West’s ‘Ye vs. the People’

Ye vs. the People is less a song than a carefully staged debate, the result unlike anything else fans have heard from Kanye West. Newly returned to the public eye after more than a year away from the spotlight, West released the song after a week of controversy as he touted his pro-Trump views, praised far-right commentators and debated American history on Twitter. This conflict plays out in the lyrics of his newly released

Ye vs. the People, over a sample of the Four Tops’ 7 Rooms of Gloom, with the song casting rapper T.I. as the voice of West’s skeptical fans. “All them times you sounded crazy, we defended you, homie / Not just to be let down when we depend on you, homie,” he raps after accusing West of supporting white supremacy and misleading his followers. West does his best to fire back, but in the end, he finds himself bested on his own track by

Ye vs. the People’s guest star.