Kanye West’s Unfiltered New Album

In the wake of the tumultuous chaos between Kanye West and the media, the rapper released Ye, his eighth studio album. While West’s 2016 album, The Life of Pablo, was full of experimental earworms and countless collaborations, Ye takes an unfiltered approach, symbolized by the stripped-down instrumentals on the album and the raw lyrical content. On Ye, West sheds his egotistical tendencies, revealing a sense of self-awareness that delves deep into his demons, which is exemplified on the album’s first track, “I Thought About Killing You,” on which West reveals the bleak thoughts raging in his brain. He manages to destigmatize his bipolar disorder by framing it as a superpower in the hard-hitting song “Yikes.” West proves his innovativeness as a producer by providing melodic explorations via lo-fi synths and eccentric Slick Rick and Black Savage samples. Throughout the album, West sprinkles his infamous punchlines that make listeners pause for two seconds and think, “Did he really just say that?” For example, on “All Mine,” West raps, “If I pull up with a Kerry Washington, that’s gon’ be an enormous scandal.” Despite Kanye’s controversial actions, and fans’ desire to have the “old Kanye back,” Ye is a monumental progression in his catalog as it paints the internal struggle of an outspoken, unorthodox figure.