Kanye Live has a leak for what is reportedly the first single off of Kanye West's upcoming 5th album, Good Ass Job. The song is called 'Power' and it was apparently produced by Symbolic One and Kanye himself. The song, which is a return to the sped-up samples that first launched Kanye into the big time, heavily borrows from King Crimson's prog-rock classic '21st Century Schizoid Man.' Okay, boring details out of the way. Is the song good? Is Kanye still batshit crazy? Does he autotune sing-rap about how hard it is to be rich and famous? How pissed off is he at SNL? To what degree is he on his own dick? The answers, after the jump:
Pretty good; YUP; Thank god, no; Very; EXTREMELY. It's a quality song, with West addressing the cultural fallout of his epic Taylor Swift incident:
Lost in translation with a whole f*ckin’ nation They say I was the obamanation of Obama’s nation Well, that’s a pretty bad way to start the conversation
West is particularly upset at SNL for mocking him in a sketch:
F*ck SNL and the whole cast Tell ‘em Yeezy said they can kiss my whole ass More specifically, they can kiss my asshole I’m an asshole? You n*ggas got jugs You short-minded n*ggas’ thoughts is Napoleon
'Power' is classic Kanye. The beat is brilliant, the sample inspired, and the lyrical approach is both substantive--there's a fascinatingly self-conscious appraisal of what it means to be a prominent celebrity buried in here somewhere--and self-indulgent. Add 'Power' to the growing list of 2010 certified summer jams.
Here's King Crimson's '21st Century Schizoid Man,' the song that gives up 'Power's' main sample.


Responses to New Kanye West Song - 'Power'