There are few artists whose new albums are met with as much anticipation and fanfare as Kanye West, the rapper/singer/producer/provocateur who's become as notorious for his outsized personality and social media presence as he has for his brilliant, deeply innovative music. The title of West's sixth and latest album,Yeezus — which, after a leak late last week, is officially seeing release today — is a non-too-subtle hint to the characteristically grandiose themes contained within. (Spoiler alert: The album contains a song titled "I Am A God.")
Critics are nearly as enamored with Yeezus as they were with his last solo album (2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy); the album's aggregated review score on Metacritic is 86 out of 100, representing "universal acclaim." But when it comes to Yeezus' particulars, critics are coming up with all kinds of intriguing angles. Here, five smart takes on Yeezus:
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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.