Yeezus finds Kanye West in a dark but creative mood

Rapper creates album with plenty of messages but no obvious radio hits.

Kanye West Yeezus disc(Photo Def jam)

Kanye West Yeezus

HIP HOP

(out of four)

Nobody can say West didn't warn us. His new album Yeezus which leaked four days ahead of Tuesday's scheduled release is as dark and abrasive as the first two songs he put out New Slaves and Black Skinhead promised. It's also as daring and infectious as anything he's done and demands to be heard with speakers on blast.

Stark electronic beats driving dancehall riddims and menacing bass lines underpin his rants on race sex commercialism and celebrity. He almost dares you to let your attention wander throwing in random tempo shifting samples and guttural screams just when you might think you know where he's heading.

REPORT 'Yeezus' could debut with 500K sales

MORE 10 head scratching 'Yeezus' lyrics

On the Daft Punk produced On Sight an aggressive West raves that Yeezy season is coming and that a monster is about to come alive again over ominous synthesizers. The French duo also did Black Skinhead which finds West boasting about breaking the rules.

On I Am a God he sure didn't check his ego at the studio door. He's explained in interviews that the title refers to his God name and on this track it's clear that a man of his celebrity operates on a much higher plane than most people. I just talked to Jesus/ He said 'What up Yeezus '/ I said '(Expletive) I'm chillin'/Tryin' to stack these millions.'

Chillin' isn't the best way to describe the intensity with which he delivers his societal critiques on New Slaves and Blood On the Leaves which samples Nina Simone's cover of Billie Holiday's searing Strange Fruit.

By the end of the album West finally takes some of the edge off with the smoothed out Bound 2 which features Charlie Wilson and an old school sample of the Ponderosa Twins Plus One hit of the same name.

Like everything else West does Yeezus is immediately stunning but requires repeated listenings to be fully appreciated. Luckily it's only 10 tracks long. Give him credit for not taking the easy route and compiling a bunch of radio tracks.

Instead he created a polarizing multi layered body of work that probably will be debated all summer. Who does that besides Kanye West Maybe he's a Yenius.

Download I Am a God Blood on the Leaves New Slaves On Sight Bound

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