ROCKY ROAD ‘I

Can Kanye hit the brakes on his erratic behavior and salvage his reputation with his new album?

I’VE been outta my mind a long time . . . Name one genius that ain’t crazy,” declared Kanye West over the electronic noise of “Feedback” on 2016’s “The Life of Pablo.” That LP — with its messy rollout and scattershot portrait of the life of Kanye — was sometimes as baffling as it was brilliant.

But as West is due to release the “Pablo” follow-up on Friday, you wonder if he has gone too far over the edge this time for the genius to win out over the crazy. One thing is for sure: Aside from the two tracks that were released prior to the LP (“Ye vs. the People” and “Lift Yourself”), there wasn’t much to go on.

The album wasn’t previewed for critics, and the title wasn’t officially revealed beforehand, although it is reportedly called “Love Everybody.” A listening party was scheduled to be held on Thursday night in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where West recorded his latest.

Can the music redeem one of the greatest artists — music or otherwise — of the 21st century? Or has West gone too far West? That is the tipping point we’re at, folks.

Given his recent behavior, this seven-track album is a big ask for West. Even within the realm of Kanyeland, this bizarro stretch is uncharted territory.

In May, West wildly proclaimed that 400 years of slavery “sounds like a choice” on “TMZ Live.” (He also said, “That’s my boy” about President Trump, as if the commander in chief was the new Jay-Z in his life. But more on that strange bromance later.)

West’s slavery rant was so shocking — and, quite frankly, sad — that Van Lathan, a TMZ reporter, told West that he was “appalled” by his comments. Others, from Kobe Bryant to Snoop Dogg, blasted the 21-time Grammy winner, who changed the game with his 2004 debut album, “The College Dropout.”

Suddenly, his infamous Taylor Swift “I’ma let you finish” stage bumrush at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards — which prompted President Obama to call West a “jackass” — seemed harmless, if not downright innocent.

However, while some of his antics may have seemed almost humorous, there was real concern for West after he canceled the remainder of his Saint Pablo tour and was hospitalized for a “psychiatric emergency” in late 2016. He recently admitted to having had an opioid addiction.

But since returning to the public eye in April, West has been in rare form, gabbing about his presidential aspirations in interviews and returning to Twitter with a streamof-consciousness storm following an extended absence. He’s tweeted stuff such as “I can’t be managed” after firing some of his team, while his feed has also included philosophical musings such as “Truth is my goal. Controversy is my gym. I’ll do a hundred reps of controversy for a 6 pack of truth.”

When West posted a pic of himself rocking his “Make America Great Again” hat signed by Trump, however, it wasn’t the Kanye that many of his followers wanted to see. His pro-Trump stance has angered — or, at the very least, disappointed — much of his more liberal fan base.

Then there’s the wacky fact that he’s playing “Celebrity Family Feud” in an episode pitting the Wests against the Kardashians that is slated to air June 10 on ABC. It’s hard to imagine Kendrick Lamar, the critically acclaimed rapper who just accepted a Pulitzer, doing something like that.

As off-putting as that may be to some, it’s perhaps harder to accept Kanye paying $85,000 to use a photo of Whitney Houston’s drug-strewn bathroom (in the Beverly Hills hotel room where she died in 2012) on an album cover. Did Pusha-T’s “Daytona” LP, which West produced, really need that?

For his own album to succeed, West will surely need better than what we heard before its release: “Ye vs. the People,” on which he debates his critics (as voiced by T.I.), and “Lift Yourself,” with its nonsensical babbling. But even some killer music may not be enough to overcome all of the damage that has been done. That may be asking too much — even from a genius.