Kanye WestIf Kanye West hadn't released a body of work over the last five years that was so flawlessly, musically brilliant, then he wouldn't be under this level of scrutiny in an incredibly bright (self-manufactured) spotlight. Considering this he's taken some brazen risks and chances on Yeezus – it's experimental and often challenging, incomparably so in the world of big budget hip hop.
The beats are distorted and barely even exist a lot of times. Sections of songs are crash edited together hard. Synthesiser sirens and loud sample bursts hit the pain threshold at high volumes, and lyrically it's a confusing mess. While clumsy missteps and awkward references have always been part of his charm, lines of cringe-inducing agony sit right beside some of his best writing, which is infuriating. It's pretty easy to get past this and focus on the goosebump moments – when the second half of Black Slaves kicks in with the soul sample, when the brilliant change in Bound 2 reveals itself, the entirety of I Can't Control My Liquor.
Despite a long list of guests the whole thing reeks of Kanye's production, songwriting and style. Daft Punk's collaborations are invisible beside a heavily-distorted synth arpeggio for the duration of On Sight. Everyone else has either tailored their work to sound like 'Ye or he's just completely taken over – it's obvious how much has been stripped back off the tracks in the late rounds of production, something that only enhances the experimental sound in the best way.
It's almost exactly the album Kanye had to make; with less lyrical gaffes it would have been perfect.
