Date: October 13th, 2022 2:24 PM Author: Excitant idiot patrolman
Pitchfork review
When Kanye West's Ye dropped on Friday, it was hard to know what to make of it. The seven-track album is sparse and strange, with much of the focus on West's mental state and far-right politics.
On the opener, "Death Con 3 – In Da Bunker (sketch feat. Ye, Yeeva Braun)," West appears to be having a psychotic episode, ranting about the government coming to get him and referencing the Holocaust. He also seems to lapse into antisemitism, with lyrics like "if you're not black you're not a real Jew to me / black Jew tribe in America never practiced no usury." Reinforcing this point, on the track "My 12 Million Adidas" West raps, "You see a black Jew, that's a rare thing / I'm like a whole black country, diamond blood, taking back your Jew bling."
While West has always been an eccentric character, it's concerning to see him sounding so unhinged. Perhaps most concerning, on the track "White Lives Matter (the 1488)", West seems to fully embrace the alt-right and white supremacist ideology, rapping "1488 / that's the number of the black Jew / and we're taking back our country, who you think got all the gats, Jews?"
Even the light, 70s pop-inflected "Pop POPulation," which samples from ABBA, continues this hateful trend, with West rapping "All these Jewish executives getting Jewish gold / slavery never ended, blacks still bought and sold / Just look at Puffy, or that Dr. Dre / And tell me buckbreaking's not alive today." And as if to cement that this is no mistake, Ye continues "yes motherfucker, this is the hill I'll die on / no son of mine submitting to no elder of Zion"
It's a shame to see West, who has always been an innovative and inspiring artist, descending into such madness. Here's hoping he gets the help he needs.