It all started with this announcement on Twitter...
One hurried click to KanyeWest.comand, after sharing this info on GWHH, I jetted from the office to meet a few friends at Wrigley Field and caught this iconic moment on video above.
And as I type this, I still can't get over the fact that I saw Kanye West premiere a new song on the side of Wrigley Field tonight (imposed over the likes of Starlin Castro, Anthony Rizzo, and Alfonso Soriano no less... meaning more to this die hard Cubs fan).
Simply put, I've never seen anything like this. My instant reaction was: "I'll call you back," to my friend and then I proceeded to drop whatever I was doing to go see this. It was a "I have to be there or else I'm missing history" type moment. And when I was there, I felt it even more. A diverse group of strangers all gathered under the Wrigley Field marquee, waiting 45 minutes passed the 9:50 start time to see two black vehicles pull up, unload a projector and speakers, press play, and then pack up and go to the next destination.
The song itself, "New Slaves", is the perfect record to accompany this spectacle and keep people talking. 'Ye lashes out at the system for its aim to control African-Americans and celebrities as the "New Slaves". His rhymes are analytical of society and draw from personal experience ("Ya'll throwin' contracts at me, you know that n****s can't read", for example) to exhibit the racism he personally feels and sees. His delivery and lyrics become progressively intense and defiant, and some of the one-liners (certainly 'Ye's most vulgar language and the "Hampton" bars to conclude) are eye-raising and chuckle-inducing to even the casual passerby. I look forward to listening to "New Slaves" when 'Ye drops the album, and perhaps performs it tomorrow night on Saturday Night Live.
Last but not least, I commend Mr. West and his DONDA team for executing a brilliant experience. Creating a spectacle like this is almost always an amazing social experiment. And, as you can see, in a little over an hour, people flocked to Wrigley Field just by 'Ye's influence on social media and the ensuing word of mouth. Later screenings of "New Slaves" even blocked off streets in the city. Amazing. I can't say enough about the creativity behind this. I can say I'll never forget this night.
UPDATE: Here are some more photos from our journey around the city tonight!
Panorama at Wrigley Field by Sgt. Tibs
Panorama at 6 Corners in Wicker Park by @heath_michaels
Dude taking the escalator during the 6 Corners Projection by @WhoDough
"New Slaves" @ Millennium Park, downtown by @heath_michaels
Here are the three SNL promo ads running this week, leading up to the season finale this Saturday — hosted by Ben Affleck with, of course, Kanye West as the musical guest. All of these inspired some chuckles, but no doubt I'm not tuning in Saturday because of the laughs (no slight to Affleck, he's good) but I'll be dialed up to see what Kanye performs. Lots of speculation about a new album announcement or even a premiere of a new song. What do you think it will be?
Kanye West performed at the Adult Swim pop-up shop announced today in NYC at the Roseland Ballroom and proceeded to unveil everything from new music to an innovative new set, but what's grabbing the headlines on the interwebs is a new rant stemming from his recent run-in with the paparazzi and his upcoming appearance on SNL this week. Video of the rant is above, and all of the words transcribed below (shouts to Miss Info).
“One thing about me. I’m the worst kinda, worst kinda, worst kinda celebrity…because all I do is make real music. All I do is sit in the studio and make real, real shit. and that’s it. That’s motherfucking it. That’s motherfucking it. So I don’t want nobody trying to run up on me with no cameras, trying to sell pictures and shit to magazines, asking me no dumbass questions. throwing me off of my focus and shit. Harassing you all motherfucking day. I ain’t no motherfucking celebrity…”
“[I had a friend ask me, ‘Are you gonna go on] SNL and you’re going to do like a skit about the paparazzi and shit and like humanize yourself?’ I ain’t here to apologize to no motherfuckers man. It ain’t about me humanizing myself. At what point did I become unhuman where I had to turn myself back? Or maybe i was demonized. Or maybe I was treated inhumane and not human in that kind of situation.
“I ain’t no motherfucking celebrity. I ain’t running for office. I ain’t kissing nobody’s motherfucking babies. I drop your baby and you sue me and shit. I’m trying to make some music that inspires people to be the best they can be. I don’t want nobody to ask NOTHING ELSE OF ME. Don’t ask nothing else of me.
Motherfuckers chasing you down ‘bout to make you crash and shit. And all they want is one nigga to laugh and shit. Hell nah I ain’t doing no motherfucking SNL skits, this my goddamn life. This ain’t no motherfucking joke. That’s it. Stop that shit right there.”
Like I also mentioned, he debuted some new material and all that has come out of it tonight is a few fan videos. An electronic mix kicks it off below (this sounds hot so far, and like the Hudson Mohawke preview from this past weekend), and a song called "Awesome" can be previewed below (I'm holding off on the latter as I want my first experience to be one of higher quality... I guess that makes me a premiere snob?!)
And thus begins what's sure to be an eventful week for Kanye West...
Kanye fans, here's a must-see. Maybe it's because I'm a big Kanye fan myself, or maybe it's because I'm a big fan of documentaries in general. But those two combine for this unofficial fanmade 45 minute film that brings about footage from as far back as 1998 throughout 'Ye's whole career. There's nothing new that I can tell, but it is a solid use of past interviews and performances to relive, and even draw motivation from as well. I was pumped after just the first few minutes. And while this was all dope to see, I have to admit: it definitely made me yearn for an official documentary on Kanye West. It doesn't have to be on his whole life or career, but to the degree of the VOYR videos. Anyway, with Kanye buzz about to heat up to high temperatures as we head into summer, this video's another nice way to get into the buzz yourself. Spotted at RefinedHype, who has a nice breakdown of some of the scenes/performances, this documentary is making its waves across the interwebs with more than 40K views already!
So we all remember about 2 weeks ago Kanye sent out this tweet that we all thought to be the release date for his next album.
After a confirmation by Chris Atlas from Def Jam then a retraction by Elliott Wilson, we're back at this being the actual date. Now we have another "somewhat" confirmation, this time it's from HMV Japan. This is the same retailer that released the track listing for Cruel Summer. Now the Japanese retailer has listed that Ye is releasing an LP on June 19th.
With Ye getting ready to perform on Saturday Night Live this Saturday this could be the beginning of a promo run leading up to a release.
Hopefully all of this will lead to Ye dropping some new music and eventually a new album. Like the rest of the world we'll make sure to keep our ears to the street and our eyes on the net.
Kanye West dons a wig and uses a hockey stick in Anchorman 2
Some hilarious new pics on the set of Anchorman 2 surfaced this weekend, just days after it was leaked that 'Ye was prime to make a cameo. They showcase a wigged-out Kanye West welding a hockey stick on (it looks like) Chris Parnell. Hah! Another action shot below, 'Ye with the star himself, and one more fun catch of 'Ye outside his trailer. And I thought I couldn't wait for Anchorman 2 any more... haha!
Kanye... How could you be so heartless?!
Will Ferrell: "Sorry Aubrey Plaza, but your award speech interruption was the GREATEST AWARD SPEECH INTERRUPTION OF ALL TIME!"
Happy Mother's Day everyone! Time with the fam is lovely today and I'll count my blessings for days like these. Days like these though don't have to be once every May. It's one of many days we could show love and special attention to our moms! I gotta send a personal shoutout to Mama Tibs (she checks GWHH daily!) — thank you for everything :)
And of course, for all us hip hop fans it's only fitting to drop a trio of mama-dedicated hip hop tracks, both old classics and new, for Old School Sundays. Up above: ...you already know. 2Pac paved ways with "Dear Mama". Down below: Kanye West's emotional performance of "Hey Mama" at the 2008 Grammys (still get chills from his delivery and the simple aesthetics of the visuals). Also, a new classic: Chance The Rapper's "Hey Ma". I have a feeling this won't be the only year we talk about Chance's ode, that he released for Mother's Day last year. We'll be talking about "Hey Ma", and for that matter, Chance for years to come.
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Kanye West "Hey Mama" @ 2008 Grammys
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Chance The Rapper "Hey Ma" f/ Lili K & Peter CottonTale (2012)
New G.O.O.D. Music signee, Scotland EDM producer/DJ Hudson Mohawke, took to a recent live performance to preview a couple new Kanye West tracks, presumably off his upcoming album. Above: Yeezy starts spittin' some nice raps around the 1 minute mark over a high-energy electronic beat. I like the sounds of this one especially so far. Below: right from the start, some more nice, decipherable Kanye bars. With fan footage comes the muffled audio, but you can still make out a lot of the lyrics and get a sense for the general sound. I stopped watching it though because I prefer my first experience of a new song I'm looking forward to to be of high and proper quality.
What do you guys think of an electronic sound for Kanye West?
This is a combination I already know I'm going to like. Kanye x Anchorman 2. The latter's original is one of my top 3 favorite comedies and Kanye is... Kanye. The news today outta the ATL is that 'Ye was on set for filming for the movie set to release in December, via Hollywood.com:
West was apparently filming in Atlanta alongside Christina Applegate and Paul Rudd while on a rooftop. Their "source" says he was "quite afraid of heights and required an umbrella for shade most of the time he was on the roof."
No matter if he plays himself, or a ridiculous friend or enemy of the Channel 4 News team, it's going to be the GREATEST CAMEO OF ALL-TIME! (or at least up there with Will Ferrell in Wedding Crashers)
