Yeah I guess it'll just go down as a Tidal exclusive "album" but whatever

Can't say I understand any of that nonsense. I guess I just hold out hope that what seems like bullshit now may be looked back on as yet another game changing move later. But I am super irritated by the fact that I don't get to own this thing on vinyl or cd, making my collection forever incomplete.

I heard Kim "demanded" that Kanye go to therapy after that Mark Zuckerberg fiasco.

One explanation I can think of is that if Kanye really is in debt, and really is trying to get support from Zuckerberg (who's in with Google and the open source free-software movement), that saying his record would "never never be on Apple" might be some kind of weirdo attempt at proving loyalty. If he releases the thing physically, that pretty much means it has to be on iTunes. Maybe he's really $53 mill. in the hole??

Hate to say it but even though I fucking love TLOP and think it's turning into quite a fascinating debate in the media, I'd probably force his ass to go to counseling too. So good call Kim, you beautiful fool.

I swiped those lyrics from Google play because, y'know, I'm not typing all that shit. Same place I swiped the "Hold my Loquor" lyrics that p-greezy schooled me on.

Looking back I saw more than a few typos, only some of which I corrected. I'm sure now that pepper was right about Hold my Liquor, but Google is not to be trusted blindly.

Hey, Sev was on the money again..

Kanye: "I'm not a rapper"
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/702606143135342594

(I'm not gonna give him a pass for wack lyrics just because he claims not to be a rapper though.)

holy shit!

A$AP Mob w/ Danny Brown "Hella Hoes rmx"

https://youtu.be/nQpPDH6yLXM

Kanye needs to go full Lee Harper and disappear from public life and release all his crap just before he dies

Yes! Mm.. Food? Is one of my all time favorites. Def my favorite MF Doom album.

"Sit in the court and be their own star witness / do you see the perpetrator? Yeah I'm right here / fuck around get the whole label sent up for years"

Hah.

Harper Lee (rip)

And how about nah?

No man, didn't you read Louder's follow up post? He thought your ass was wrong too, but he checked Genius (which is usually annotated and far more likely to be correct than google fucking play) and, while I was right about the Cheif Keef line ("I can't handle no liquor, but these bitches can't handle me") you were indeed correct about the Vernon intro ("I can hold my liquor, but this man can't handle his weed")

So, yeah. Wasn't being sarcastic when I said you schooled me. :)

Infamous is classicccccccc love that album

wow really? I think MM Food is great. But damn, Take Me To Your Leader, Op Doomsday, the first VV album...

I think it's possible an A$AP Mob album is coming. They've been dropping new tracks every week for a while now.

Oh, come now louder. Kanye has *always* tempered his brilliance with stupidity. On Graduation, the same record that shot lyrics like sniper fire on "Good Morning" and "Can't Tell me Nothing" and "Everything I am", the dude not only used the word "Coldplay" as a lyric, but he rhymed it with.... fucking "Coldplay!".

Also, he says, "blah blah blah blah blah that's / how / the/fuck/you/sound/ you drunk and hot girl" ... Dumbs as hell! Dumber than shit! But I love that line. I don't know why. It's the delivery. It's funny. It's how I feel about hot drink girls when they talk at me.

All of his albums have a few songs, with the possible exception of LR, have not-so-subtlety stupid lyrics. Wack lyrics, if you will. I mean even MBDTF has its moments of "meh" ... though the album's perfect, as is Graduation, so I wouldn't have it any other way. (Ex. "Fuck SNL and the whole cast... I'm an asshole? You niggas got jokes") (hah. What. Why did he say that? The verse is strong, but that's an unhappy ending, and I don't even know what it means.)
(I could also do without the Austin Powers name drop in "Power"... I mean... come on brah)

Which makes me wonder, again, what exactly has changed here. You're vocal about how disappointed you are in the "wack album" with the "wack lyrics" but you like Real Friends, Feedback, NMPILA, Wolves, ULB and 30 Hours, and I'm pretty sure you must like FML because... it's like Yeezy meets Sonic Youth man.

Even if you don't dig FML you still like half of the "real" songs on the album.
It kinda seems like you're concentrating too much on the bad, and not at all on the good. Instead of calling it an "ok album" or a "half good" album, you're just saying it's bad.
Which is also why I'd love for you to do a track by track point counterpoint with me. Because you must really REALLY hate those other songs if they're causing you to forget about the parts of the record you dig and call the thing garbage.

I kinda thought we all knew that Kanye dropped lyrical turds on occasion. I certainly did. Sonic Youth had many lines that border on embarrassing. But rather than taking away from the overall experience of listening to SY, those moments actually offer, for me anyway, moments of comic relief. They're like the little imperfections in a great piece of art. They give it character and SY as a band is better with those moments than they would otherwise be.

Same goes for Kanye. For me anyway. But I'm definitely an overall content > lyrics kind of guy. I fall for how a song makes me feel. If it feels good, and the lyrics are dumb, then so be it.

I love that QOTSA song "Feel good hit of the summer." Lyrically, it's literally a recipe for failing every part of a drug test. But it's a great song.

Anyway... Just saying man. If rhyming Coldplay with Coldplay didn't phase you, and the French ass restaurant/damn croissants didn't phase you, and "R Kelly and the God of rap/shittin' on you/ holy crap" didn't phase you, then why are you hating on an album for its bad lyrics when you like so many of its key songs?

I'm sorry I'm not trying to troll. Save your reply for the pm and we'll put it in the article.

Hey I said favorite MF Doom album. King Geedorah and VV are under a different moniker, so I didn't think to include them (or Madvillainy or Monsta Island Czars or JJ DOOM..)

But yeah, honestly, I probably like it more than everything but the VV albums. I hated it at first, but it grew on me like crazy. Also, Doom did so much of the production himself and that's something I appreciate more than I can ever put into words. I love it when rappers handle as much of their shit as possible. I love Quasimoto's the Unseen, because that shit is all Madlib. I love Wu-Tang because half their appeal is in the production, and it was handled by memebers of the group. And of course I love Kanye.

I'll start flipping shit over Kendrick if he ever starts to produce his own shit. I just really respect that. I have nothing against rappers who bounce around to different producers and beat writers, but that's where I feel the line between rapper and full fledged artist lies. Deltron 3030 is named after Del tha Funky Homosapien, but Dan the Automator and Kid Koala are responsible for what makes the album great.

Sorry. Rant fest.

He did all the production on king geedorah too

I like MM Food - the good tracks are great. But that suite of skit tracks in the middle kills the momentum for me. It feels liek a solid EP that got padded out. I Feel the same about the second VV album.

OP Doomsday is way better begining to end in my opinion.

I forgot about the skits. I guess I don't even really consider them skits, because there's still bears and samples throughout that old fucker's diatribe about eating healthy. It doesn't feel like a true skit in the old school 36 chambers sense, or in the showy, dumb as hell Eminem sense. It feels like a beat and sample track.

But I get where you're coming from. And yeah Take me to your Leader is a dope ass album. Like I said I was just thinking of MF Doom and Doom records proper when I said that. I actually haven't heard Mm.. Food? in a while, but it became an absolute staple for me when I first got into doom.

The corny lines in older albums were classic because they were in moderation and Kanye's delivery and charm made them work. Anyway, I'll get into it more this weekend.

I get it bro. I almost deleted that post because I didn't want to be a dick, but after all that fucking writing, shoddy and rambling as it is, it would have been super depressing to just undo it.

Hey have you heard anything else about the Kendrick/J. Cole collaboration album?

I think that could be kinda off the hook. Been wondering about it a lot. But even though 2014 Forest Hills Dr. was a major step forward for Cole, the guy is still several levels below Kendrick in terms of both popularity and technical skill. I feel like the match-up of Drake and Future was illadvised as well. If the world wants another Watch The Throne, the only suitable combo would be Kendrick Lamar and (hate to say it) Drake.

Let J. Cole and Future battle it out in the JV leagues.

Hey me too man. I rap that line over and over and over again because once I start it's like the Song That Never Ends from Lamchop's play along.

Hey am I the only one who thinks that part in Power where Ye says "I got the power make your life so exciting" sounds like "suicide" when the last two words echo back all those times? Sounds like fuckin suicide to me man.

Kanye is the Trump of rap. There, I said it ;)

You think Kanye is the only loudmouth asshole in rap? When minor rappers sound off, nobody pays attention. But they're just as stupid. I read a Meek Mill tirade against 50 Cent the other day. Motherfucker didn't even use real words. Spoke in nothing but abbreviated street slang, emojis and "u so (this), u so (that) 4 real" insults. Kanye looks like a master linguist by comparison.

But I've had the same thought honestly. Except it was more along the lines of "Trump is the Kanye of politics" but it's not analogous. Donald Trump's only resume level quality is that he's a billionaire who has made more money than he's lost. He's not respected in any community, and he has no talent for anything.

Kanye West is, even if you hate him, an absurdly talented individual. Even if he's not using his talents... it's proven. When MTV slammed him for being a "fake producer," SPIN retaliated with a pretty in depth article titled "the 101 best Kanye West songs that don't feature Kanye West," where they stacked facts like mad to support the notion that Kanye has contributed to the careers of countless artists, and debunked the assertion that he only co-signs or pulls production duty to benefit himself.

The guy's talented as hell. He knows what to do with a soundboard, if nothing else. He knows how to work a sample like nobody else on earth, and he knows how to create musical atmosphere that sucks people in almost without fail.

Donald Trump is the Vince Mcmahan of modern politics. He's a showboating idiot and wannabe daughter fucker.

I just wish Kanye listened to better music. It would make his samples be more interesting to me.

Fair enough. I get that, and I feel that way about a lot of producers. But I've always been shocked at the quality of Kanye's samples. I mean... Aphex Twin? Daft Punk? Can? King Crimson? Section 25? Otis Redding? Nina Simone? Using Elton John and Steely Dan in ways that don't suck? I can't believe he's even heard of Section 25. In many ways I think his taste in music is one of the main reasons why his music sounds so great to me.

He sampled "Someone Saved my Life Tonight" on "Good Morning," and I used to listen to the exact little refrain he used, and think, "man, this song would be dope if it was just this part over and over again" ... And that's more or less what he did!

But, y'know, to each his own and whatnot.

Sev smoke a bowl bro I'm joking! Reality is Kanye has as many gaffes

He used to have a pretty decent taste (Fiona and Portishead come to mind) but nowadays he only listens to trendy club music. He's obviously going through a midlife crisis.

...

Dude, you are just going ice cold on our boy. :(

That much is brutally obvious. What always made hip hop great was not just the sampling, but in how the music they listened to INFLUENCED the music they created. Hip Hop was always a wider reflection of the great music that influenced hip hop artists. With Kanye, and a lot of contemporary rappers, their music is crap because they are listening to crap.

I used to listen to hip hop JUST FOR THE SAMPLES. When Tupac "Bad Boys Can't Stop Thug Life" comes up with that chorus sampling of Strawberry Letter 23 I LOSE MY SHIT.. indeed whenever that sample comes on I jump and start grooving!!!

This is crucial Hip Hop 101 which evolved out of Reggae culture.. in reggae original music isn't as important as it is in other genres, indeed quite the opposite! Many artists prefer to write and sing their original songs over "samples" of "riddims" because they know that people like me will go nuts when they hear they "favorite riddim" indeed on the dance floor whenever I hear my favorite riddim I don't even notice what the SingJay is singing.. I just get enraptured in my favorite song to dance to!!

THAT is essential to hip hop, that you not only hear your favorite rapper BUT you also hear your favorite songs from growing up. After all, the original samples were all that Grown Folkz Music from our parents and now grandparents record collections.

Further that the new music reflects sounds and elements that you loved in the old music. The new shit samples less, and what they sample sucks, and what they listen to sucks, and their own new shit sucks because they sound like the shit they listen to that sucks!

I don't know guys, I think Kanye's samples are dope and eclectic as hell pretty much all the time.

Keep saying he listens to shit, but again, fucking Aphex Twin? Can? Daft Punk (ok, so some DP is total shit but whatever, some of it is great) and Fucking Section 25?

I'm not seeing it, bros. Kanye loves great music, gets geeked about it, uses it in his music, makes me geel over it.

Also I take issue with anyone who tries to lump Kanye in with "other popular rappers" or current rappers. It's not something that can be done. Who's he like? Who, in any way, sounds like Kanye or does what Kanye does? I'll tell you who... Black Milk. That's pretty much it. Black Milk is like the deep underground Yeezy and he's doper than hell!

You just can't talk about Kanye and generalize what you're saying to "modern rap" because popular rap is Thug, Future, trap shit.... None of it has the feel of ye's multi-genre soul-blender style. It's all niche shit. It's like trying to talk about Michael Jackson in the context of fucking UB40.

And please please don't imply that 38 is "midlife." Just say "Kanye's going crazy/crazier right now." If 38 is the age for midlife crises, then you guys are gonna have a much crazier Severian on your hands over the next few cafés. ;)

I will say this: "Waves" is an insanely dope track that is practically ruined by Chris Brown's woman hating ass. I knew the guy was an absolute fucking tool, but I had no idea that his actual singing was so generic and "gum-commercial-esque" ... If ever there was a time to pull Frank Ocean out for a verse, Waves would be it. Or even Miguel. Shit, I'd take Usher over Chris Brown's bitch ass.

I love that song. The beat is "feel good" but still glitchy and weird, and the lyrics put me in a "Bound 2" state of mind. But good as the song is, I can only list to Chris Brown say "no lie" so many times before I have to hit the skip button.

What a waste.

My father who is 60 is just going through one. Don't worry, you still got a while to go.

Good, because ... well, man I tell ya. Some days. Today for example! I worked for over 12 consecutive hours. I will be paid for 8. And as I was filling out my mileage form (a process that always feels a bit obscene) I remember thinking, "certainly life has yet to even fucking start for my ass."

Welcome to every single day of my career. I have had 3-4 hours of work to do that follows me home for years now. Indeed teaching is the only job where the more you work the LESS yoi get paid

And severian i love you but if you EVER in any way again even remotely compare Kanye to Michael Jackson i will deactivate my account and never look back.

I'd like to say promise that it won't happen again, but I'm pretty sure there's no fucking way I could ever keep that promise even if I wanted to.

But I love you too! :D

Bro I'm serious. A man of such good taste and sense as yourself surely can see the blasphemy in putting Michael Jackson and Kanye West in the same sentence.

I can see how some people might see it as blasphemy...

All I mean is that I think both of them have a such a unique sound, energy and presence that no other artist is really comparable to them. That's not even a value judgement. If I hated Kanye West I'd still feel that way. They're both pretty much peerless. You could say the same thing about Andy Kaufman or Klaus Kinski.

And I was being serious when I said I couldn't keep that promise if I tried. I talk about music way too much, and make far too many comparisons between artists to ever keep be able to keep that shit straight.