The evolution of rapper/fashion designer/future presidential candidate Kanye West has been an erratic one.
Despite the commercial and critical success West has received for pushing the envelope, something has just been…missing. Bursting onto the scene with 2004’s The College Dropout, Kanye struck a chord with disenfranchised twenty-somethings across the country. Many thought that 2008’s 808’s & Heartbreak would be a short reprieve from the witty pop culture laced raps about working in the mall and chasing your dreams. Yeezy hasn’t really looked back since. That is what makes the surfacing of “No More Parties in L.A.” (featuring Kendrick Lamar) that much more intriguing. For the first time in a long time, Ye is rapping, really rapping. Here at HHSR, we can’t help but wonder, “Is Kanye West ‘back’?”
With his new album, SWISH looming with a scheduled February 11 release date. West is making some noise again with the re-institution of “G.O.O.D. Friday’s”, a ritual in which West would drop a new track at the end of every work week. While songs like “Black Skinhead” off of 2013’s Yeezus involved his lyrical proficiency, the harshness of his words and the aggressive instrumentation overpowered any chance of his wordplay being appreciated. “No More Parties in L.A.” has the simple soulful samples that gravitated so many to his sound during his Roc-A-Fella production days.
Perhaps it was “getting in the booth” with a lyrical thoroughbred like Kendrick Lamar that brought that hunger out of the Chi-town guru. According to Mrs. West, Yeezy pulled up to the studio with 90 Bars in hand for Kendrick. And bars he did have, the two-man track weighs in at a hefty 6:15 with Kendrick’s hot 16 only taking up a small fraction of the time on the mic.
It remains to be seen if this was just a friendly reminder to all that his rhyme game was still sharp, or if it was a prelude to what we can expect from the album. Either way, if early impressions are any indicator, SWISH could be the perfect time for the Louis Vuitton Don to reintroduce himself.
“I know some fans who thought I wouldn’t rap like this again/But the writer’s block is over, emcees cancel your plans.” – Kanye West, “No More Parties in L.A.”