What's Yeezy been up to since the release of Cruel Summer?! Well, today he was at the Christian Dior womenswear show for Paris Fashion Week. Kanye continues to spearhead this trend of famous people wearing black leather pants and he rocks some classic Jordan Is to match. Also, here's a closer look at a new limited-edition women's heel that 'Ye collabed on with Giuseppe Zanotti, inspired by the Cruel Summer artwork. The heel debuted during Milan's Fashion Week, can be seen below, and I echo the famous words of Benjamin Franklin when he said, "Those heels can get it." /needs citation.
R. Kelly spoke to Billboard about his new collab with Kanye West off Cruel Summer, "To The World" - the album's polarizing intro track. I, for one, feel underwhelmed at the unfulfilled potential of a Kellz/Kanye collab, while others I've talked to have "To The World" as their current song on repeat. Anyway, here's the words from Kellz himself:
“Kanye sent me a track he was working on. I sent it back. He sent it back to me, I sent it back to him... until we had something. It felt good to both of us. He trusts my talent and I trust his talent. I knew Kanye way before he was known. We've always had fun in the clubs or wherever we were, just kickin' it, but we never had a chance to get in the studio before and hook up like this, and I'm just glad we finally got that chance. I'm just very honored to be on this track working with him."
- R. Kelly
Interesting that they never were in the studio together. Yes, that's a common thing in today's collabs, but there's some things you get in the experience of making the track in the same studio together that you don't get via e-mail. Dah well. Be sure to hit the rest of the interview as R. Kelly also talks about his upcoming 'Single Ladies' Tour.
According to WWD, Kanye West will not be showing his women's wear line in Paris Fashion Week.
His shoe collaboration with Guiseppe Zanotti was a bust none the least and the poor reception of "Kim-ye" may be the cause to pull out of the show for the time being. Though no official word has been released about the status of his couture line.
For the release of Cruel Summer today, G.O.O.D. Music hit the 106 & Park stage earlier this evening to talk about the very much anticipated album. Everyone except Kanye was there in attendance to touch on topics such as their upcoming projects, the recording process that took place, and what they've all learned from Kanye during his throne era. All this and much, much more can be seen below. Check it!
It was a Cruel Summer for everyone in the music industry; everyone who's not G.O.O.D., that is. With single upon single, from "I Don't Like" to the song formerly known as "Theraflu" (TM) formerly known as "Way Too Cold" to "Mercy" to "New God Flow," G.O.O.D. Music dominated the radiowaves. Then Yeezy unveiled "Clique," but by the time we came to grips with what had hit us, Cruel Summer dropped. It's simply astounding how Kanye West has become such a force in the music industry in only a matter of a few years. He's changing the game. It's virtually impossible, these days, to see a song with Kanye West on it that's not a meme: Chief Keef (no comment) rose to fame, DJ Khaled cosigned a track with only one artist on it (huh?,) a Bible verse was paraphrased that no one understood (that is, until Rap Genius transcribed the lyrics,) and then Kanye sampled the Nasfather, proclaiming himself the new god of hip-hop. Damn. Jay-Z has done well putting 'Ye on, for Watch the Throne still gets major play over a year later. But y'all don't need me to tell you how awesome Kanye West is: he already tells you enough.
Two weeks ago, "Clique" took the world by storm. As if Big Sean's Detroit didn't get fanboys hyped enough for the collaboration, Sean's "in-your-face" flow on yet another consistently Tweet-able verse and rude hook coupled with a big appearance from Hov was electric.
R. Kelly's "To The World" hook is eerily infectious. I promise, if you listen, it will be stuck in your head. For me, it's great to see him back, for this is the first time in a while I heard an R. Kelly song without it actually being Trey Songz singing. In hearing the beginning of "The Morning," one would have trouble imagining 2 Chainz' ad-libs over the beautiful violin-accompanied hook; however, the song is great. Raekwon kills it. Common kills it. Pusha kills it. Everyone goes in. Cocaine 80's and The-Dream make for some nice vocals on "Higher," and Yeezy plays Puff Daddy bringing Ma$e in on the track. My favorite part about this song is 2 Chainz saying "YEAAA" before each verse. I believe "Higher" is catered to a selective taste, but it is a good listen, nevertheless.
Listen to this album cover to cover and you'll barely be able to tell where "Higher" ends and "Sin City" begins. The vocals on this next track are wondrous, and alongside the airy synths bear a stark contrast to the hard-hitting instrumental and choppy verses, most notably from Cyhi. "The One" sports a charming hook and a reflective verse from Yeezy. "Creepers," a solo track from Cudder, is definitely more of the WZRD Cud than anything. Not sure how I feel about his musical transformation but parts of this song are redeeming. Then there's "Bliss," which is a refreshing R&B track from John Legend and Teyana Taylor. Though it feels like it's missing a verse from one of the G.O.O.D. MC's, it's definitely still enjoyable, to say the least.
I honestly think "I Don't Like" doesn't have a place on the album, so it makes sense that Yeezy put it at the end; however, if anything, I'd put it as a bonus track. That's not to say it's worth any extra money, though. Chances are you've heard it 2,398,473,294 times.
Today some rare footage surfaces of Kanye West with his late mother Donda simply sitting down and rapping together. Donda has quite the natural flow as she kicks it off, reminiscing about lyrics Kanye rapped in high school. She's definitely where 'Ye gets it, haha! Watch above for a heartwarming moment today!
With the election less than 2 months away, hip hop is definitely taking notice (see: Nicki Minaj on Romney and Obama's response) and that's only going to be more prevalant in these days and weeks ahead. I'm excited to see that politics is a topic in hip hop - to hear artist's perspective and start the conversation amongst the listeners.
Back in the days of Amoco gas we find Kanye West along side GLC and Cousin Bang in this newly released rare footage of the three, as they hit Harold's Chicken Shack for some grub and interesting encounter with some local folk. Lmao @ "Kanye yawnin' his muthaf*ckin ass out the door."
