Kanye West’s work ethic is almost as superhuman as his ego. Just over a year on from his Jay-Z collaboration Watch The Throne – a record with Important Things to say about being rich and black in modern America – comes this ‘crew’ album, featuring a cast of guest stars that rotates so quickly it’s a wonder everyone involved didn’t come down with nosebleeds.
A showcase for West’s GOOD Music imprint, it’s also an excuse for him to flaunt the extensiveness of his rolodex. One moment, he’s getting jokey-profound with R. Kelly (“Mitt Romney don’t pay taxes,” he raps in the closest thing to a profound insight the record will offer). Then, it’s time for a three-way face off with Big Sean and Jay-Z, who fairly whips Kanye’s behind when he takes over the mic on ‘Clique’. It gets even more eclectic, or, if you prefer, zanily incoherent, as Wu Tang Clan man Raekwon pops up for a husky spot on ‘The Morning’ (one of the few moments where Kanye surrenders the spotlight) and Kid Cudi does a sinuous solo turn on ‘Creepers’.
Throughout, the beats are vast and squelchy, the production ratcheted to Jerry Bruckeimer levels (if ‘Sin City’, featuring John Legend, Malik Yusef and about 14 others were a movie it would feature giant robots and exploding planets). All told, it’s relentless and a bit exhausting. But West never just tosses stuff out and there’s no filler: just one gigantosaur tune stomping after another.