Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Kanye West’s “Yeezus” is a protest album.
On May 17, 2013, the Grammy-winner premiered his brand new song, “New Slaves,” by projecting an extreme close-up of himself on the side of buildings worldwide. The ominous, sparsely atmospheric track featured West rapping about how Black people experience racism regardless of class and how wealthy Blacks become indoctrinated with material possessions, becoming slaves to brand names that will line the pockets of their white owners and retailers.
A week later, West premiered “Black Skinhead” on “Saturday Night Live.” Projected behind him were the words “not for sale” and Cerberus, the three-headed dog from Greek mythology, charged with keeping the dead from escaping Hades.
West’s lyrics and delivery were abrasive and enraged. The drums were rumbling, and the music was menacing. He was doubling down on the indignant Blackness that whites deemed uncouth and detrimental in society.
The world expected to hear a protest record on June 18, 2013, when West released “Yeezus,” his sixth solo studio album and follow-up to his critically acclaimed masterpiece, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” Upon listening, the world felt it was different from the album they were expecting to get, not from a lyrical or a musical perspective.
Rather than getting an album in the tradition of records like “What’s Going On” or “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” fans got a record that was sonically harsh and hard to follow, with lyrics that seemed unfocused, self-indulgent, and un-relatable.
“Yeezus” is West’s most polarizing piece of work. Some hate it. Some love it. But as time passed, it became clear that it was a protest record. It was West’s protest against sonic…
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