HEAR ‘YE,’ HEAR ‘YE’
Kanye’s latest LP about state of mind
KANYE West has been testing the limits of his fans’ patience with his recent bizarre behavior. Now, with the unconventional rollout of his new album, “Ye,” the LP is as much about his mental state as his music.
He unveiled it Thursday night at an exclusive listening party at Diamond Cross Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Among the stars in attendance were rappers 2 Chainz, Pusha T, Nas, Fabolous and Lil Yachty, as well as West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, and actor Jonah Hill.
“Hip-hop is the first art form created by free black men,” Chris Rock reportedly told the crowd by way of introduction. “No black man has taken more advantage of his freedom than Kanye West.”
West hadn’t released an album since 2016’s “The Life of Pablo.” That same year, he was hospitalized for a “psychiatric emergency.” Since then, he’s acted bizarrely on numerous occasions. He recently copped to having had an opioid addiction, and last month he controversially told “TMZ Live” that slavery “sounds like a choice.”
“Ye” finds him tackling all of those issues with raw honesty. West addresses — and even embraces — being bipolar over music that hopscotches across his previous work, from 2008’s “808s & Heartbreak” and 2010’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” to 2013’s “Yeezus.”
But, giving us a peek inside how his erratic mind works, the rapper also touches on everything from recent controversies (his own included) to family dynamics with his wife and daughter.
West’s wife said in a tweet on Thursday that he shot the album’s cover photo — a lovely mountain scene — with his iPhone on the way to the listening party. In what may be an indication of Kanye’s mindset these days, he scribbled in green neon ink on top of his pic: “I hate being Bi-Polar. its awesome.”
West alludes to that mental disorder in the disturbing opener, “I Thought About Killing You.” “The most beautiful thoughts are always beside the darkest,” he intones over what sounds like a warped vinyl record. The track also finds him musing about committing premeditated murder and suicide.
The confessional, therapy-session tone continues on “Yikes,” which recalls the dark, menac- ing mood of “Yeezus.” “Sometimes I scare myself,” admits West, who later refers to being bipolar as “my superpower.” Despite the ominous rumble of it all, this is the closest thing this downbeat affair has to a banger.
But West also gets out of his own head and comments on the world around him, taking on some topical targets.
On “Yikes,” he takes a moment to weigh in on the #MeToo movement, albeit in a roundabout way: “Russell Simmons wanna pray for me too/I’ma pray for him ’cause he got Me Too’d,” he raps, referring to the sexual-harassment allegations that the hip-hop mogul has faced.
Meanwhile, on “All Mine” — which recalls the emo-esque vibe of “808s & Heartbreak” — he drops a line referencing his buddy President Trump’s alleged affair with a porn star: “If I pull up with a Kerry Washington, that’s gon’ be an enormous scandal/I can have Naomi Campbell, but still might want me a Stormy Daniels.”
Elsewhere, West puts a more personal focus on family matters. “Violent Crimes” examines how becoming a father to a daughter has changed how he looks at women, while “Wouldn’t Leave” is a straight-up slow jam about Kim K. standing by her man through all of the madness. On that cut, he confronts his most baffling recent moment: “I said slavery a choice, they said, ‘How, Ye?’ Just imagine if they caught me on a wild day.”
In the end, West’s eighth studio album won’t go down as classic Kanye: It doesn’t break much new musical ground and lacks the exhilarating highs of his best work. Plus, at just seven songs and 23 minutes, “Ye” feels more like an EP than a proper LP.