Post by OriSo... You're saying I should go buy it?
If you've enjoyed his work in the past, then there's no question. (And geez, how do the hairs on your arms not stand up when listening to All Of The Lights?) But then you'd probably have it already if that were the case. If your personal ethics permit a "test drive" and you have the means to obtain a copy, I recommend it. (Buy it if you decide to keep it, of course.) Given the nature of the material, I'd be hesitant to suggest a blind (deaf?) purchase to someone who wasn't already considering it.
That being said, this album has me sincerely ruminating on whether Kanye West might just be the Brian Wilson of hip-hop. (Yeah, you can punch me in the face next time you see me, fair enough.) His previous album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (which sampled King Crimson, did you know that?), made a pretty strong argument for him being the Todd Rundgren of hip-hop (two punches, fine), but this one goes beyond the Wizard/True Star bizarre-yet-melodic appeal of that album into occasionally Smile-esque levels of pure-id fuckedupness. He's not quite there yet, but his direction over the past few albums is clearly headed that way. He continues to drift further from anything any normal person would ever want to listen to. His next album will either be a shamelessly commercial surrender or the most abstract work in hip-hop history. And I guarantee you both predictions are wrong, because it's Kanye West.
(Of course I'm talking about the Kanye West who spends endless hours obsessing in the recording studio, not the blithering idiot limoing through the streets of Los Angeles. Sometimes it's hard to make that separation, but I figure if I can adore the works of the director Quentin Tarantino while the actor Quentin Tarantino continues to get screen time and the windbag Quentin Tarantino continues to provide endless douche chills in one interview after another, I can look past anything. Except maybe "Directed by Mel Gibson.")
So now that I've totally over-sold this album, I would never suggest Kanye's music is for everyone. Much of today's hip-hop clings to a certain set of conventions that some find unpalatable - the n-word, the bitches, the braggadocio - and Yeezus is no exception. But honestly, I'm not sure how even hip-hop aficionados are going to take to his latest. It's severely out there in spots. I can just picture someone who grooved to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy putting this on and saying "WTF is this shit????" My attraction to it derives in great part from its refusal to adhere to expectations, or to cater to its presumed target audience. I have no idea who he thought would enjoy this album, and I think that's why I'm enjoying it so much. No minor artist lacking Kanye West's clout could convince a major label to release this album - pure name recognition is the only way you could ever sell something this uncommercial. The fact that it has no album cover whatsoever wouldn't help matters any.
So that's the more than one sentence version, I guess.
ron