Ye, by Kanye West
Coming from a mega Kanye fan, every single track from Ye is exactly what I've been hoping for since 2016. Since the release of The Life of Pablo, Kanye's had it rough. He’s endured public hate for proclaiming his support towards Trump, berated by millions for begging Mark Zuckerberg for money, ridiculed for his admittance in a mental hospital and infamously saying slavery was a choice. He was ripped apart by the public and Ye is his response.
Recorded in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Ye consistently has a dreamy, floaty feel; it's surprisingly light compared to a majority of his other releases. However, unlike his other works, it doesn't stand apart from the rest. It doesn't stand apart like Graduation with its glaring synths compared to Yeezus' cold and chaotic industrial noises. Its as if Ye is a mixture of 808s and Heartbreak's pessimism and Yeezus' anger. There are as many personal, reflective moments as there are sudden and abrupt moments of manic aggressive. In Ye, you gain a strong sense of the torment Kanye experienced in order to once more see and bathe in the light.
"I Thought About Killing You", the album opener, starts off with an unintelligible wishy-washy vocal loop, in the background, by Francis and the Lights. Shortly after, Kanye leads a spoken out warm and emotional monologue for roughly 2 minutes and 25 seconds. I simply cannot do this introduction justice, I can talk about it forever - it's just that great. This monologue almost serves as an introduction to the album and the two themes it constantly presents to the listener: love and hatred. After the introduction, the beat kicks in and Kanye starts off by rapping about mental strength, succumbing to his mental episodes, fighting off opioid addiction, and mindsets that he carries with him. Halfway through the second section of the song, an aggressive and feverish beat, that constantly rises and falls, replaces the calm and collected beat that previously took place in the song. Kanye effortlessly switches up his tone and takes an aggressive stance on the song, filling each bar with indignation. Continuously hooking the listener in, the beat unexpectedly sucks out and launches the listener into the second track, "Yikes".
In "Yikes", Kanye starts off the song rapping about the frightening feelings he would encounter with his drug abuse and bipolar feelings over a subtle, dark droning background synth. Yeezy proceeds to fucking snap in Verses 1, 2 and 3, with the help of a banging beat featuring a high pitched, hypnotizing "AY AY AY" vocal sample. He raps about the intense highs prescription drugs brings and the luxuries his famous lifestyle brings: lots of drugs and having enough clout to do whatever he wants. Just as Prince and Michael Jackson, he's living this iconic lifestyle and will eventually meet the same fate Prince and Mike did. In the outro, Kanye boasts that his bipolar disorder is his superpower and how, even though it's considered a disability, he takes pride in it. This roller coaster of emotions, throughout the album, reflects his illness, which was hinted at in “30 Hours” on TLOP.
"All Mine" starts out with chilling but intriguing organ notes played in the background, only to be cut out and continue the trap themes of Yikes. At the end of the song, Kanye shows some personal self-reflection that ends up providing some crucial insight to Yikes and All Mine; Kanye can't help these involuntary actions, brought on by his bipolar disorder, and is now looking back upon it, in a clear state of mind, understanding his behavior.
Yikes and All Mine are both bangers, but, like every other song on the album, it's surprisingly light. It doesn't have anything heavy, but it simply carries itself across its duration and invites the listener to join in and ruin themselves as Kanye has.
"Wouldn't Leave" brings in a new sentimental change of pace for the album and leaves the aggressive tones on Yikes and All Mine. He proclaims his love and devotion to his wife, explaining how his "butterfly energy" and free-thinking actions have taken a toll on each other, but not their love.
"Ghost Town" has the same iconic vocal samples, a John Legend feature, and booming distorted guitars that pump adrenaline through your veins, oh and a great pained refrain by Kid Cudi that is reminiscent of the production on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The song talks about the mindset he's held with him through the past year while dealing with his "mental breakthrough": a mindset diluted by drugs, numbness, rapid fluctuation of the truth and pure and utter insecurity. In the end, the listener is blessed with a godly outro that continues to build and release, then build again and only to have no release, only to build more and more just to release again with the help of slow-moving guitars, omnipresent like reverb soaked drums and bright stuttering synths.
"Violent Crimes" serve as the well deserved outro Ye deserves. Lyrics, over a calm gentle beat, mention how corrupt Kanye’s view of women used to be and how that all changed once he had his daughter. Referring to his daughter's life, as well as his, the boundaries that were their in their entire life started to fade away. Violent Crimes is a path of discovery; his philosophies aren’t indestructible. Outside forces persuade Kanye to adopt new views and replace his old, dated ones. Doing so allows Kanye to take a step forward towards a better life for himself. Subsequently learning to love and accept the dark, heated moments of his life.
My major complaint of the album is that several songs cut out abruptly, which results in an awkward and, on repeated listens, annoying transitions into the next song.
Highly recommend to anyone with any spark of interest in Kanye. If not, there are still some bits and pieces that can be taken away from Ye, but it probably wouldn't be as enjoyable.