[12] In May 2013, Def Jam executives listened to the "final product", (only later to be changed) describing the album as "dark". I worked too hard to come a week later after Kanye West drops an amazing album. 2013: Kanye West – Yeezus and DJ Khaled. "The 10 Best Pop Albums of the Year." [6][7] The album was originally titled Thank God for Drugs. West kept compositions simple in order to hear the tracks more clearly; too much bass or complexity would simply overpower the room's poor acoustics. [40], The album's second track "Black Skinhead" has alternately been called an industrial hip hop song[34][36] and "a galloping punk-rap manifesto". However, there's no denying the coincidence between the final artwork and an unreleased cover that legendary art director Peter Saville designed for New Order back in 2001. He's entitled to do whatever". [158] Regardless, radio stations have still played tracks from Yeezus on air, despite it being a departure from the normal playlists found on hip-hop stations. [164] The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones suggests that Yeezus may be preferred over any of West's previous works in coming decades by a new generation due to the "lean vibrancy" of the album. [4], West was influenced primarily by minimalist design and architecture during the production of Yeezus, and visited a furniture exhibit in the Louvre five times. [14] While previous albums, particularly Dark Fantasy, took considerable time in the studio, Yeezus was described by Kilhoffer as "the fastest record we ever made". [59] "Bound 2" features vocals from American soul singer Charlie Wilson and incorporates numerous samples into its production, including prominent elements of the song "Bound" (1971) by soul group Ponderosa Twins Plus One. Kanye West’s sixth studio album, Yeezus, marked a complete reverse from the bombastic production he accomplished on My Beautiful Dark Twisted … Don’t forget text. [5] "I'm In It" began with a different sample and melody, but West removed the sample and Rubin edited the track down from a six-minute arrangement. Unique Yeezus designs on hard and soft cases and covers for iPhone 12, SE, 11, iPhone XS, iPhone X, iPhone 8, & more. [172] That same month, Jack White, a vocal advocate of analog recording, remarked that Yeezus "is obviously recorded on Pro Tools but sounds unbelievable, because it is very simple and there aren't a lot of components going on, and this really allows the songs to shine. [82] The Washington Post commented on the significance of the leak: "Kanye West’s new album didn’t leak online over the weekend. [102], In January 2014, Yeezus was named the best album of 2013 by The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll. It gushed out into the pop ecosystem like a million barrels of renegade crude — ominous, mesmerizing and of great consequence". [143] Yeezus was later certified platinum in the US by the RIAA on January 8, 2014 for shipments of one million albums shipped to stores and digital retailers. West gathered a number of artists and close collaborators for production on the album, including Mike Dean, Daft Punk, Noah Goldstein, Arca, Hudson Mohawke, and … It draws from an array of genres, including industrial, acid house, electro, punk, and Chicago drill. Made in collaboration with Justin Saunders, Joe Perez, Matthew M. Williams, and Kanye West, the Yeezus cover … [44] West subsequently revealed the album's cover and title, Yeezus, on his official website. The revelation shows just how much Kanye West’s mindset changed in a short period of time. I'm going to go see him on that date. receiving the newsletter at any time by sending an e-mail to info@highsnobiety.com. [146] Yeezus was ranked as the 37th most popular album of 2013 on the Billboard 200. Not only is this image noticeably similar to the cover design for Yeezus, but the color scheme also falls more in line with the image for West’s forthcoming project YANDHI. [29] Slant Magazine critic Ted Scheinman described the album as "built on alien, angular beats, slowly morphing drones and sirens, abrupt periods of silence, and a pulse-quickening style of delivery from Yeezy himself", writing that West reconceives the "notion of what kind of music (or noise) can underpin hip-hop". It'd be like, 'Oh and J.Cole dropped too, a week later.' [86] In The Times, Will Hodgkinson surmised that Yeezus could have been West's masterpiece had he not become "so hopelessly self-important". "We weren't supposed to come up with something this clean. [30] According to Charles Aaron of Spin, Yeezus is "a hip hop album, not a rap album", because of how its sounds and subject matter are assembled together, and although listeners can hear "'punk' or 'post-punk' or industrial'" throughout, "hip-hop has always been about noise and dissonance and dance music as agitation". No album artwork is featured on the release of the former, and the physical CD edition was released in a clear jewel box with only a strip of red tape and sample credits. Snap, tough, & flex cases created by independent artists. The next day, West performed that track, along with “Black Skinhead” on Saturday Night Live, and announced the album’s cover and title, Yeezus, on his official website. [153] Yeezus was also a chart topper in Denmark, New Zealand and Russia. Please The album also features guest vocals from Justin Vernon, Chief Keef, Kid Cudi, Assassin, King L, Charlie Wilson, and Frank Ocean. You guessed it: black. It is a great representation of what Grimes’ Visions album represent that is both textured and stylised. In an interview with Australian radio station Nova, Allen stated that she is terrified that West would think it's "a diss rather than a tribute". [40] "Bound 2" received general acclaim from music critics, who referred to the song as one of the highlights of the album and compared its soul sample-based production to West's early work from his debut studio album The College Dropout (2004). If the song called for something aggressive, it was up to three or four people to design what in their head was the best solution for that aggression in that moment. However, several sources report that that may not be the final and official art work. It became an instant cultural artifact, and the music contained within is just as innovative. During this period, Virgil Abloh served as assistant creative director of West's creative content company DONDA, alongside Matthew Williams, who held the title of art director and music consultant at. [92] NME named it the second best album of the year calling it "his most sonically challenging album to date". Due to its experimental nature, Yeezus has aged like the finest of wines. Dreams won't be cancelled. [1] In a September 2013 interview with radio DJ Zane Lowe, West said of Rubin that "he's not a producer, he's a reducer". What's better than having a kickass album cover? ", "And Pitchfork says the best album of the decade is...", "100 Best Albums of the 2010s, Ranked by Rolling Stone", "Best 50 Albums of the Decade So Far (#10 – #1)", "Official: Kanye West's 'Yeezus' Sells 327,000; Debuts at No. The album also features guest vocals from Justin Vernon, Chief Keef, Kid Cudi, Assassin, King L, Charlie Wilson, and Frank Ocean. You can object to the use of your e-mail Yeezus is the sixth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. [63], On September 6, 2013, West announced The Yeezus Tour, a North American tour to take place between October 19 through December 7, 2013; two months prior to West's announcement, Yeezus co-producer Mike Dean had announced a tour for the album. The most popular color? The front is affixed with a Parental Advisory label. [137] Simultaneously, Born Sinner entered at number two on the Billboard 200 with sales of 297,000 copies, selling 30,000 less than Yeezus. [53] In a 2016 BBC interview with Annie Mac, West explained the album cover; "The whole concept for the Yeezus album is that we're not going to be using CDs in the future and since this is the last time we're going to see it, this is an open casket for the CD. West responded unfavorably to this due to not receiving more nominations. [171] In February 2014, English singer Lily Allen announced that she would title her third studio album Sheezus. Rosen, Jody. [174], Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[4]. Peter Saville's unreleased New Order album artwork from 2001, David Rudnick's artwork for Boys Noize and Erol Alkan's 'Lemonade,' 2011, *If you submitted your e-mail address and placed an order, we may use your e-mail address to inform you Before venturing into fashion design, Abloh studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. accessibility of any particular Web page on our website, please contact us at accessibility@highsnobiety.com [22] The Independent, Mass Appeal, and The Village Voice described it as an experimental release,[23][24][25] while Meagan Garvey of The Outline described it as West's "industrial album". gave it 8.2 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Yeezus remains one of his most controversial covers to date for a long list of reasons that have continued to build over the years. West has never publicly addressed any of Rudnick's claims and Saville has managed to avoid commenting on the matter all together. [31] The album also incorporates elements of industrial and trap music. With a more minimalist approach intact, West set out on his quest to become one of the greatest visual artists on the planet. When the album was finally released, though, Yeezus sported a blank cover. [136] However, it still had the third-best first week sales of 2013 at the time of release and marked the highest first week sales by a hip hop album since Drake's 2011 album Take Care. [48] Speaking about the album's minimal promotion, West stated: "With this album, we ain't drop no single to radio. Born Sinner June 18th". Yeezus is the sixth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. [33] Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Alternatively, you can object to to the basic tariffs. [32] The record "most closely resembles" 1990s industrial rock, during which the genre had a significant pop culture impact, with artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and Marilyn Manson gaining success. [82] In Robert Christgau's opinion, the combination of harsh rock and hip hop sounds on Yeezus was as bold as Public Enemy's music during the 1980s, but West's lyrics were grotesquely off-putting. [68], Reviewing the album in The Guardian, lead critic Alexis Petridis found it "noisy, gripping, maddening, potent",[73] while Helen Brown from The Daily Telegraph said it was "the most exciting album" she had heard in some time. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) This is where things started to get really interesting -- … She said that she thinks West is brilliant and praised him for speaking his mind all the time. [12] West set parameters regarding sound and style, insisting that there be no "bass wobbles" reminiscent of dubstep. [62] West subsequently made the announcement in an interview on New York's 92.3 NOW. The original artwork was barely existent; consisting of only a clear jewel case, blank CD, and a red sticker. "He's wordsmith enough to insure that his sexist imagery is very hard to take", Christgau wrote in The Barnes & Noble Review,[83] looking at the album as an "alt-rap also-ran". [12][41] "Strange Fruit", first recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, brought the lynchings of black Americans to a "startling poignancy", creating "one of the most towering, important songs of the 20th century". West's anthemic re-telling instead details an MDMA-fueled hookup and the perils of fame. [38] "Bound 2" features heavy soul music samples and has been described as the only song on Yeezus which recalls the sound of West's early work. also named it the hip hop album of the year. No one's near doing what he's doing, it's not even on the same planet". [35] West elaborated, claiming that he "was like 'I'm gonna take my ball and go home'". [3] For Yeezus, West enlisted several collaborators, including Kid Cudi, Charlie Wilson, S1, The Heatmakerz, Mike Dean, Hudson Mohawke, Skrillex, Young Chop, Chief Keef, Frank Ocean, Odd Future, Travis Scott, The-Dream, Cyhi the Prynce, Malik Yusef, King L, John Legend, James Blake, RZA, Mase, and Pusha T. The album features additional vocals by Justin Vernon, Frank Ocean, Kid Cudi, Chief Keef, King L, Assassin, and Charlie Wilson. [16], W writer Christopher Bagley reports that West's creative process often bordered on perfectionist. West released two singles from the album; "Black Skinhead" in July 2013 and "Bound 2" the following month. New York December 16, 2013: 72-73. It should be noted that Lemonade included a remix by Gesaffelstein, a French DJ who worked on two tracks featured on Yeezus. The missed Chicago and Detroit shows were rescheduled however, the rest of the missed dates were cancelled, Def Jam cited routing logistics as the reason. [138] That same week, Born Sinner remained at number two on the Billboard 200, outselling Yeezus by nearly 20,000 units with sales of 84,000 copies. Besides their incredible production quality, Kanye West albums were known outrageous concept album names. [170] Expressing his thoughts on the mixed reception of the album in October 2013, fellow rapper Lupe Fiasco viewed himself as not facing a similar uphill battle. Conversations won't be cancelled. From shop TeguHsHophes. Initial promotion included worldwide video projections of the music and live television performances. [167] American rapper Hopsin dissed West over the album within the lyrics of his single "Hop Is Back" in October 2013, while the music video included Hopsin reenacting one of West's numerous encounters with the paparazzi. [5] Reports emerged that he and his then-girlfriend Kim Kardashian had moved to the loft in order for West to begin work on the album.[10]. [50] The next month, J. Cole gave further context, claiming for the coinciding release to be "more about the statement" than the sales. ", "The 17 best quotes from Kanye West's interview with Annie Mac", "Kanye West Prepping 'Black Skinhead' as First 'Yeezus' Single", "2013-07-13 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive", "Kanye West Releases 'Bound 2' As A Single To Trick People into Thinking 'Yeezus' Sounds Like Old Ye", "Kanye's Next Single is "Blood on the Leaves, "Kanye West Is Taking Kendrick Lamar Out on the Road", "Kanye West will go on tour, says Yeezus co-producer", "Kanye West Cancels Tour Dates Because of Truck Crash", "Kanye West Announces Revised Tour Schedule", "Kanye West, 'Yeezus' (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)", "Review: Kanye West's wildly experimental, narcissistic, "A Fighter Returns With Angrier Air Punches", "6. This took the unveiling of some album artwork, and turned it into a news story. [13], Determined to "undermine the commercial", several tracks were left off the finished product that were deemed too melodic or more in line with West's previous material. ARIA issued an apology and the chart was fixed. [61] In November 2013, producer Hudson Mohawke revealed that "Blood on the Leaves" would serve as the album's third single. He's a human. [12] "Blood on the Leaves", which samples Nina Simone's 1965 rendition of "Strange Fruit" and was the first track in the first incarnation of the track list, is an example of West's signature dichotomy in which he melds the sacred and profane. [26] Rolling Stone described it as "an extravagantly abrasive album full of grinding electro, pummeling minimalist hip-hop, drone-y wooz and industrial gear-grind",[27] while Vulture called it a "punk rap opus",[28] and Rolling Stone called it an "industrial-rap opus". [169], Jay-Z described Yeezus as "polarizing", though claimed "that's what great art is" and that West "pushes the genre forward" with his experimentation. [5] West made several last-minute alterations to Yeezus, enlisting the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, Rick Rubin, as an executive producer for additional recording mere days before its release; changes included re-recording whole songs and rewriting entire verses. [21], According to Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot, Yeezus is a "hostile, abrasive and intentionally off-putting" album that combines "the worlds of" 1980s Chicago acid-house, 2013 Chicago drill music, 1990s industrial music, and the "avant-rap" of Saul Williams, Death Grips, and Odd Future. [15] American musician Travis Scott opined that the snippets he'd heard of Yeezus were from the year 3000 and recalled "crazy memories" from being around West during the recording of it. [35], Yeezus is primarily electronic in nature, and boasts distorted drum machines and synthesizers that sound like they're malfunctioning, low-resolution samplers that add a pixelated digital aura to the most analog sounds. [46] The iTunes Store made Yeezus available for pre-order on May 20, but the listing was subsequently taken down for unknown reasons. [169] Hopsin elaborated, stating: "The Godliness stuff, nah. [164], West was criticized by the UK and US Parkinson's disease Associations for controversial lyrics in lead-song "On Sight". [85] Alex Griffin of Tiny Mix Tapes expressed similar feelings, describing it as "a nebulous, dense, paranoid web of utterly unfiltered expression that's utterly or negligibly fascinating depending on how much you care about Yeezy". [85] Critics were very kind to Yeezus regarding critical reviews, but others viewed the release as "musical and commercial suicide", and "fans live-blogged their own befuddlement on Twitter and Facebook". [51] J. Cole elaborated on this, admitting that the music being competed over "is art" and he "can't compete against the Kanye West celebrity and the status that he's earned just from being a genius", though stated: "But I can put my name in the hat and tell you that I think my album is great and you be the judge and you decide". ", "This piece here, often him and I both say, we kinda outdid ourselves in a way," he added. Designer Joe Perez designed the cover for this album along with “Cruel Summer.” It has been revealed now that Yeezus was close to being titled “Thank God For Drugs.” Thank God For Drugs was a “Pre-Yeezus GIF concept” created on March 2, 2013. [71] Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone called it a "brilliant, obsessive-compulsive career auto-correct" that made other abrasive records by "mad geniuses", such as In Utero by Nirvana and Radiohead's Kid A, seem tame by comparison. For the longest there were rumors going around that Kanye was going to name his album 'Thank God For Drugs" and now Perez has officially confirmed it for us! [168] That same month, Hopsin went on to explain the diss, admitting that he is a fan of West who likes a lot of his older music and viewing Yeezus as West "on some straight up [bullshit]". [89] The A.V. [47] On May 29, A.P.C. [94][95][96], Yeezus was also nominated in two categories at the 2014 Grammy Awards including for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song for "New Slaves". If, at any time, you have specific questions or concerns about the [19] West would later go onto describe the sound of the album as "a protest to music". [104] In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Yeezus as the 269th album on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. [57][58] In August 2013, it was revealed that "Bound 2" would be released as the second single from Yeezus. Cassette Album Sales Rose 35% in 2017, Led by 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Awesome Mix Tapes", "The unbearable narcissism (and 'complete awesomeness') of Kanye's big, "Kanye West under fire as Parkinson's groups condemn offensive lyric", "Kanye West Under Fire for Parkinson's Disease Lyric", "Liam Gallagher on Kanye West: 'You'll never see Jesus banging his head, "Hopsin Disses Kanye West & Kendrick Lamar On "Hop Is Back, "Hopsin Explains Dissing Kanye West & Kendrick Lamar On "Hop Is Back, "Jay-Z Talks 'Magna Carta,' Miley Cyrus & Kanye West's 'Yeezus, "Lupe Fiasco Talks Yeezus, "Crack" and Kendrick Lamar", "Lily Allen concerned Kanye West will call her out over, "Kanye West Says "808s" & "Yeezus" Are "So Much Stronger" Than "MBDTF, "Australiancharts.com – Kanye West – Yeezus", "ARIA Urban Albums Chart – Week Commencing 24th June 2013", "Austriancharts.at – Kanye West – Yeezus", "Kanye West Chart History (Canadian Albums)", "Offiziellecharts.de – Kanye West – Yeezus", "Official Cyta-IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Εβδομάδα: 29/2013)", "Irish-charts.com – Discography Kanye West", "Italiancharts.com – Kanye West – Yeezus", "Norwegiancharts.com – Kanye West – Yeezus", "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart", Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry, "Spanishcharts.com – Kanye West – Yeezus", "Swedishcharts.com – Kanye West – Yeezus", "Weekly Top 20 – Combo Chart (Week 25, 2013)", "Kanye West Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)", "Kanye West Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)", "ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2013", "2013 Year-End Charts – Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums", "2014 Year-End Charts - Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums", "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2013 Albums", "Danish album certifications – Kanye West – Yeezus", Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yeezus&oldid=1004924794, Albums produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Albums produced by Mike Dean (record producer), Albums recorded at Shangri-La (recording studio), Alternative hip hop albums by American artists, Experimental music albums by American artists, Albums involved in plagiarism controversies, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Short description is different from Wikidata, Album chart usages for BillboardRandBHipHop, Certification Table Entry usages for Australia, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments figures, Certification Table Entry usages for Denmark, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming figures, Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom, Certification Table Entry usages for United States, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments footnote, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming footnote, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The Top 100 Albums of Clash's Lifetime (2004–2014), The Top 100 Albums of the Decade (2010–2019), 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks, Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010–2014), "New Slaves" features additional vocals by, "I'm In It" features vocals by Justin Vernon and, "Guilt Trip" features uncredited vocals by. [52] The Source pointed out a resemblance between the Yeezus CD packaging and a packaging concept designed for the single "Crystal" by the English band New Order in 2001. [11] All involved were given a song to work on and return the next day to sit and critique, a process Anthony Kilhoffer compared to an art class. [18][20] Rubin gave as example "Bound", which was "a more middle of the road R&B song, done in an adult contemporary style" before West decided to replace the musical backing with a minimalistic sample, "a single note bassline in the hook which we processed to have a punk edge in the Suicide tradition". relevant portions of the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level AA The album has been characterized as West's most experimental and sonically abrasive work. be aware that our efforts are ongoing. West gathered a number of artists and close collaborators for the production, including Mike Dean, Daft Punk, Noah Goldstein, Arca, Hudson Mohawke, and Travis Scott. Yeezus is the sixth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. Kanye West’s Yeezus album was originally titled “Thank God For Drugs” according to his designer. Nah. West gathered a number of artists and close collaborators for the production, including Mike Dean, Daft Punk, Noah Goldstein, Arca, Hudson Mohawke, and Travis Scott. address for this purpose at any time without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs according Kanye West "Yeezus" Album Cover Poster / Kanye West Poster / Custom poster / The Life Of Pablo, Graduation, Ye, My Beautiful Dark Twisted ... Kanye West Yeezus Indian Tour Sweatshirt New Design Famous Sweaters Logo Men And Women Sweatshirt Crewneck size S-XL SS96 TeguHsHophes. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 327,000 copies in the first week of release, while also topping the charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, Russia and the United Kingdom.