. Parlons-en, de l'ego. "I am a God", qu'il dit. On pourrait lever les yeux au ciel et passer à autre chose, mais c'est justement cette arrogance qui donne à Yeezus sa colonne vertébrale. C'est le cri d'un homme qui se sent enfermé dans une cage dorée et qui décide de cogner contre les barreaux jusqu'à ce que ses mains saignent. Les paroles sont crues, souvent agressives, parfois vulgaires, mais elles reflètent un malaise profond. Kanye y balance ses frustrations sur la célébrité, sur le racisme insidieux qui persiste même au sommet, et sur cette société de consommation qui veut le réduire à un simple produit. C'est sombre, c'est provocateur, et c'est surtout d'une honnêteté brutale, même si cette honnêteté est enveloppée dans une couche épaisse de mégalomanie. Il y a une colère noire qui traverse chaque piste. Ce n'est pas une colère feinte pour faire genre "rebelle de salon". C'est une rage viscérale qui transparaît dans le grain de sa voix, dans la violence des mots choisis. Il ne cherche pas à se faire aimer, il cherche à être entendu. Et pour être entendu dans ce brouhaha médiatique permanent, il a choisi de hurler plus fort que tout le monde sur des tapis de distorsion. C'est une démarche presque punk dans l'esprit : faire table rase du passé, cracher sur les attentes et imposer sa propre vision du chaos, quitte à se mettre tout le monde à dos. Évidemment, les réactions ont été contrastées. Comment pourrait-il en être autrement ? On ne sort pas un tel disque sans s'attendre à ce qu'une partie du public crie au génie pendant que l'autre hurle à l'escroquerie. Certains ont fustigé cette production "inaudible", d'autres ont salué une vision futuriste qui allait changer la face du genre. Et c'est là que réside la force de Yeezus car un album qui laisse indifférent est un album mort. Yeezus, lui, est une bête bien vivante qui continue de griffer et de mordre plus de dix ans après sa sortie. Il a ouvert des portes à toute une génération d'artistes qui ont compris qu'on pouvait être expérimental tout en restant au centre du jeu. C'est un disque complexe, souvent contradictoire, à l'image de son auteur. Il y a des moments de fulgurance pure et d'autres qui confinent au ridicule, mais l'ensemble forme un bloc monolithique qu'on ne peut pas ignorer. C'est une pièce maîtresse pour comprendre l'évolution de la musique populaire de cette décennie. On est passé du divertissement pur à une forme d'expression artistique qui n'a plus peur de la laideur, du bruit et du malaise. C'est une décharge électrique nécessaire dans un paysage trop souvent lissé par les algorithmes et les attentes des maisons de disques. Au final, si je dois poser un verdict sur cette expérience, ce sera un 4 sur 5. Ce n'est pas la note de la perfection mélodique, mais celle de l'audace brute et de l'impact culturel. Ce n'est pas un album qu'on écoute tous les matins en prenant son café, c'est un disque qu'on affronte quand on a besoin de se sentir bousculé. C'est imparfait, c'est parfois agaçant, mais c'est d'une vitalité rare. Kanye a réussi l'exploit de transformer son propre délire narcissique en un manifeste sonore qui résonne encore aujourd'hui comme une alerte incendie dans une bibliothèque. C'est complexe, c'est controversé, et c'est exactement pour ça qu'il faut l'avoir entendu au moins une fois avant de passer l'arme à gauche. On peut détester le personnage, on peut critiquer la forme, mais on ne peut pas nier que Yeezus a marqué une rupture définitive. C'est le son d'un monde qui craque, et c'est foutrement fascinant à écouter.

Creative and interesting, trendsetting.

God fucking damn it, Kanye. All you had to do was not become a nazi. This album is another example of his magical touch as a producer. Kanye the producer is good enough that he makes Kanye the rapper seem passable. This album has tons of variation in the sound, but it always hits hard. However, it's hard to sit here and think of ways to praise this album because Kanye decided to go around telling everyone how much he loves Hitler. Honestly, fuck this dude. Great musician, but I wouldn't ever want to be seen buying one of his albums 4/5. Fucker.

Nearly broke my first car's speakers with this album

Probably my favourite of his

Okay. How the hell did Kanye get even more irredeemable in the two months it's been since I listened to The College Dropout? I didn't think it was possible for him to get worse, but here we are! Anyways, just check that review for my take on the whole art vs. artist thing. However, there is something different to think about here. This is not The College Dropout we're talking about right now. This is a review for his 2013 album Yeezus. By this point, Kanye was definitely a bit of an ass, but he certainly wasn't evil at this point in time. Still, he was a somewhat controversial figure at this time. However, perhaps even more controversial than Kanye himself in 2013 was the album he released that year, Yeezus. This is a very interesting album. Going from The College Dropout to this probably wasn't the most ideal experience for my Kanye journey, but what am I gonna do about it? Yeezus is (from what it seems) a pretty polarizing album. You have some people claiming that it's Kanye's best album, while other people are out here giving the album a 5/10 or lower. What are my thoughts on the album? Well, it's no College Dropout, but I'd say I liked Yeezus for the most part? I think? It's a flawed record for sure, but the best parts of this album are quite great. Let's start with those best parts, shall we? I cannot stress enough the importance of the fact that this album does not overstay its welcome. Yeezus is a tight 40 minutes, which is perfect. Apparently this album was supposed to be longer, but it was cut down in length thanks to the legend himself, Rick Rubin. I always knew he had good ideas. Speaking of Rubin, the production is my other favorite part of this album. It's quite abrasive at times and is very different from that of an album like The College Dropout, but I still enjoyed it, just in a different way. The beat on "On Sight" makes me feel things that I don't know how to explain. I'm not sure if it's actually good or not, but I still can't help but smile hearing it. I really like the production. Now, let's talk about the big problem with this album for many... the writing. Look. I'm not going to say that this album has no good lines at all. That simply isn't true. Songs like "New Slaves" and "Blood on the Leaves" have plenty of great lines. However, there's also some stinkers on here. "Black Skinhead" is a pretty good song, but I can't help but feel disappointed in Kanye when I hear the line "I keep it 300 like the Romans." I mean, there's lots of things Kanye does that disappoint me, but that's just something I have to point out. Other songs like "I'm In It" just don't work for me. I respect the willingness to exude some of the less desirable parts of his personality, but I can't help but cringe a little with some of these lines. This is an album with some high highs, low lows, and some other things that fall in between. There's plenty of other things I could talk about. The features are okay. Kanye's rapping does the job well. "Bound 2" is cool. The cultural impact is certainly there. I can see why this was considered for a third Kanye album on the list. I don't know if it's the one I'd choose, but I can understand the choice. Overall, Yeezus is a fascinating album that has plenty of things to like and dislike. While I absolutely understand why someone would dislike this album (even including separation of art and artist), I found myself having a pretty good time with this one for the most part. It's not perfect, but it certainly tries something unique and pays off. Light 4/5.

Is it possible to separate the artist from the art? Because the artist is as trash as they come - a literal self-professed nazi. Which makes the song Black Skinhead hit differently. My thought on this album has always been that it's my favorite Kanye album - but I liked it better when Saul Williams and Trent Reznor did it with The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust. I love the experimental, industrial soundscape, and I actually think musically, it's his bravest and most creative album. Lyrically, however, it's kind of dogshit. It's mostly juvenile braggadocio referencing sex and the female anatomy. Which, fine, right? But on an album that has the song Blood on the Leaves, which talks about the history of lynching black people in the US, it just comes across as lazy and boring. This is a tough one, because I despise Kanye, and I've always felt he was massively overrated. But while I haven't listened to this album a ton because of my antipathy for Kanye, I have always liked it and, overall, liked it this listen. Kanye sucks, but this album, sadly, does not.

I miss the old Kan ... yeah never mind man where did my goat go

fuck. this sucks because the production is genuinely mind blowing like the synths are making my head spin. But he sucks and also so does “I’m in it” so can’t give this a 5

Nope not listening to this anymore.

Conflicted about this one as Kanye continues to be a total piece of shit, self proclaimed Nazi. However, from a musical standpoint, this album is very good. When it first came out I listened to it regularly for over a year. This was my first Kanye album I listened to. Aggressive album, well produced, certainly harder to listen to in hindsight without tainted thoughts. I feel compelled to give it a 1 simply bc of who Kanye is, but I’ll grade based on music.

Annoying to be getting this one like a week after he put himself in the headlines (again) with his nazi shit. Anyway, I respect how different it sounds from previous stuff of his, but it's not as good as Twisted Fantasy was

Very cool.

I promised myself I’d seperate the artist from the art after I gave the last KW record a 1 despite it being great. He makes it really fucking difficult though doesnt he? This album came up the week he launched a swastika range and lauded praise on Hitler. So aye, this album is very very good, some incredible beats and feel it goes beyond a lot of rap, but he’s also one of the biggest cunts going

Not 5 stars because MBDTF

Witty and filthy and coming unglued. Portrait of a genius descending and ascending simultaneously. I loved reading about the diverse influences on this album.

класека

4/5. I am sure half the people who listen to this album do not listen to this album because of the artist. And look, you don't have to listen to any album because of any reason but you should always give something a chance. To say this album is not creative and innovative especially with its release time. This album inspired a lot of our electronic based popular music today and yet it doesn't feel old. I know it's not that old but it could have been released today and will probably feel the same 10 years from now as well. The lyrics are definitely cringe but this album, like most of Kanye's later albums, whether intentional or not, there is a pity with all this ego talk, this man is one of the most insecure people in the world. It does not excuse his personality or actions but it does make the music more complex than just the surface level, which is already well-made. The last few songs on the second side, especially the last song, are not great compared to the rest of the album, so it's not a masterpiece. Best Song: Black Skinhead, On Sight, I'm In It

I listened to this years ago when industrial hip hop was a relatively new concept and I thought it was super messy. These days, while not being a perfect album, and paling in comparison to it's predecessors/contemporaries (The Money Store or Exmilitary by Death Grips should really be on this list) it really has grown on me. This album really feels like the transition into the unstable side of his career, rapidly expanding from the structured themes of power and excess expored on MBDTF into chaotic godhood on this record - a chaos that would continue to affect and eventually plague later releases in his catalog and his personal life. The record starts incredibly strong with On Sight, Black Skinhead, I Am a God, New Slaves (many of my favorite tracks on the album). Things dip a bit for Hold My Liquor through Guilt Trip, then pick up again for Send It Up and Bound 2. Pretty impressive though it certainly has its flaws. 3.8/5 -> 4/5

89/100. My second favorite Kanye album. Yeezus is stacked with great tracks from start to finish, with some of my personal favorites from him featured on this record.

Whoa great music - urgent and strong but Kanye’s bullshit shines through here lyrically. It’s a shame - he’s a master producer and he was interesting lyrically earlier on. Here he’s just a born again weirdo with an unironic god complex - and you now know what’s next in hindsight.

One of my favourite ye albums. I love how Experimental it is

Good but not in the upper echelon of his discography imo. Also obligatory fuck Kanye

Not my everyday jam but undeniably great.

I rather be a dick than a swallower!

my first album on this journey that I actually heard when it dropped! hile yeezus was controversial, i was always a fan of the mood and the dynamic productions. Not my favourite kanye album i cant deny the impact this has had on my listening patterns and how many of this songs dominate my workout and other playlists .. the nina simone sample is specially beautiful

I think I've been turned off by Kanye's crazy for so long I sometimes forget he's actually a really good producer and occasionally a good lyricist. This album has its faults and dips into a bunch of played out tropes, but it also shows seemingly effortless understated production on tracks like "Hold My Liquor," "I'm In It," and "Blood on the Leaves." It's been a long time since I listened to much Kanye, and I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this. Most days this probably gets a 3 from me, but today it's a 4.

8/10 there are better projects by kanye but still innovative and influential as well

Ik ga ff de persoon Kanye negeren. Want ja het is een idioot, maar jezus wat heeft deze man toch fantastische muziek gemaakt. Dit is misschien wel het meeste divisive Kanye album pre-Pablo, en dat komt toch vooral door de productie. Die is hard en rauw. Vooral op nummers als Black Skinhead en I am A God. Maar ik vind de productie dus absoluut fantastisch, het klinkt ontzettend futuristisch en dat kun je het beste zien aan het feit dat ondanks dat dit album uit 2013 komt het geen seconde gedateerd klinkt. Niet elk probeersel werkt op dit album, zeker niet, want sommige zijn mij ook iets te rauw en abstract, maar als het werkt werkt het ontzettend goed voor mij. Is dit 5 sterren? Ik denk echt net net net niet, het is een geweldig album, maar net niet een perfect album voor mij. Verdomme Kanye, waarom kon je niet normaal zijn? FAVO: Black Skinhead,I Am a god, New Slaves, Hold My Liquor, Blood on the leaves, Guilt Trip, Send it up, Bound 2

Pretty good album, but fuck Kanye

4.0

Musically I found it much more enjoyable than I thought I would. Kanye may be nuts but he’s got talented. Lyrically though the personal level of anger can be wearing - and I like angry heavy metal! But this feels so directly angry and specifically mean spirited and insulting it can be a bit exhausting. But I would listen to again.

One of my favourite Kanye albums, great beats and samples. Wild lyrics.

I would have never believed me liking Kanye this much if anybody told me so, but here we are

High variance.

I played this one a lot when it was new. Overall pretty good but not his best. I’m not rating him as a person. But he makes some good music.

he's not a god, he's a very naughty boy

Damn. Imagine if Kanye is an ordinary electronic artist instead of a rapper with dumb shenanigans.

Nogle af hans fedeste produktioner, men også med nogle virkelig bizarre kreative valg. Alene det at sample Strange Fruit på et nummer om hvor overfladiske ens bitches er når man er berømt får den ned på 4

Better than I thought. The first track was pretty annoying. I still like the Hudson Mohawke melody 😍

Woo, Yeezus. One of the most challenging albums I’ve heard (and actually enjoyed). It doesn’t help matters that Kanye West himself has become a more challenging guy to appreciate than ever, but I’m going to set that aside for now and just focus on Yeezus in its own context, at least as much as I’m able to. From the start, Yeezus is disorienting and confrontational. That’s not to say it’s some completely uncommercial experimental album, but it’s also not designed to be a friendly listen. If 808s and Heartbreak was expanding who Kanye West could be and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was a celebration of his accomplishments, then Yeezus is a furious assault on his past work, his fanbase, and even himself. Try to ignore the comically excessive bragging and boasting on “I Am a God” and “New Slaves” and just listen. Does this sound like a guy who’s having a good time? Beneath the uber-horny hyper-masculine bluster, Yeezus contains a barrage of negative emotions: anger, paranoia, and resentment abound. It’s the most aggressively misogynistic album Kanye ever made (which is saying something) and the lyrics tend towards vulgarity more than any coherent theme, but honestly, that matches what’s going on here sonically. This is the psyche of a man enraged by the world he lives in, one where he’s shattered every barrier to success and still feels like a second-class citizen in his own country, without a single real friend or even a real peer. (Note the crushing loneliness of “I Am a God”—he’s so arrogant that it’s made him despondent.) Pretty much all he’s got left to say now is some variation of “fuck all y’all.” The music itself is in a continual feedback loop with the troubled emotional state of the songs, and it sounds like nothing Kanye had done before. It’s full of chopped-up electronic noise, grinding synths and guitars, eerily empty spaces, screams and roars shoved through AutoTune. By the time we finally reach some familiar territory in the chipmunk soul of “Bound 2,” the song almost feels like a cruel mockery of his old work, a final goodbye to the awkward guy in the pink polo that he started out as. Now we’re left with this snarling megalomaniac, lost in his own myth, endlessly chasing highs at the cost of his own family, and apparently in love with Hitler. You listen to this album and it really shouldn’t be a shock that Kanye turned into what he is, he’s always been almost *too* honest about himself—after all, his masterpiece, Runaway, is a self-pitying confession about what a bad person he is… but I digress. One thing I want to highlight is the way Kanye sometimes breaks the hostile environment with sudden and emotive interludes: see the children’s choir in “On Sight,” the arena-rock finale of “New Slaves,” or the gospel bridge of “Bound 2.” It’s hard for me to identify why these sections work so well for me, even though they’re usually completely out of step with the songs they’re included in. A reprieve from the harsh sound font of the album? A reminder that there’s still some light among the darkness? I just like the melodies? Maybe all of the above, but whatever the reason is, they’re among the album’s most memorable moments. Many of these songs live on contrasts, the switch between soft and sharp, and the execution of that idea is pretty great. I don’t love Yeezus. It would take someone made of tougher stuff than me to love an album with this many jagged edges, that goes out of its way to spit in your face so often. But I do admire it, because in a musical world increasingly defined by the monotony that the streaming economy rewards, Yeezus sticks out as a legitimately bold move. I can’t think of an artist today with the sort of stature that Kanye had in 2013 who would release something this intense and unusual. It isn’t my favorite Kanye album, but it probably represents his peak as an artist who commanded real respect and attention. Now he commands none of either, and that just makes Yeezus even more of a feel-bad album than it already was. Would be a shame if he didn’t deserve it. Best song: Blood on the Leaves

It starts strong but kind of trails off at the end.

I liked this better at the time than I do now on relisten. I think some of that may have to do with how Kayne has gone off the deep end in recent years. However, it might still be my favorite Kanye album. 4/5

YEEZY SZN APPROACHING

Right, another Kanye album... OK first, we have to start with the man himself. He's an egotistical racist and seems pretty unstable. Some song titles remind me a little too much of Kanye the man. 'I Am A God' is obviously how he sees himself. 'Black Skinhead' is how the rest of us see him. This is only the second album I've heard by Kanye, the first being \"College Dropout', which was ok but not good enough to ignore his antics. The thing is, if I'm going to try to separate the art from the artist, 'Yeezus' is actually pretty damn good! It's bound, abrasive, experimental and it doesn't quite sound like anything else out there. For the list of collaborators alone, it would make me sit and take notice. Daft Punk, Arca,, Hudson Mohawke, Lupe Fiasco, Rick Rubin. Clearly not everyone's cup of tea but I have to admire artists who can risk their fan base to make something truly different and exciting. This puts me in the uncomfortable position of actually enjoying a Kanye West album. Had he been a different person, this would be an easy 5 stars but I have a really hard accepting that for such an outspoken Nazi.

Had stopped listening to KW after MBDTW so this album is new to me. Lyrics are horrible, but the music and production and choice of samples are all very inventive. My vote for 4 stars is for the album as it was released in 2013 (before the KW's downward spiral).

This is less accessible than some of his earlier albums and it required a few spins to acknowledge its greatness.

Alright, this is the first Kanye album I've decided to seek out and listen to since the first of several incidents in late 2022, meaning this is the first time I've listened to him intentionally in two whole years. So, I have to make it clear, as I tend to do with artists with utterly deplorable views, I've had to access this album through certain means. I'm not giving this man even a small fraction of a dollar for a stream. With that out of the way, there was once a time when I adored this album, it utterly floored me on first listen. While I was familiar with artists like Danny Brown at the time, I'd only really dipped my toes into the genre of experimental hip-hop at the time. To be quite honest, I think it's a good thing that an album like this was as popular as it was in 2013. It's extremely forward-thinking at times and while it's definitely not as impressive as I once thought it was (go and listen to Dälek's debut album - the song "Forever Close My Eyes" is one of the best things I've ever heard, and it came out in 2002), it's certainly nothing like what you would've heard on the charts at the time. The album immediately hits you with the most formless song on there, "On Sight". In case you weren't already of what you were in for with this album, this song makes it clear. This streak only goes on, with "Black Skinhead", "New Slaves" and "Hold My Liquor" being highlights on the album. That being said, a song like "I'm In It" is straight up embarrassing at points. It sounds like it's building up to a really interesting soundscape, only to hit you with trap hi-hats, which on their own would be fine but then you notice it. The dog barking sound effect in the background. Surely this can't be real, right? It is. It would be the most embarrassing moment from the first ten years of his music, though the entirety of "Drunk and Hot Girls" has a much better case for this. "Blood On the Leaves" is a jarring song, with the main sample being Nina Simone's version of Billie Holiday's track of the same name. A song whose impact is as arresting as that being paired with trap horns is an interesting choice, but somehow convinces me of the emotion Kanye bears during the course of the song. I don't necessarily like listening to it, but I at the very least understand the intention here. It feels poorly-handled though. This album is fairly conscious at times, particularly on "Black Skinhead" and "New Slaves", and while they don't say anything nearly as significant as what Kendrick Lamar was doing a year prior in terms of bringing consciousness back to mainstream hip-hop, the use of that particular sample just feels so out of place. As for the rest of the tracklist, "Guilt Trip" is pretty, "Send It Up" is fine, and "Bound 2" is beloved by many but not by me, though I do think it's very, very good regardless. This album no longer has the same impact on me that it might have had when I was 17 years old, but as a piece of music, it's still very good regardless. 8.5/10

Such a bummer that people can't separate art from the person. Kanye is wacky as fuck but he's a musical genius. Absolute master of sampling and integrating them. Bound 2 is on repeat.

The first dip. It's still great but a definite fall from MBDTF.

Yeezus really shows flashes of that Kanye brilliance we all know. While I'm sure this album was controversial when it came out, it revolutionized aspects of music production. The unique use of samples, 808s, and experimental sounds created room for new producers like JPEGMAFIA. The best examples of interesting production come from On Sight and Bound 2, but almost every song is very creative. Other songs like Black Skinhead and New Slaves are big highlights. Send It Up is by far the worst song on this album though. It's sad to see what Kanye was 10 years ago vs. what he has put out over the last few years. You can tell he just doesn't care as much anymore and has grown to be even more gross :( Best Songs: Black Skinhead, New Slaves, Bound 2

Abrasive. I didn't get into this so much at the time. I rated '...Dark Twisted Fantasy' much more as a record but, with hindsight, this is also close to bringing the Ye-game. The sense I get from Kanye is that despite always acting hard, he's essentially a soft lad, full of yearning. Aside from his well publicised foibles and troubles, it makes him an oddly compelling character. The musical landscape always feels more interesting when he's releasing his better material.

Surprising

Wow... I thought this was going to be my first 5/5 Kanye record. This record was awesome despite the final track... That track makes no sense for this record. The other songs are dark and heavy that last song is just typical Kanye. He really had something going until that last track. Oh well. Despite the last song, which happens to be the single off the record... You know that one with Kim Kardashian?theyfe in a motorcycle together? How cringey is was? But the song in itself, lyrics, beats, are just brutal. Too bad. Could've had a 5/5 from a non Kanye fan. That being said, I'd listen to this again.

this was a banger of an album, this is a great opener to experimental rap music for people who aren’t familiar with it, it’s a great sounding album with some great tracks, the end of new slaves really doesn’t get old

"I encourage you to do the same when a Kanye record gets generated for you: Find an album you love from a Jewish artist and stream that instead." lmaoooo his struggle Very good album from the beats to the flows. Can't say I liked everything on it just because of the autotuned songs.

Ahead of its time and leagues more listenable, likeable and enjoyable than probably 90% of albums on this list. Incredibly mid in comparison to TLoP but that's an unfair comparison given how good TLoP is

4/5 Yeezus has great highs, but lacks real consistency, with a particularly weak stretch of tracks on the back end. Send It Up is a painfully irritating listen to say the least. Kanye's writing is pretty poor throughout, and often only just saved by the intense instrumentals. However, the album does have amazing moments. The best points are the most lush, packed with vocals and instrumentation, such as the gorgeous New Slaves outro, or the fantastic Bound 2, but the simplicity and minimalist production can also be effective, shown by the enjoyable I Am A God. On Sight 4/5 Black Skinhead 5/5 I Am A God 5/5 New Slaves 5/5 Hold My Liquor 4.5/5 I'm In It 2/5 (LEAST FAV) Blood On The Leaves 3.5/5 Guilt Trip 2.5/5 Send It Up 1/5 Bound 2 5/5 (FAV)

I remember way more of this record than I thought I would. I remember not being as in to it after MBDTF, but really enjoyed revisiting this in light of the Kanye has shifted in the public consciousness. Just an all around solid record.

I thought it was good, obviously obscene, but there was definitely groove

This is probably Kanye’s most polarizing album. It’s when he was very much towards his egomaniac narcissistic persona. It also was when his production was unlike anything that came before it. This album kind of laid the groundwork for a couple of his other albums in the 2010s. This album as much as people hate Kanye is a really good album. The songs are good the lyrics aren’t terrible, yet, and the production is really top notch. When this first came out it was so weird and hard to like. Then after a few listens it was really great. I think it still holds up as a solid rap album. 8.0/10

The last Kanye album I listened to more than a handful of times. Key tracks: New Slaves, Black Skinhead, Blood on the Leaves

Nowhere near his best album but still pretty good.

He may be certifiably nuts, but as far as hip hop goes, this is about as good as it gets.

Not as groundbreaking feeling because I was more familiar with his newer stuff. Cool to get context near the midpoint of his career after already having his debut album on the project. Solid.

Jeez what a prick

A- On Sight 4 Black Skinhead 4 I Am A God 4 New Slaves 4 Hold My Liquor 4 I'm In It 4 Blood On The Leaves 5 Guilt Trip 4 Send It Up 3 Bound 2 4 I wasn't sure how I'd rate this because Kanye sounds worse to me now. The whole antisemitic spat swiftly brought his image back down to Earth. However, I always considered this very underrated in his catalogue, and it didn't disappoint when forced under the bright lights of my keen observation. I continue to stand by this as his most underrated album, although I understand the sound is somewhat of a "love it or hate it" kind of thing.

I can do with our most of this album but can't help but admire the talent on Bound 2; seems like the culmination of his talent as well as the starting point of his descent into madness.

This is the first album that I've been given that I had already listened to previously. 8/10

4.3 dare i say my favourite kanye? maybe maybe 2nd but it's floating near the top faves: on sight, black skinhead, hold my liquor, bound 2

I am a Kanye fan and it’s been 11 years since I first heard this album. I still don’t know what to make of it. One day I like it and another day I think it’s complete garbage. It’s certainly a strange album. Not a classic just very weird. But good weird

2 brilliant songs, and a lot of very good ones, felt longer than it was

Could this have been Kanye's final peak before everything inevitably came crashing down? I really don't know the details of his life story besides what they show on the news & social media (nor do I want to know the details), but this seems like Kanye at his most ambitious and at his most inventive. As soon as the album starts it's already creative as hell - On Sight begins like any electronica track, but then Kanye comes in rapping and it's like whiplash between the two sounds, but in a very good way. The rest of it is really cool too, with the blending of industrial and experimental music with his abrasive and belligerent bars. His last-minute decision to take a minimalist approach to this worked so well in his favor. Too bad for the person outside of this music but this is a genuinely awesome album, barring a few meh tracks. Standouts are Black Skinhead, New Slaves, Blood on the Leaves, and Bound 2.

Starts out harder, better, faster, stronger. Then the last third drops off. Rounded up on stars.

I liked this album since it was released. It used to be a 5/5, but I think it's come down a bit because Ye is a fucking tool and I can't totally separate the art from the artist. Some of the tongue-in-cheek lines are probably not tongue-in-cheek and that makes it hit different. 4/5

This is good. It’s also angry, which means my mood is dictating how I like listening to it.

Kanye has always been a confusing artist to me. This album has some really great lyrics and ideas. Some of the beats are a bit strange but they work and having this be my first Kanye album that I’ve listened to in years it was a good one.

I used to really like Kanye. His music always had more of a rock element to it than a lot of other rap music to me. This was really the last album of his that I thought was good. After this it was all down hill. Not my favorite album of his but certainly not the worst.

top 3 kanye album for me 4.5

I forgot how good this was, thanks for the reminder!

Some bangers but not better than MBDTF or even TLOP, so 3.5 stars.

This is probably the most conflicted I've felt about an album since starting this project, so I'll start with what's great about it. It's impossible to deny the experimental and uniqueness of this record. From the pure standpoint of music composition, it's pretty freakin rad. He mixes all sorts of different sounds, instruments, beats. Each song is super unique from the rest, but the whole record flows into each song perfectly. He also uses autotune in a super cool way including having Justin Vernon on a few songs). He collabs with a lot of rad artists on this too, and they never really take over the song but add to the holistic nature of the record. He has reggae artists and other rappers jump in when needed. Overall, the music feels progressive, intense, heavy, but even spacey in a few places. It's constantly moving and never really feels dull. This is truly one of the most unique and influential rap albums. This is 100 degrees beyond what Grandmaster Flash started. What I'm conflicted with: it's impossible for me in 2024 to separate Kanye the artist and Kanye the narcissist. Rap has a long history of songs being a first person narrative. And often these lyrics are satirical, ironic, or commentary on social issues / norms. Always towing an ever thinning fine line. However, knowing what I know about Kanye, it's hard for me to get behind really any of the lyrics or story telling. I would typically receive "I Am A God" as ironic, but listening to it now, it feels very serious. Even the social commentary on "Black Skinhead" and "New Slaves" feels off, because I know that he's a conspiracy theorist. Even silly sex songs like "I'm In It" feel weird knowing that he's done and said some really weird sex things. The back half of the album does lighten up on a lot of these things, so its a little more palpable. However, I think Kanye is maybe tainted for life.

A lot of dumb lyrics but it goes hard

Album full of well produced hype

Gotta give the Devil his due. Amazing album

Pretty solid.

Not a fan of Kanye the person, but he did develop a unique sound and definitely left his mark on the genre. And, as much as I hate to admit it, this is a good album. I'm even giving him a bump up from 3 stars to 4 because he is an artist worthy of the list.

This was the last album from Kanye that I really dug, and even with everything that has happened with him since - artistically, personally, politically - it remains a bracing and thrilling record.

another great musician who hasn't learned to take his pills

Say what you want about Kanye, the dude can make an album...

Some good songs but some noise also

Not my favorite Kanye album, but still one of his best

Bound

Always been a weird one for me. I don’t really fw like half of these songs. But the ones I like I really like. Thought about giving it a 3 but I think that’s me comparing to other Kanye. When I’m comparing it to everything else it’s clearly a 4. 🔥: Hold my liquor, blood on the leaves, bound 2, guilt trip(mainly outro)

what happened man

I think the best way to define Kanye's career is to split it up by which political faction embraces him. This feels like an album of transition. He's talking about everything from new age slavery to the new globalist world order. It's weird to go back and listen to this and know everything that's about to happen to him and America in the following decade. The music itself feels like the cross of narcissistic musings of an egotistical maniac and cutting social critiques of a broken society. A dark album that serves as a dark omen of what's to come. Throw is some absolute slappers and you have a very prolific album.

Not everyone can pull off an album like this and have it sound good. Kanye is a different breed. Top tracks: Black Skinhead, Hold My Liquor, Blood On The Leaves, Bound 2 Honorable mention: On Sight

Fuck off Kanye

Wow, this album goes hard. The sampling Kanye uses is next level but the songs I love are really the best ones on the album. I think he must have been pretty horny when he made this because it's all about pussy for many of the filler songs. Still a great 4+ album but not one I'd want to buy.

The most problematic of all problematic geniuses. Maybe not actually. He never killed anyone, and while it must have been awful for Kim kardashian, as far as I know he never intentionally abused her. But behind a production desk he was untouchable. This ain’t the album I’d have picked - gold digger is way too great of a problematic track - as is heartbreaker. But man when he’s on fire he burns.

Hm, der ist irgendwie ein Honk. Produktion ok, aber haut heute auch nicht mehr vom Hocker

Like nothing I’ve ever heard.

Solid overall album.

Classic best song: blood on the leaves

One of Kanye's most experimental albums, and it was a great attempt at adding in a distorted, grungy attitude to his typical work. Definitely not the Kanye albums I love ("I miss the old Kanye") but something that is different and fun. 4/5 or 85/100

Setting aside my thoughts on the artist, the one thing you can't deny about Kanye's work is the exceptional production level. Almost every sound is carefully chosen and placed to set the atmosphere. It's compact and flows well; very few moments feel out of place or unnecessary. I say \"almost\" and \"very few\" because the autotune in \"Blood On The Leaves\" is a choice. A bad one. The only track I would skip if I were to listen again. I have never been much of a rap fan--even after (or maybe because of) exposure to countless rap playlists at college parties in the mid-2010's--but even I can tell Kanye has elite flow. It's a real shame he's deplorable as a human being, because he'd be one of a short list of modern rappers that I actually want to listen to. Highlights: Black Skinhead, I Am A God A reluctant 4.

Such a great a

I'm surprised, I didn't know that Kanye actually recorded a good album? I honestly thought he is just a celebrity that raps as a side hustle, or something like that, but this record might have change that opinion. Really interesting and unique compositions, something that I haven't heard before, with addition of a really solid flow and lyrics by Kanye create a great atmosphere. Addition of few covers/borrowed melodies it makes the whole experience even better. Very positive surprise, I will be happy to listen to his older albums more often now. Yeezus will get 4/5 at the moment, but i will definitely revisit it sooner rather than later and maybe I will change my mind. One of the better hip hop albums on this list so far.

This was not good

Enjoyed this, have had it on a few times today. Some callbacks to his older stuff, some good sampling (though production is a bit more aggressive and a bit less theatrical than on other Kanye records that I've listened to). No standout hits really on this one, but it flows pretty well. Wish he'd dial back on the autotune a little bit, works better when it's marginally more subtle than it is here. But, overall, it's a really tight album, a good 40 minutes without any real filler which (as we've seen plenty of) most hip hop artists seem to struggle with 4/5.

Two Kanye albums in a row! How lucky am I... according to many reviewers on this site I'm not so lucky. I honestly like Kanye, and I can easily separate the art from the artist. He's no genius or god or whatever, but he makes good music. This record is a turning point in his discography. Harsher production, angrier delivery; a far cry from his previous release (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy). Some REALLY good tracks on here, but also some lesser ones. I also always found it funny how Kanye constantly addresses racial/social problems in his songs while simultaneously degrading women (primarily black women). Get it together dude.

Realized it’s likely been 10 years since I heard the album in full. I do really like it, a good companion piece to Dark Twisted Fantasy. Quick and angry.

"Yeezus" is the sixth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It is considered his most experimental and sonically abrasive album incorporating industrial, acid house, electronic, punk and Chicago drill. Similar to his previous album, he worked with a number of artists and collaborators on production including Mike Dean, Daft Punk, Noah Goldstein. Arca, Hudson Mohawke and Travis Scott. There were also a number of guest vocalists (Justin Vernon, Chief Keef, Kid Cudi, Assassin and Charlie Wilson). The album had widespread critical acclaim and, commercially, hit #1 in the US and UK. "On Sight" opens up with with electronic sounds including lasers. It goes to an electronic beat. Kanye rapping. This is different. "Black Skinhead" keeps the electronic theme but this is more industrial and minimalist. Kanye has an anxious tone as he raps about racial tensions and his crumbling state. In "I Am God " Kanye is called Yeesus by Jesus. This is desolate. A choir comes in at the end to cheer things up. The tone changes somewhat in the second half. "Blood on the Leaves" starts out more of a ballad. The music then starts to build tension. A sampling of Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit" is a brilliantly used as almost background vocals. Kanye uses the vocoder. This is very dramatic. The best song on the album. The closer "Bound 2" switches to soul as they repetitively sample "Bound" by the Ponderosa Twins Plus One and "Sweet Nothin's" by Brenda Lee. Kanye rapping in a pretty straight-forward way. The production of this album does make it abrasive and desolate. Kanye's vocals are dramatic and paranoid. I think he got what he was aiming for. I really started to appreciate the details on multiple listens. This is a very good album. And on the positive side, the album is only 40 minutes long with songs in the three to six-minute range. There is not a lot of filler. Recommended if just to listen to "Blood on the Leaves" if you haven't heard it already.

His ego is at its height here, and that’s saying something. His decision to go for a more industrial style on this album is respectful, and done very tastefully and also brought a lot of light to one of hip-hop’s most underrated sub-genres. The production is obviously immaculate. Lyrics are funny, mostly in the laughable sense. Some solid bops. Definitely enjoyed it. 4/5

Tää äänimaailma on tosiaan ollut suunnannäyttäjä seuraavalle 10 vuodelle. Aggressiivisuus sitä kastia joka puree muhun. Näköjään Spotifyn Night drive -listalla, se on myös genre josta pidän. Jäin myös oikeasti kuuntelemaan mielenkiinnolla loppuun asti (sopiva pituus btw), siitä yksi tähti lisää.

The first half of this album is feral egoism; works for the gym. However the second half doesn't quite have the same energy.

Sounds of the bleak and deranged future

The good: easily Ye's best production, this is him at his height every songs a 10 out of 10, for example that interpolation of Sigmas somebody to love on bound 2 is immaculate The bad: not one word on this album didn't either age weirdly or badly, the hypersexuality just sounds gross now and man do the socially conscious songs feel unsincere knowing where Ye's head would end up All that being said the production and musicality of this albums still among my favorite rap albums of all time

4.5

I miss the old Kanye

eh beh (viens de lire la page wikipédia du type)

I liked it.