MUSIC

Fragmented Reviews for Every Song on "Yandhi"

An incomplete review for an incomplete album

Image By Ovidiu Hrubaru via Shutterstock ID

Kanye West's gospel album Jesus Is King may have been delayed indefinitely, but he's certainly not keeping quiet.

September 3rd saw the release of Francis and the Lights' atmospheric "Take Me to the Light," which Kanye appeared on alongside Bon Iver. On Sunday, Kanye performed with a gospel choir in a church in Jamaica, Queens. And today, nine of his unreleased songs surfaced on the Internet—as iTunes ringtones.

Take Me to the Light (feat. Bon Iver and Kanye West)www.youtube.com

In September 2018, Kim Kardashian announced that her husband's next album would be called Yandhi. That album never appeared and was eventually scrapped, or so we thought. But as of today, people can listen to 26-second excerpts of nine songs from the album via the ringtones section of the iTunes store. To own the tracks, you'll need to fork over $1.29 for each.

In the age of streaming and texting, does anyone call each other or use ringtones anymore? It's hard to say what Kanye's up to, but then again, he's been a reliable wild card for years.

There is heavy speculation that the songs were all leaked by someone other than Kanye, meaning that it's possible that these songs reached us illegally. Regardless, this could be the last collection of secular material we ever hear from West, judging by his recent declaration that he'll "only do gospel music" from now on.

So, to match the nature of the brief samples we were given, here's a short, incomplete review of each song:

The first track, "New Body," places a punchy, vintage hip-hop beat and record-scratch sound over a recording of a flute. The song, which features Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj, leaked in July. Its release comes after Nicki announced her possible retirement from music, so these might be the last bars we hear from either of them for a while.

Kanye West Ft. Nicki Minaj, Ty Dolla $ign - New Bodywww.youtube.com

"Slave Name" places a triumphant electric guitar solo over chill-inducing choral melodies and flickers of electric piano. In its emotional intensity, it resembles the iconic climax of "Runaway" (though it never quite reaches that level of spiritual grandeur, but then again, it never gets the chance to). The far-too-short fragment now available on iTunes appeared in several versions as a leak and samples the song "Wally Wider" by Delicate Stevens.

kanye - slave name (extended)www.youtube.com

"80 Degrees" puts a trap beat over synthy flourishes and slurred falsetto vocals. You can make out the statement, "I can walk on the water," which goes well with Kanye's new born-again religious convictions. Kanye previously teased the song in a promo video, but this is the first we've heard of its release since then.

KANYE WEST- 80 DEGREES (HURRICANE) FULL LEAKwww.youtube.com

"Alien" is all lush, stratospheric synths and spaced-out woodwinds, which seem to be the defining characteristic of this album. Opening with the line, "I won't let them get the best of me," this song is reminiscent of the wide-eyed aggression of the Graduate. It leaked in full in July, but it's tough to find online, so you might be stuck with the ringtone for now.

On "Law of Attraction," Wyoming's newest resident begins with a chorus made up of muddled harmonies. It then veers into a rap verse over what sounds like a car door alarm (which has annoyed some fans so much that one made a version without the beeps, though some firmly stand by the beeps). This song was also leaked in full in July and is sometimes called "Chakras/Law of Attraction." It's a seductive collage of futuristic sounds and autotune, the kind of thing that, ultimately, only Kanye could make.

YANDHI - LAW OF ATTRACTION (WITHOUT BEEP)www.youtube.com

"The Storm" is smooth and glossy, with R&B elements that are almost reminiscent of Drake. "Don't troll yourself," the lyrics say. "Girl you owe it to yourself." Well, that's good advice, but the song itself unfortunately features the late, disgraced rapper XXXTentancion (alongside Ty Dolla $ign), making it somewhat hard to listen to. It does contain the poetic couplet, "We began after the storm inside / leaving then it's just the morning light," but as to whether its lyrical merits outweigh the presence of XXXTentacion (and Kanye's fraught persona, for that matter), that's for listeners to decide.

"We Got Love" features Teyana Taylor. Kanye debuted it on SNL in September 2018, then released the full track on SoundCloud in November, and it can be listened to in full online. It's an ode to success as a protest to struggle. "Love is the new money," goes the chorus—a rallying cry for today's world if there ever was one. A voiceover recording at the end goes, "You can have all the money in the world...but if you can't be a person of integrity while having all these things, then what does it mean? Your value is internal." One would wonder if Kim Kardashian believes this. Regardless, the song seems to indicate the presence of a newly inspired, enlightened Kanye.

Kanye West - We Got Love (Feat. Teyana Taylor)www.youtube.com

"Bye Bye" leaked in July (under the name "Bye Bye Baby") alongside "Law of Attraction." It was the third song on an early album tracklist. It's about overdosing, excess, UFOs, and refusing to take one's meds; and in its chaotic energy, it's most similar of ye and the singles that came out last summer.

As songs like "Bye Bye" highlight, Kanye has clearly struggled a lot. If religion is a way for him to make peace with the world and his own mind, and especially if it gets him to renounce his troublesome political viewpoints, we should all be here for it—even if it means that the best we'll get of Kanye West's secular repertoire are 26-second glimpses.

Popdust does not own or endorse any of the audio or videos linked to in this article.

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Oscars 2018 Preview: Best Picture

Get Caught Up on This Year's Nominees

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Yesterday the Academy revealed their nominees for the 2018 Oscars. In case you're not caught up, here's Popdust's previews of the Best Picture candidates:


The Phantom Thread

It's been a decade since the Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Day-Lewis and Johnny Greenwood dream team got together to make a film, and while The Phantom Thread may not be quite as seismic as There Will Be Blood, it's made with just as much quality and finesse. Methodical, detailed, and imbued with significance in every smallest moment of run time, it's also the film that pushed Day-Lewis to retire from acting, which makes The Phantom Thread worth watching on two fronts. For a more in-depth look, check out my review.


Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

For my money, Martin McDonagh is one of Europe's most talented dramatists alive today. Three Billboards plays like a stage show—small scale, modest production value, dialogue-driven, etc—and possesses the qualities of McDonagh's best works: icky moral dilemmas, harsh characters, every variation on sh*t, piss and c*nt. Perhaps no other film this year is as tightly written.


The Shape of Water

Not since Beauty and the Beast itself has a film concerning bestiality (or whatever the monster version of that term would be) garnered so much critical acclaim as The Shape of Water. Like much of Guillermo del Toro's work, Water is beautifully colored and shot, but lacks depth in its writing. In spite of an emotional climax that amounts to the sort of "he loves me for who I really am" sentiment most common to teenage dramas and rom-coms, The Shape of Water has been reeling in praise and Critics' Choice Awards. Plus, the monster character looks a lot like an Oscar statue up close, so that bodes well.


Lady Bird

In tone and style, Greta Gerwig may be the closest equivalent to Woody Allen for the millennial generation. The character of Lady Bird, played by Saiorse Ronan, feels like a culmination of all the other pseudo-Gerwig protagonists of past films—Mistress America and Maggie's Plan come to mind—and the story a culmination of that character. It's also really funny.


Get Out

I remember listening to the October 29, 2013 episode of Pete Holmes' podcast, when Jordan Peele, his featured guest, mentioned a script he was working out: a sort of comedy-horror film called 'Get Out'. He played it off as being early-stage and, frankly, I wasn't too interested in a movie with such a bland title from the Key & Peele guy. Evidently, I did a misread. Get Out isn't perfect—the acting is fine, it's (intentionally) corny, and it plays the Easter eggs meta-game with little regard for subtlety (He drives a Lincoln? Just hammer it into my skull why don't you?). But its concept is, basically, perfect—unique, hilarious, social commentary turned on its head—which is particularly refreshing in our age of sequels, revivals and rehashes. There's also never been a movie more suited to its cultural moment.


Dunkirk

Dunkirk is another pique Christopher Nolan picture—heavy, shot in expensive film, meant for only the largest of IMAX theaters. Its subject—the battles at Dunkirk during the Second World War—is so significant in 20th century history that it's surprising how few films have gone there before. Most importantly, in addition to all the other young British actors you can think of, it non-ironically features Harry Styles in a dramatic role.


The Post

If every Hollywood movie ever made had a group baby together, it might look something like The Post. The product of three of the industry's most accomplished and least objectionable figures—Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg—with a current events tie-in and leftist political appeal, The Post may just be the most normal movie ever made, for better and for worse.


Darkest Hour

Faced with the fate of his nation—whether to fight or surrender to the seemingly unstoppable Nazi Blitzkreig—Winston Churchill steps out of his private car on the way to Parliament, and takes the Tube for the first time in his life. Of course, no single bit of this sequence occurred in real life, but even as you're sitting knowing that, the pure emotion of the scene compels you to just let it happen. Such is the tension of Darkest Hour: it's Hollywood-ization without remorse, though the product itself is a terribly compelling drama.


Call Me By Your Name

Starring the point guard of this author's middle school Safe Haven basketball team, Call Me By Your Name is beautifully deep and uncomplicated. Much more compelling than what the film is actually about—a teen summer romance, queerness, coming-of-age—is how it handles the minute-to-minute interactions and shifts in its characters. For more, read my review here.


For continuing Oscars coverage, stay tuned for Popdust's predictions and review of the show.