Right off the bat, Yeezus begins with On Sight. If there's one thing that you should know about this album is that there were a lot of producers. How many producers? Try more than 20 Producers which include Lupe Fiasco, Daft Punk, and even the legendary Rick Rubin who was allegedly pulled in to work on the album with just a few days before it was due. The recording process was fast paced and even rushed. Kanye West wanted originally 16 songs but settled on 10. After all, he finished the lyrics and singing for some of the tracks just 2 days before the album was finished. At times the album would seem almost done and at other times the album would be less than halfway completed. Why am I saying this? Because every song reflects the recording and producing process. On Sight is very apparent at the start that this is an abrasive, edgy, and a hard to listen to album. This works to the album's benefit for the most part actually, because Yeezus would only work if it was pulled off by someone like Kanye West. If anything, Yeezus is a trip into the mind of Kanye West. With every listen I feel I'm in a spaceship getting pulled in to the gravitational pull of Kanye West. In fact, On Sight itself even comes off as what could be some robotic space battle (perhaps that's because On Sight is one of the songs that Daft Punk helped produce). On Sight gives more glimpses of what is in store for the rest of the album as he at times randomly changes to smooth and sweet sounding samples in between his raging. On Sight works as a great opening to an album because it demonstrates just about everything that the album has in store.
On Sight doesn't last long and when it ends the next song abruptly comes on. Track 2 is called Black Skinhead and is one of the loudest and angriest songs on the entire album. Every line every word is spoken with such fury and rage that the listener feels like they're pinned up against the wall with Kanye West just looming over them ready to strike. Strange as at some parts throughout Black Skinhead, Kanye says he keeps it "300 like the Romans" which doesn't apply to any historic battles but rather applies to the way that the Romans counted. 300 would be written as CCC to the Romans which Kanye uses to mean Cool, Calm, and Collected, which hardly sounds like anything to describe Kanye West; the man known for saying anything he wants any time he wants. I know Kanye has extremely radical views on not just politics but life in general, but I won't get in the way with that or what he's saying with Black Skinhead, so instead I'll just move on as there's much more to go through. Up next is I Am A God. By the way, if you haven't found out yet, Kanye West is known as being one of the most arrogant rappers ever. If there's any song to point this out it's well... you get the point and the message of the song is very clear. Kanye West states that he's living the life of not just the luxurious, but the holy. He's living large and enjoying it. That's not the only part of this song. I Am A God is perhaps the creepiest track on the album as the song is filled with random stops, abrupt sampling, and shrilling screams. Funny story the first time I listened to this song I was in my basement getting ready for vacation and the song had just gotten to the screaming and I was getting pretty creeped out. All of a sudden my dad jumped out of nowhere and made me spring back perhaps 10 feet. That's what this album does, it shocks you, it appalls you, it makes you angry, and that is just what Kanye West is trying to do.
The next song is New Slaves and is one of the stronger tracks on Yeezus. New Slaves is yet another song where Kanye just lets out everything he has to say about everything really. The titles go along very well with what the song is implying, which in New Slaves has to deal with how people keep spending more and more on just luxuries to show off how much they have and become new slaves to the companies that produce those luxuries. Kanye himself does spend a lot on luxuries, however he always puts himself ahead of the game compared to how others are acting around him. He's acting as if he's riling up an angry mob to take down every corporation dedicated to giving people the next big thing. However, the best part of this song comes at the end where everything just breaks lose and it sounds amazing. It's as if Kanye West has ascended into the sky above and has summoned a choir of angels to sing to him as he soars into the heavens. New Slaves is one of the best songs on the album, mostly because of how satisfying the outro is after Kanye gives everything he has. The next song is Hold My Liquor which is brooding for the most part and works well as a buildup from the rest of the album.
The rest of the album works just as the rest of the beginning has. More and more sampling, more of Kanye raging about what he believes in, more rough transitions, more of just about everything you can possibly fit into an album that's 40 minutes. The rest of the album delves even more into the psyche of the man known as Kanye West. Yeezus sounds like Kanye West' thoughts, as the name properly fits (Yeezy is an alias of Kanye West and he combines it with Jesus which I'll let you take that as you will). There is one more track that I will talk about, and that is Bound 2, which is the very last track. Bound 2 is an unusual song on a very unusual album. In the background, the words "Bound to fall in love" and "Uh oh honey" are sampled and remixed constantly. In fact, I'm pretty sure that 60% of the song is just those words over and over again. The other 30% is Kanye West and the other 10% is a beautiful soul interlude from singer Charlie Wilson. Bound 2 is one of the strangest but most likable songs in recent memory. Everything in Bound 2 works to its benefit. Excellent singing from Charlie Wilson, excellent use of sampling and editing, and bring Kanye in with it all and it turns into a masterpiece. Bound 2 reminds you of everything that went on in Yeezus, just like On Sight worked to give you everything that will happen in Yeezus. Bound 2 is a very strong end to a very strong album where hard work from many people really paid off.
Up next is Jay-Z's newest entry into his Discography, Magna Carta Holy Grail. Now, with an album that has a title like that, I'm pretty sure you could've called Yeezus the same name and it would've made more sense. Sure Magna Carta Holy Grail may be one of the silliest names for an album this year, but surprisingly the album has nothing to do with old documents signed by Kings to limit their power or immortality. I'm pretty sure that name was just given because it seemed to roll off the tongue. Well, how does the album start then if it's by a man who doesn't have much left to prove to be that he's one of the greatest lyricists and poets of our time. Well it starts off surprisingly with... Justin Timberlake. Well that was unexpected. Actually, not too much, because the two have been on tour this year and the opening song is the one that they open up their tour with. The first track is Holy Grail, which is a fitting name, because this song is glorious! I'm not even kidding, Holy Grail has been charting pretty well recently, and is one of the year's best songs so far. It's a perfect opening to the album, which honestly... works to the album's disadvantage. Both sing about the disadvantages of being famous. Well, that's more true for Jay-Z who clearly states he can't get the paparazzi to get off his back when he's simply taking his daughter for a walk. Justin Timberlake's verse is more about how cruel this woman that he speaks of is, which is strange knowing how romantic Justin Timberlake made his last album. But hey, the combination of the two works amazingly and it's yet another song out of a few where you have both Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z. Magna Carta Holy Grail starts off with such an epic masterpiece and then the rest of the album follows...
Honestly, the rest of Magna Carta Holy Grail just seems to wane after Holy Grail. To be perfectly honest, even though Magna Carta Holy Grail is much longer than Yeezus, there just isn't as much in it that elicits a response from me as much as Yeezus. The second track is Picasso baby, and it's all about wanting even more than what you have. Picasso baby is good enough, and then afterwards you have Tom Ford. Tom Ford is a fashion designer, and it's another song about being rich and wearing fancy clothes and living in luxury. In fact, a good chunk of Magna Carta Holy Grail can be summed up as it's Jay-Z doing the same thing he's done for so long. The middle of the album is definitely the worst, as it dissolves into itself. The middle of the album which is supposed to be the core of the album is almost completely passable. The absolute worst song of the album is ****withmeyouknowigotit featuring Rick Ross. It's not just Rick Ross is completely boring, it's also that Jay-Z is so much more capable of making something at least interesting and yet it is a colossal failure. Nothing in this song does any more for me than perhaps bat an eyebrow in disdain. It's utterly boring and makes you wonder why Jay-Z would do such a thing.
Unfortunately, most of the middle of the album is just that, it's boring. Saying that really is a pain, because Jay-Z has been many things, just never boring. Some of the tracks aren't even a minute long, and others seem like they never happened. Jay-Z seems to have been focusing on just doing what he knows best, which works well for some of the album, but the rest just falls flat on itself. This was supposed to be an epic masterpiece hyped up so much through all of the Samsung advertisements that went on before the album's release, but it feels as through Magna Carta Holy Grail doesn't have any real strengths compared to so many other rap albums released this year. Some songs on Magna Carta try to compare themselves to others, which often includes direct reference in the lyrics to other songs such as Smells Like Teen Spirit and Losing My Religion which comes off as really out of place and random.
The strengths of the album include several songs like Part II and BBC. However, Jay-Z isn't the only one on those tracks, especially BBC. Not that other people are carrying the album when Jay-Z can't, it's just so refreshing to hear everything come together. Magna Carta isn't a failure, it just is a disappointment, and in the end it surprises me how an album that's so much shorter than another can garner so much thought compared to the other. Not much on Magna Carta is that notable to me and I feel like I can just skip more than half of the album when I listen to it. However, the biggest strength of Magna Carta Holy Grail is by far the opening song which is an amazing track.
Yeezus is where Kanye pulls out all the stops and creates something so harsh and brutal but yet satisfying. There aren't too many albums out there that can spark so much anger, fear, regret, and content. Not too many albums are released without the intention of having records with radio play and go gold, which surprises me. Every time I listen to Yeezus I like it even more than the last time. Magna Carta Holy Grail on the other hand falls so short of what it could be. With so many disappointments in Magna Carta Holy Grail, it is only saved from being passable to me from a few very strong tracks. Both albums come from two men who have earned my utmost respect and I do look forward to how they follow up in the future. But, for now, I'm happy with what I've listened to even if I prefer one much over the other.
Verdict: Yeezus is an amazing album that leaves me in wonder and awe with how much goes on, even if it is really hard to understand and listen to at times. Every time I listen I enjoy it even more than the last and is a welcoming return for Kanye West since his last studio album. Final Score: 8/10.
Magna Carta Holy Grail on the other hand is mostly disappointing with the exception of a few strong tracks and an amazing opening song. Final Score: 6/10.
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